If anyone out there is reading this on a regular basis, you will notice that my thermometer jumped SUBSTANTIALLY today.... from $875 to $3800. And I am at my desk, in tears, so overjoyed at peoples' compassion and effort and thought, love and support. And almost all of that is from the generosity of my colleagues at my job and the generous matching program that is a benefit to our employees. Literally, $1250 of donations from my coworkers became $3600 total through matching.
LIFE IS WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Showing posts with label fundraising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fundraising. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, December 3, 2007
Let's talk cabbage...
I found a cool free bit of code to track my fundraising progress. I've added it to the template and you can see it a little further down on the right hand side, just under my profile details.
I'm off to great start thanks to my new work peeps. They have been so generous. THANK YOU!!!!!! But I'm still only 14.4% of the way to my total goal of $4000.
GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE! :)
And you can do that HERE (<-- link)
I'm off to great start thanks to my new work peeps. They have been so generous. THANK YOU!!!!!! But I'm still only 14.4% of the way to my total goal of $4000.
GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE! :)
And you can do that HERE (<-- link)
Saturday, December 1, 2007
The Tiburon (aka Paradise) Loop - FINALLY!
Today I finally rode the Tiburon or Paradise Loop as it is sometimes known. It is similar to the official ALC kick-off training ride I did in late October. Except that ride was 20 miles. Today's was 37 and a good bit hillier! My friend Liz was my companion and guide today and we parked at the Presidio Sports Basement. We rode up some hills (right off the bat, dammit), across the Golden Gate Bridge, down through Sausalito, just a smidge through Mill Valley then a gorgeous loop up and around Tiburon, then back through Mill Valley, doubling back all the way through Sausalito, across the bridge and back to the car.
The loop was a challenge. The hills in and around Tiburon are no joke. But I got a second wind somewhere there and kicked it into high gear and took the rolling hills in a higher gear and basically put on my racing mindset and I kicked some major ass. I felt so good when my wind ran out I found myself yelling at the top of my lungs. I think mostly out of disbelief that I'm on this journey at all.
I began my fundraising efforts in earnest yesterday by emailing everyone in my new firm, requesting donations and citing that if they want an additional last-minute deduction from their 2007 income, to go ahead and donate before 12/31/07. I sent out a short note and also included my rider recap from my roadie experience in 2007 on ALC6. Re-reading my letter brought those familiar goosebumps to my skin and I felt awash in the beauty that I took from that experience. And today, I wore my parking cone orange ALC windbreaker (it was freaking COLD) and when we stopped for coffee before climbing back out of Sausalito, I met some guys who were on the ride last year. It's always nice to meet kindred ALC spirits. :)
At this point I'm rambling and my legs are pretty damned tired. But the hills out of Saus are tough. There are sort of 2 natural resting spots in the midst of 3 "portions" of the climb to the bridge. The first time I did this route, I stopped at each of those spots to regroup before climbing higher. But today - I didn't stop once. I took the entire ride in stride. And no, it wasn't fun. It actually was quite a bitch. And my legs HURT. But I did it. My body and my mind continually surprise me in pleasant ways by showing just how it responds no matter how far I push it.
And something really cool - I maxed out at 29.0 mph on some down-straights. When you're on a bike, that's pretty damned fast and both exhilarating and scary at the same time.
Here's the gist of the route we took. It's really wind-y (as in curvey not lots of wind) and covers too much terrain to get in really close, but it's directionally correct. The squigglies in the upper right corner afforded some ridiculous views.
Day - Saturday, 12/1
Ride Type - On-Road Training
Ride Distance - 37.0 miles
Ride Length - 2:55:29
Avg Speed - 12.7 mph
Avg Cadence - 81
Avg Heart Rate - 148
Time in zone - 01:44:11
Time above zone - 1:00:15
Calories burned - 2512
Total Training Distance To-Date: 352.6 miles
The loop was a challenge. The hills in and around Tiburon are no joke. But I got a second wind somewhere there and kicked it into high gear and took the rolling hills in a higher gear and basically put on my racing mindset and I kicked some major ass. I felt so good when my wind ran out I found myself yelling at the top of my lungs. I think mostly out of disbelief that I'm on this journey at all.
I began my fundraising efforts in earnest yesterday by emailing everyone in my new firm, requesting donations and citing that if they want an additional last-minute deduction from their 2007 income, to go ahead and donate before 12/31/07. I sent out a short note and also included my rider recap from my roadie experience in 2007 on ALC6. Re-reading my letter brought those familiar goosebumps to my skin and I felt awash in the beauty that I took from that experience. And today, I wore my parking cone orange ALC windbreaker (it was freaking COLD) and when we stopped for coffee before climbing back out of Sausalito, I met some guys who were on the ride last year. It's always nice to meet kindred ALC spirits. :)
At this point I'm rambling and my legs are pretty damned tired. But the hills out of Saus are tough. There are sort of 2 natural resting spots in the midst of 3 "portions" of the climb to the bridge. The first time I did this route, I stopped at each of those spots to regroup before climbing higher. But today - I didn't stop once. I took the entire ride in stride. And no, it wasn't fun. It actually was quite a bitch. And my legs HURT. But I did it. My body and my mind continually surprise me in pleasant ways by showing just how it responds no matter how far I push it.
And something really cool - I maxed out at 29.0 mph on some down-straights. When you're on a bike, that's pretty damned fast and both exhilarating and scary at the same time.
Here's the gist of the route we took. It's really wind-y (as in curvey not lots of wind) and covers too much terrain to get in really close, but it's directionally correct. The squigglies in the upper right corner afforded some ridiculous views.
