Smoke, ride and gathering update from Madison’s Big Ride for Palestine

Cassandra Dixon
Fri 7/17/2026 9:54 PM

Good evening, Riders for Palestine,

It is with heavy hearts, and after careful deliberation, that we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s organized in-person ride.

Over the past several days, we have closely monitored the Air Quality Index and wildfire smoke forecast for this weekend. Current forecasts indicate that air quality on Sunday, July 19, 2026, is expected to reach hazardous levels. Exposure to wildfire smoke can pose serious health risks for everyone—not only those with asthma or other respiratory conditions. Because the safety and well-being of our community must come first, we cannot responsibly move forward with a marshaled group ride under these conditions.

We recognize that this decision may be disappointing. We share that disappointment, especially given the importance of gathering together in solidarity and the significance of this event.

We will still gather at Olin Park at 10:00 a.m. for riders to pick up their shirts and bike decorations, and we hope that if you stop by you’ll have a slice of watermelon and some cold brew.  Depending on conditions at that time, a small number of individuals may choose to ride the route independently. Please note that any such ride will be unmarshaled, and participation is entirely at each person’s own discretion and assessment of their health and comfort with the air quality. Others are welcome to coordinate their own ride for Palestine at another time as conditions improve. We’ll be at the end of the park closest to the Capitol, near Lakeside St, Edgewater Ct, and the City Trails bike path.  A map showing our gathering point is on the Madison team page.  Our hoped-for route is also posted there if you would like to ride it on your own or with friends at a later time.

If you would rather not come to Olin on Sunday, please contact Donna at 608-235-7870 or dwallbaum@gmail.com to arrange an alternative pickup time to get your shirt.  We’ll draw the 4 door prize winners from the list of registered riders and they will also be available to pick up at Olin.  If your name is drawn and we don’t see you on Sunday, your prize will be with your shirt when you pick it up later.

While this year’s organized ride has been canceled, our commitment to justice remains unchanged. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine and with displaced and oppressed peoples around the world.

Collectively you have already raised more than $13.000 for desperately needed humanitarian aid!!  None of us could have written that check alone, and it is your willingness to fundraise and donate as a group that has made this possible.  The donation link on the ride page will remain active for a full month so you can continue to share it and your pages  with friends in the days to come.  Thank you for standing publicly in solidarity with the children of Gaza, and for reaching out to the friends and family members whose donations are on their way to Gaza now.  Please know that your participation in this ride was successful!

If you’re interested in helping to plan the ride next year please contact Cassandra by text or email at 608-445-0357 or madisontogaza@gmail.com.  We would love to have your help.

We are heartbroken for our planet, for the First Nations communities devastated by the fires, and for the massive climate impact of Israel’s Genocide and bombardment of  Gaza.

And we are beyond grateful to all of you, both collectively and individually.  We hope that next year will find us with clearer skies, and that you will join us again in this ride of solidarity.  

Thank You!!

Spread the word about MECA’s 5th Annual Ride for Palestine!
Event Home Page

Madison’s 2026 Big Ride for Palestine, a fundraiser for Middle East Children’s Alliance

Contacts:  Cassandra Dixon, madisontogaza@gmail.com, 608 445-0357
Barb Olson, rafahsistercity@yahoo.com
Donna Wallbaum, 608-235-7870

Madison area cyclists of all ages and abilities are invited to participate in the 2026 Middle East Children’s Alliance Big Ride for Palestine on Sunday, July 19. This ride is for everyone, regardless of age, bike, and energy!

Presented by the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP), Palestine Partners, and many other local groups, the ride is a benefit for the Palestine and Lebanon emergency humanitarian relief programs of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA).

To register for the ride, or just to support it with a donation, visit the Madison team page and follow the directions.

Everyone who registers by July 15 will receive a Ride for Palestine t-shirt. Riders are encouraged to register now and build support for their personal ride among friends, family, and colleagues to make this year’s event even more successful than last year, when over $16,000 was raised for desperately needed emergency relief in Gaza. 

ROUTE UPDATE!

We’ve been monitoring the construction on John Nolen and thought we would be unable to use our preferred route from last year’s ride. However, the City Trail path remains open, so we are now hopeful we’ll be able to use our “A” route, leaving on the City Trail path, with a midpoint/water stop at Orton Park and a loop through the Willy street area, then returning to Orton Park and and riding back together on the City Trail path.

Our amazing marshals also created a “B ” route, heading out on the Wingra path and looping around the zoo. We’ll use that in the event construction closes the City Trail path before the 19th. The marshals are monitoring the route and we’ll keep you updated.

You can find links and maps to both routes on the Madison Team Page. Both routes offer a short family ride and a longer option, so regardless of your bike and energy level this ride is for you!

Our volunteer marshals are an amazing and dedicated group of riders absolutely committed to the safety of our ride. Multiple medics will be riding with them, and they will wrap our ride in an envelope of care from start to finish, so no one need fear getting lost or left alone on this ride. We’re extremely grateful for their generous help!

Bike decorations, watermelon and ice water will be available at Olin Park, and participants are encouraged to wear kuffiyas and decorate bikes in solidarity with the children of Palestine and Lebanon. The ride is free and open to the public, and anyone is welcome to come cheer on or join the riders.

In addition to MRSCP and Palestine Partners, the event is co-sponsored by Madison Jewish Voice for Peace, Madison Mennonite Action, WORT FM Community Radio, Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement, Veterans for Peace Madison — Clarence Kailin Chapter 25, Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America, Madison for a World BEYOND War, Families for Justice Dane County, UW Madison Students for Justice in Palestine, Madison trans* intergenerational mutual aid project, and Interfaith Peace Working Group.

Facebook event

You can still sign up to volunteer!

ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE
MECA works to protect the lives, rights, and well-being of children in Palestine and refugee camps in Lebanon. After over 78 years of ethnic cleansing, displacement, and attacks on their lives and livelihoods, Palestinians remain steadfast on their land and fiercely committed to the cause of freedom and liberation. This Big Ride for Palestine is an act of solidarity with Palestinian communities as they struggle to protect their children’s lives and their culture from erasure. As Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon and its blockade of Gaza continue, humanitarian aid is needed more urgently than ever. All funds raised by the Ride will go to MECA’s relief work in Palestine and Lebanon. Learn more about MECA.

ABOUT THE MADISON-RAFAH SISTER CITY PROJECT
MRSCP is a local volunteer organization that since 2003 has been committed to standing with the people of Gaza and Palestine as they struggle to remain in their homeland despite Israel’s decades-long settler-colonial ethnic cleansing and its brutal blockade — and now genocide — in Gaza. Learn more about MRSCP.

ABOUT PALESTINE PARTNERS
Palestine Partners was formed in 2020 during COVID to support Women in Hebron, a fair trade craft cooperative employing women in the Hebron area of Palestine by producing beautifully hand-embroidered bags, purses, scarves, shawls, pillow coverings, toys, earrings & jewelry. Learn more about Palestine Partners.