It was his first hip replacement surgery 10 years ago that sparked Gino Nacey's interest in cycling.

"The doctors prescribed riding a stationary bike for rehab," Mr. Nacey, 54, recalled. "After a few weeks, I thought I'd like to try it outdoors. When I did ... wow! I was hooked."

Mr. Nacey founded Tele-Tracking Technologies Inc., a firm that makes software for hospitals, in his basement 20 years ago. The firm is now headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh. In 2005, he received an award as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the health, sciences, services and products category.

Mr. Nacey remains a partner of Tele-Tracking, but his passion is Global Ride, the spinning, yoga and Pilates studio in Lower Burrell he started a year and a half ago with wife, Lorraine, 53, and daughter, Nina Wilczek, 29.

Beginning this weekend, Gino and Nina and another area resident, Josh Carson of Vandergrift, will take part in the 403-mile Giretto d'Italia, a charity ride that precedes the Giro d'Italia, the Italian version of the Tour de France and part of the "triple crown" of European bicycle racing. (The third race is the Vuelta a Espana.) Also on their team is Jennifer Sage of Aspen, Colo.

The Giretto is a project of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which raises money for cancer research. Mr. Armstrong, a seven-time winner of the Tour de France, is a survivor of testicular cancer.

The father-and-daughter team has raised $8,600 for cancer research, and hope to boost that total to $10,000 by the time they return from Italy.

"We'd like to have done more, but that's pretty good, considering that we just started in March," Mr. Nacey said.

There was to have been a fifth rider from Mr. Nacey's group in the Giretto, but Raquell Schmidt was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a few weeks after signing up for the race.

"Raquell wanted to postpone treatment until after the race, but her doctors insisted she have the tumor removed," Mr. Nacey said.

Riders in the Giretto will ride the first five stages of the Giro. They'll begin three hours before the racers, and must be off the course an hour and a half before the pros begin.

The first half of the Giretto is on flat ground; the second in the foothills of the Alps.

"This may be the most challenging charity event of its kind," Mr. Nacey said.

He said he was looking for an event to publicize the training methods he and his family have developed.

"We needed a big event to prove that training indoors is good preparation for racing," he said. "But we needed a higher calling than just to prove a point."

Roughly 85 percent of the preparation Gino, Nina and Josh have made for the Giretto has been indoors.

"We combine heart zone and standard cycling principles with Pilates and yoga," Mr. Nacey said. There are five heart rate zones, ranging from 60 to nearly 100 percent of maximum heart rate, each of which produce different cardiovascular benefits.

"Preparing and training indoors helped me to prepare for my first century [100-mile bike race], my first 24-hour mountain bike race, my first road race [which she won], and my first triathalon," Ms. Wilczek said. "It's great cross training for other events."

The emphasis on the core provided by yoga and Pilates prevent the back pain and neck pain riders frequently feel in the spring after a long winter, Mr. Nacey said.

Global Ride is chiefly a family affair. Ms. Wilczek opens the facility at 5 a.m. to teach a spinning class before going to her sales job at Tele-Tracking. Gino, his wife, and Nina's husband, Paul, an avid mountain biker, also teach.

Paul won't be going to Italy because "someone's got to stay home with the kids," Ms. Wilczek said. They have two boys, Ronin, 3, and Maverick, 2.

For more information, see www.cyclingfusion.com. Global Ride, at 2809 Leechburg Road, is open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.