Riding for Roses

If you don’t want the pitch, the short version goes: donate money to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation in their fight against cancer and efforts to help cancer patients and survivors. Keep visiting my bike blog for updates.

Donate now at the Lance Armstrong Foundation secure online site.

The long version:

Over three weeks in July, I, and perhaps some of you, watched a cancer survivor in his historic sixth consecutive victory in the Tour de France. When I think of Lance, I think more of the cancer survivor than the cyclist. His battle against cancer is the core of the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s (LAF) message: attitude is everything and knowledge is power. The LAF raises funds to support research to help cure cancer, and also to fund work on issues that support cancer patients and cancer survivors. This year, they’ve added the “Live Strong” campaign with yellow wrist bands for $1 to show your support for children with cancer. Actually, they make great ankle bands, too. My four and a half year old son Spencer wears one adult sized band on each ankle and one child sized band on each arm.

I am part of an annual fundraising effort for the LAF called the Peloton Project. Members of the Peloton Project solicit funds and run various fundraising events (auctions, services, sell clothing with custom logos, concerts, and whatever they can think of) to raise money. My (possibly aggressively optimistic) goal is to get my total to $5000 in the next month. So far, I have $808.83, so I could really use your help.

In exchange for raising a minimum of $100, we get to go on the Ride for the Roses, a bike ride of 6 to 100 miles; somewhere in the throng (at the front) is Lance and some of his friends (Tyler Hamilton and Robin Williams were my two favorites from past rides). For more information on the Rides for the Roses weekend (including the expo if you’re in Austin, the ride, and the run) visit the Ride weekend site

Why do I do this?

I love bicycle riding for fun and health and I am trying to pick up to three rides each year that I participate in, and one as my major fundraising focus. Earlier this year, I did a smaller effort to raise money for the American Diabetes Association, but cancer issues have a special place for me. My own family has a pretty significant history of cancer. In the two generations before me, my mother is a cancer survivor, her father died of cancer, and my father died of cancer. In addition my mother-in-law is a cancer survivor. During the Ride for the Roses, I will be wearing tags in honor of my mother and mother-in-law, and in memory of my father and grandfather. If you send me your requests, I’ll also wear tags in honor of or in memory of whoever you like (limit 42 tags total from all donors, operators are standing by). I’ve also got a family history of skin cancer and get to go to my doctor twice a year for mole checks and occasional biopsies (so far, nothing worse than mild atypia) and every five years for a colonoscopy. On a simpler level, I just like doing bicycle rides and this time I’ve set the (one might say ludicrously) aggressive goal of finishing the 100 mile ride in 6 hours on the bike. I might back that off to 6.5 or 7 hours if training doesn’t go well.

When you donate, remember to check the information on how to do corporate matching grants. If your company has a matching program, it can double the impact of your donation. For those who might not want to donate over the web, I have a PDF Sponsor ticket you can print out. Just be sure to put my name (Robert Sartin) and rider number (200037696) on the ticket. We all know you won’t give if you don’t do it right away, so take some time now, figure out if and how much you want to give and go ahead and do it. Ride for the Roses donation close date is August 27.

Donate now at the Lance Armstrong Foundation secure online site.

Regards,

Rob Sartin

Peloton Project Rider 200037696