Women hit the trail for a good cause

A group of 50 snowmachiners set out on the Parks Highway Tuesday with a final destination of not only Anchorage, but also breast cancer awareness.

The Polaris Way Out Women (WOW) Relay Ride's final Alaska leg, from Lake Lucille Inn in Wasilla to Anchorage, began Tuesday morning.

It is the first part of an international event in which teams of women are riding through Alaska, Canada and the Lower 48 to raise money for breast cancer research.

Fifty riders started in Trapper Creek on Sunday, traveling to the base of Mount McKinley. On Monday, the group traveled from Trapper Creek to Wasilla, and then on Tuesday, they traveled from Wasilla to Anchorage, with a police escort much of the way.

Last year, Polaris hosted the first-ever WOW relay in Canada, raising more than $175,000 in the process.

This year, coinciding with Polaris' 50th anniversary, the relay was extended across the northern part of the United States.

Many of the Alaska riders were breast cancer survivors -- including DeeDee Jonrowe, who rode with her mother -- or have close friends who have been battled the disease.

The Alaska riders brought in pledges of between $15,000 and $20,000.

Other teams riders are starting in Maine, and the eastern and western provinces in Canada. The teams will meet in Rosseau, Minn., the home of Polaris Industries. A festival in that town will include a 50th anniversary celebration, as well as the conclusion of the 2004 Way Out Women Relay ride.