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



Sunday, May 25, 2008

No more training wheels!

Megan learned how to ride her bike this weekend. While she is not ready for Tahoe, yet, she is very excited. I am so proud that I wanted to share.



Just 30 minutes later...


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

2 comments:

Chums Mum said...

We are so proud of Megan!!! She was so giddy with excitement when she finally figured out how to ride her bike! Perhaps next year she'll do Tahoe! :) Great job, Chum......remember Mummy taught you how to ride a bike, but Daddy will teach you how to drive a car! :)

Anonymous said...

Brian,nearly time to get "on yer bike" and ride! We will be thinking off you and trusting that all will go well. We hope you will even be able to enjoy it rather than it being an endurance test! Be safe! Hope all three of you enjoy the day.
Love from John and Lesley.