Day - Saturday, 12/1
Ride Type - On-Road Training
Ride Distance - 37.0 miles
Ride Length - 2:55:29
Avg Speed - 12.7 mph
Avg Cadence - 81
Avg Heart Rate - 148
Time in zone - 01:44:11
Time above zone - 1:00:15
Calories burned - 2512
Total Training Distance To-Date: 352.6 miles
Monday, October 29, 2007
Now I'm really kicked off!
Yeah - a stupid play on words, but...
Yesterday marked the official training ride kick-off for AIDS LifeCycle 7! This being my first official event with ALC and San Francisco Aids Foundation (SFAF) as a cyclist, I didn't know what to expect. But it was much of the same I came to know as a Roadie last year - friendliness, compassion, team work, love and support.
I got up pretty early for a Sunday, got all geared up and rode 7 miles from my house over to the Sports Basement (only the most awesome sporting goods store in the Bay Area, with several locations to serve you!). We had stretching, some snacks, a safety speech and then were off around 11am.
We rode out of the Presidio, up onto the Golden Gate bridge and across to Marin County. I have to say, if you bike or run or even walk decent distances for enjoyment or exercise, you should really go across the GG at least once. This was my first time outside of a car and the weather was PERFECTION. I only wish I had brought my camera. But I'm still such a newbie that I need all my concentration on the bike itself. Next time!
Then we wound down into Sausalito and into Mill Valley, stopping at a coffee shop that was our mid-way and turn-around point. There's a little bit of a climb up to GGB and it's a slow slope up to the half-way point on the bridge itself. But off the bridge, it's a series of fun downhills into Sausalito. The rest of the way to the coffee shop was relatively flat and lots of fun. However, if you truly double-back, those downhills coming in are hills you must climb going back.
Oh shit - my poor thighs almost burst open. Granted, to most people they are probably not that severe and I imagine in another month or two, they won't seem so bad to me too - but let me say that they were a mental and physical challenge. But I didn't bitch-out. I made it up all three of those hills without walking my bike up a one of them - YAY!!!!
We made it back across the bridge and back to our kick-off site. We hung around and I talked to some people I knew from ALC6 and met some new people too! I met a guy early in the day before ride-out who is a newbie for ALC and we chatted and rode together the whole day. Turns out that he lives directly across the street from me and is also into tennis (which I'm starting to pick back up)... so I've got a new buddy in the hood to sport around with... BONUS!
I'll try to get back often to keep a running log of my training progress and challenges.
Recap -
Day - Sunday, 10/28
Event - ALC7 Kick-Off Training Ride
Event Distance - 19.7 miles
Commute Distance - 14 miles
Total Distance Today - 33.7 miles (longest to-date!)
Total Training Distance To-Date: 120.6
Last year as a Roadie I had the option of raising money at my own discretion. I did raise money - a total of $2490 - WOO HOO! This year as a cyclist, I have a $2500 minimum and have made my personal goal $4000.
TO DONATE TO THIS WORTHY CAUSE - PLEASE VISIT MY FUNDRAISING HOMEPAGE
Yesterday marked the official training ride kick-off for AIDS LifeCycle 7! This being my first official event with ALC and San Francisco Aids Foundation (SFAF) as a cyclist, I didn't know what to expect. But it was much of the same I came to know as a Roadie last year - friendliness, compassion, team work, love and support.
I got up pretty early for a Sunday, got all geared up and rode 7 miles from my house over to the Sports Basement (only the most awesome sporting goods store in the Bay Area, with several locations to serve you!). We had stretching, some snacks, a safety speech and then were off around 11am.
We rode out of the Presidio, up onto the Golden Gate bridge and across to Marin County. I have to say, if you bike or run or even walk decent distances for enjoyment or exercise, you should really go across the GG at least once. This was my first time outside of a car and the weather was PERFECTION. I only wish I had brought my camera. But I'm still such a newbie that I need all my concentration on the bike itself. Next time!
Then we wound down into Sausalito and into Mill Valley, stopping at a coffee shop that was our mid-way and turn-around point. There's a little bit of a climb up to GGB and it's a slow slope up to the half-way point on the bridge itself. But off the bridge, it's a series of fun downhills into Sausalito. The rest of the way to the coffee shop was relatively flat and lots of fun. However, if you truly double-back, those downhills coming in are hills you must climb going back.
Oh shit - my poor thighs almost burst open. Granted, to most people they are probably not that severe and I imagine in another month or two, they won't seem so bad to me too - but let me say that they were a mental and physical challenge. But I didn't bitch-out. I made it up all three of those hills without walking my bike up a one of them - YAY!!!!
We made it back across the bridge and back to our kick-off site. We hung around and I talked to some people I knew from ALC6 and met some new people too! I met a guy early in the day before ride-out who is a newbie for ALC and we chatted and rode together the whole day. Turns out that he lives directly across the street from me and is also into tennis (which I'm starting to pick back up)... so I've got a new buddy in the hood to sport around with... BONUS!
I'll try to get back often to keep a running log of my training progress and challenges.
Recap -
Day - Sunday, 10/28
Event - ALC7 Kick-Off Training Ride
Event Distance - 19.7 miles
Commute Distance - 14 miles
Total Distance Today - 33.7 miles (longest to-date!)
Total Training Distance To-Date: 120.6
Last year as a Roadie I had the option of raising money at my own discretion. I did raise money - a total of $2490 - WOO HOO! This year as a cyclist, I have a $2500 minimum and have made my personal goal $4000.
TO DONATE TO THIS WORTHY CAUSE - PLEASE VISIT MY FUNDRAISING HOMEPAGE
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