Tour de Palm Springs kickoff party welcomes thousands to downtown Palm Springs

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - Thousands of cyclists descended on Palm Springs Friday evening for the 28th annual Tour de Palm Springs bike ride.

The ride kicks off Saturday morning, taking riders from downtown all the way to Coachella and back.

A big part of Friday's celebration was highlighting the charitable causes behind the ride, something cyclists and vendors say keeps them coming back.

"I think just to be able to support other people should help everybody pick up their own internal soul kind of stuff. It's nice to be able to do that while doing something for yourself," Joe Martin from Homer, Alaska said.

"I represent the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 78, and we've been riding for the tour for about 25 years, and I do the Pledge of Allegiance at the kickoff every year," Bob Solomon said.

Many said they also ride for a deeper purpose, like Frank Platt.

"I just recently lost my husband to cancer last year, and he bought me my first bike 10 years ago. I decorated all in purple for a memory on my husband, his favorite color was purple," Platt said.

Founder Tim Esser says the tour has raised over $5 million since it's inception for local charities.

"These are all the charities that can use the money. It's a lot of high school groups, a lot of them being that we benefit, first responders, and veterans, we do a lot of the ROTC is in these high schools. It's not just about the money, it's about volunteering as well. We want these kids to learn what it's like to give back to the community," Esser said.

Stick with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of Saturday's ride.