The Reason I am Doing It.

It was my brother's idea at first, he told me he had looked into doing a sponsored bike ride in England. The idea was to raise money for leukemia research because our mother had been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2005. Since I enjoy cycling, raising money for leukemia research while bike riding sounded perfect. An evening of "Googling" later, I had found Team In Training, a group that fund-raise with endurance sports for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I initially registered for the 2007 Lake Tahoe event, but had to drop out when it became aparent that Mum was losing her battle with leukemia. This year I am back and intent on raising $5000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The event I am training for is a 100-mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe on June 1st 2008. Because of the altitude (6,225ft.) and the distance, training is important. So, every Saturday for 5 months I will be getting up at 6:00 a.m. to join my team for training rides. There will be a lot of hills to climb!


So when the training gets tough, I look down at the top tube of my bike where I carry 2 names that inspire me to push on. The names are, my Mum – Ruth Davies, and my Aunt Meg, both of whom lost their lives to blood diseases. My Mum, as many of you already know, passed away last year from Leukemia (AML). I thank God for the 14 months of remission she had and the last vacation we spent together in February 2006. At the end of 2006, the leukemia returned and this time there was no stopping it. After wasting away, my mother died in April of 2007. Similarly, my Aunt Meg passed away in February of 1993 after an 11-year battle against Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. What these two women endured is infinitely more than any discomfort I feel during my training.


To make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, go to: TNT Donate



Monday, March 10, 2008

Brian's New Coach

Hi Everybody! Judy, the wife here! I thought I would share a picture of Brian's new coach:




Drill Coach Megan




Brian was telling me how he needs to strengthen up his lung capacity for his Tahoe ride, so what more to help strengthen his lungs than EXTRA WEIGHT? I figured 40 lbs would be good to start off with. So we attached Megan's trail-a-bike to his mountain bike and off the two of them went, climbing the hills of Simi Valley.

Megan was yelling like a good little drill sergeant....

PUMP THOSE LEGS! GET A MOVE ON, DADDY! MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!

(Yah....she might look sweet in the pictures, but don't let her looks fool you!)

I think they did about six miles up and down and around Yosemite Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood.

Megan came home tired and I got her to bed early. Brian.....he went off on another short sprint through Simi.

You guys would be so proud of him! He's really doing great with his training. I know I'm very proud of him.......!

To make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, or to learn more go to TNT Donate
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