When confronted with medical emergencies, people need a quiet place to think, cry, sleep and grieve.

The sterile welcome of a hospital waiting room doesn't do much to calm patients' families, according to Bruce Rittel. He realized that when his wife, Tracy Rittel, was fatally injured in a car accident in 2004.

He and his family needed a private place to grieve, but there was no retreat available.

Hoping to fill that void, Rittel established Tracy's Sanctuary, a hospitality house for families in medical crisis.

On Sunday, about 35 female motorcycle riders will donate money to Tracy's Sanctuary as part of the second annual Girls Wild Ride.

The Girls Wild Ride starts at 10 a.m. Sunday at Tracy's Sanctuary, 908 N. Eighth St. in Bismarck.

The group will tour Tracy's Sanctuary before setting off on their 130-mile ride.

The riders will have lunch at Totten Trail, which is about 65 miles north of Bismarck on Highway 83, near Lake Audubon.

Girls Wild Ride organizer Tami Henninger expects riders from Bismarck, Mandan, Devils Lake, Medora, Minnesota and South Dakota will attend.

"A lot of women don't ride if they aren't with their husbands," Henninger said. "(On the Girls Wild Ride), you're never alone; you can always make a friend."

For the riders, it is an opportunity to meet other women in the Bismarck-Mandan area who ride, while raising money for a worthy cause.

"It's small organizations like (Girls Wild Ride) that help us continue to grow," Rittel said.

Recently, Tracy's Sanctuary opened its doors to patients who receive dialysis and chemotherapy. This does not include patients who are having elective surgery.

"The people that are having chemotherapy seem to be so much happier in a home environment," Rittel said.

Since its doors opened in December 2005, Tracy's Sanctuary has served about 150 families, providing them with food, lodging and privacy.

"We're doing better, but we could always use fundraising. It costs so much a day to open up (Tracy's Sanctuary)and run it," Rittel said.

Tracy's Sanctuary is a member of the National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses, a non-profit corporation that works with facilities to provide supportive services to families in medical crisis.

Bobbie's House in Douglas, Wyo., was modeled after Tracy's Sanctuary. Similar houses are popping up across the country, with houses in the works for New York and Texas, Rittel said.

"We're very pleased with the amount of response we've gotten from people. We want to continue to grow in (public) awareness," Rittel said.

For more information about the Girls Wild Ride, call Henninger at 221-9017.

For more information about Tracy's Sanctuary, visit www.tracyssanctuary.com or call 222-2703.

(Reach reporter Alyssa Schafer at 250-8264 or alyssa.schafer@;bismarcktribune.com.)