Kenyon’s website features Pelotonia prominently. (via kenyon.edu)

We heard about it plenty last semester, but now it’s finally about to happen: Pelotonia kicks off with an opening ceremony this evening, and the riders set off from Columbus early tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, thousands of bicyclists, their families, and support staff volunteers will converge on Gambier, and many will spend the night in Kenyon dorms before setting off to log even more miles bright and early on Sunday morning.

Later today we’ll bring you profiles of a few of the riders representing Kenyon in the event, and after the jump, some of the basic stats on Pelotonia.

• Pelotonia exists to raise money for cancer research at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. This is kind of a mouthful, so the institution is referred to as OSUCCC — James for short. 100% of the money raised is donated, with the operating costs of Pelotonia covered by corporate sponsors.
• According to pelotonia.org, over $10 million has been raised so far this year, and over 6,000 riders are registered to ride tomorrow.
• Riders can choose between several different routes ranging from 25 to 180 miles. The longest route is from Columbus to Gambier on Saturday and back again on Sunday.
• To deal with the onslaught of overnight visitors, Kenyon is opening up its air-conditioned dorms, including the new North Campus Apartments, to approximately 670 Pelotonia riders and staff. Bikes will be stored at the KAC, and AVI is bringing in extra staff to help with food service. Bob Evans will provide breakfast on Sunday morning. President Nugent is also scheduled to speak at the opening ceremony in Columbus tonight.