Cycling rally benefits Fresno State art students in honor of art professor

Hammer Road Rally cyclists set off to participate in The Hammer option of 102 strenuous miles near Millerton Lake. (Photo  by Leticia Madrigal/Clovis Roundup)

Over 150 cyclist participated in a road race just after sunrise at Millerton Lake to honor the work and life of a former Fresno State art professor.

The 2nd annual Hammer Road Rally was held Saturday, Oct. 21 in memory of Edward Lund, a former faculty member of Fresno State’s art department and an avid cyclist who tragically lost his life while participating in Levi Leipheimer’s GranFondo in 2015.

The race offered three level-of-difficulty options all beginning and ending in Clovis. Proceeds will provide full scholarships to qualifying art students applying to Fresno State’s Study Abroad in London program.

The program is a 3-unit, 3-week extensive course that covers the arts, architecture, language, literature, music, philosophy/religion and the interrelations of Britain.

Upon Lund’s tragic death, Lisa Lund-Brown, Lund’s sister, decided to fund the Edward O. Lund Foundation and began organizing the event along with Bike Monkey, a professional events management and services company that specializes in cycling and running events.

“Eddy was an incredible, adventurous human being who enjoyed life to the point of tears,” Lund-Brown said. “His biggest passions were cycling and art, so it only seems natural to bring the two together with a road race that funds scholarships for students pursuing art degrees at Fresno State.”

Awarding scholarships to these students is made possible through the participation of cyclists. This year, the event nearly doubled in participants even though some of the cyclists from the Santa Rosa area which participated last year we unable to attend this year, said Judy Lund, mother of Edward and Lisa Lund.

In 2016, the event raised enough funds to give full scholarships for the 3-week program to three deserving art students. This year, they will be awarding four. The scholarship benefits include: tuition, travel, airfare, stay and a spending money stipend.

Judy expressed the importance of having this event benefit art students of Fresno State.

“He [Edward] wanted to expose students to art and the world; he had been to London and Paris and different countries before, and he thought that it is great to see the original art and have the experience of travel,” Lund said. “It [travel] just broadens your life and broadens your horizons it gives you a new look on life.”

“At Fresno State, they have scholarships for people who are involved in sports and maybe engeneering and those types of programs but there really isn’t anything for arts. We think it’s really important that the arts are supported.”

The event included a full-day of festivities honoring Lund. Live music, food and entertainment by the lake near were all part of the agenda.

Carlos Perez, race director and director of Bike Monkey, expressed the impact and importance of the race and event festivities.

“Ed inspired a lot of people,” Perez said. “The Hammer Rally Road is a chance to celebrate his love for the bike, and to share that with the community he cared so much about.”