Sunday, August 11, 2013

Let the Journey Begin!

So, a little background to start this off right. In 2012, a close friend of my told me that he was going to be doing this charity ride called the AIDS/LifeCycle ride that would take him 545 miles over a 7 day period and he wanted to know if I would be willing to support him by giving a donation. Well of course I said yes. I couldn't believe that he was going to ride so far. After seeing his photos on the ride and hearing about his experiences I knew I wanted to do the ride myself.

However, due to a family commitment, I realized that I was going to be unable to participate in the 2013 AIDS/LifeCycle ride. Despite this, I started riding with an AMAZING group of people called the South Bay Blaze in January as they began their training. I made it to almost every Saturday training ride and was surprised at how quickly I became a stronger rider. Many victories were had along with many choice words muttered under my breath on those long challenging rides and steep hills. In four short months I went from riding 25 miles to 80 miles. That seemed CRAZY!

Since I knew that I was unable to join my teammates on the ride, I didn't want all the training I did to go to waste. I found out that there was another charity ride that I could participate in that was occurring around the same time as the ALC ride. I signed myself up for the Tour de Cure 120k ride (that's 76 miles). I was surprised when I was able to raise a little over $600 for the American Diabetes Association. Due to those family commitments I had I missed two weekends for riding. Little did I know, this would make a big difference to my stamina for the ride. Simply put, the Tour de Cure defeated me. I struggled to get through the second half of the ride and almost gave up on the last large hill on the ride (I mean it was a 9 mile long hill, 4% grade, with some 2000ft of elevation gain). I was so defeated, I started to question myself... did I really want to do the AIDS/LifeCycle ride. It is seven straight days of riding totaling 545 miles. But, as the photos started to be posted to Facebook my I remembered why I wanted to do this in the first place.

The AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC) ride is not just about me and the personal challenge that I will face. It is about all those that I will help by raising the money to partake in this ride. Last year, the 2203 riders and 552 roadies raised a record-breaking $14.2 million. That is INCREDIBLE and something that I want to be apart of!

So on June 13, 2013 I committed myself to ALC and signed up!!! You can check out my personal page here. I'd love if you would make a donation to support me in this journey.

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