Community to ride and run for Marble Falls city manager Ralph Hendricks

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — While Marble Falls city manager Ralph Hendricks loved riding his bike and was a regular participant in the Race Across America Texas Cycling Challenge hosted in Marble Falls, you don’t have to be to show your support for Hendricks.

“The idea was to get the community together to show Ralph that we’re thinking about him,” said Keith Conrad, Hendricks’ friend and fellow cyclist.

Hendricks was injured in a bicycle accident in October of last year and is still recovering from the head injury. On March 8, friends, colleagues and community members are invited to show their support for Hendricks and his family in the “Ride and Run For Ralph.”

At 8:30 a.m. on that day, people can gather at Johnson Park, 220 Ave. J South, wearing their “Ride and Run For Ralph” T-shirts for a group photo. Conrad said he’ll get the photo printed and framed and then deliver it to Hendricks to let him know the community is pulling for him.

The photo-op takes place just before riders on the Texas Cycling Challenge hit the road. Others can simply walk or run along the local hike-and-bike trails, a system Hendricks was enthusiastic about developing for the city.

“And if you don’t want to do either, that’s OK,” Conrad said. “We just want people to come out for Ralph.”

Conrad said Hendricks is passionate about events such as the Texas Cycling Challenge.

“Ralph was instrumental in bringing the (Texas Cycling Challenge) to Marble Falls. He was instrumental in getting the Hill Country Marathon here,” Conrad said. “He understood the benefit of being an active community and what these types of events could do for the community.”

There is no charge for the T-shirts or to participate in the photo. But folks can make a donation, which will go to Hendricks and his family as they face mounting medical bills.

“Everything donated will go to Ralph and (his wife) Nelda,”  Hendricks said.

Organizers will hand out T-shirts starting at 7:45 a.m. March 8 in Johnson Park.

To get your name on the list of T-shirts, you can call the Marble Falls Chamber of Commerce at (830) 693-2815.

“The main objective of this is just to get a great photo of the community to send to Ralph,” Conrad said.

daniel@thepicayune.com