As she rolled through towns such as Kamas and Heber in the fourth-annual National Ability Center’s Summit Challenge 100 on Saturday, folks watching from the sidewalks were just handing out cash to do their part for the good cause, Gail Loveland said.

“I said to them, ‘we’ll take it,” said Loveland, the executive director of the NAC, laughing.

The annual fundraiser ride for the NAC doubled in size this year, with the total number of riders jumping to nearly 400.

While the official fundraiser numbers have yet to be tallied, Loveland said the largest sponsor, T.J. Maxx, raised $10,000 Saturday. Loveland added an individual rider, whom she couldn’t name, raised $5,000 alone.

“All in all, it’s been a great opportunity for people to give any amount to help support the cause,” she said. “The ride is important to us. It really promotes our mission.”

The Summit Challenge featured bike rides of 15, 50 and 100 miles, and invited anyone to participate. The lengthier rides extended all around Summit County and into Wasatch County.

“We put our mission first,” Loveland said. “We allowed individuals with disabilities to ride for free. It’s important; nothing is more inspiring than going up Brown’s Canyon and you look to your left and there’s a rider with one leg or just using their arms going past you.”

The Summit Challenge began at the suggestion of a volunteer at the NAC who thought it would be a good idea to have a summertime fundraiser. The NAC has the Ability Ski Challenge in the winter, which is very popular, and the Summit Challenge is a nice change of pace, Loveland said.

“There was a great opportunity to focus on folks who wanted to be engaging in the community,” she said. “They help make sure it’s possible for people with disabilities to come out and participate.”

Loveland said the NAC is already planning the 2012 Summit Challenge 100 and said it should be “bigger and better than ever.”

She added that the folks at Jans Mountain Experts, White Pine Touring and Cole Sport were out offering free tune-ups to bikes Saturday. She said El Chubasco added the food and Shades of Pale offered the beer.

“For us, we were just really proud (Saturday),” Loveland said.