Riding for Roses

I had the opportunity to chat with former Mayor of Austin Kirk Watson for a few minutes. We talked about Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, Kirk’s experience with cancer, and the Tour Watch 2005 event. Kirk has some great advice for people living with cancer as a survivor or caregiver. You can listen to Conversation with Rob: Kirk Watson or subscribe to my podcast RSS feed to listen to all of my podcasts.

Today was stage 1 at the Tour Watch 2005 event at Central Market North in Austin. Being the first day of the event, we didn’t really know how it was going to go until it happened. It was a great day of conversation with visitors to the Tour Watch and other event participants. We raised a little money and hope we will keep building momentum.

This blog has been all Rob’s gonna be on TV, come to Tour Watch, and “donate to support cancer survivors lately. What about Spencer? Spencer is in for his third week of intensive chemotherapy tomorrow. So far, he’s taking it like a champ, both physically and mentally.

Today is my second day with a crew from the Discovery Network filming a show about Lance Armstrong fans that will air (in September is the current plan) on the Travel Channel. They first got hooked up with me through this blog and I’ve gotten them in touch with Tour Watch 2005 to do some shooting there. Come join us at Central Market North any time during the day from July 2-24 (rest days July 11, 18) to view the Tour de France, podcast, relax, read books about cycling, and learn about the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Founded in 2001 by two child life specialists with pilot funding from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Austin-based Wonders and Worries provides an array of therapeutic activities geared toward children, youth and families coping with chronic or life-threatening illnesses. They offer counseling, therapy sessions for children who have parents with cancer, training classes in child parent relationships (filial therapy is the official clinical name for the technique), and other services.

As of this posting, Spencer has raised $6,071.13 towards his $25,000 goal of fundraising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I’ve been tracking against a plan of raising $15,000 through soliciting donations and $10,000 through events. To stay on target for the donations, we need $56.03 by tomorrow night. Your small donation could help Spencer achieve his dream of supporting cancer survivors, obtaining a Peloton Project Yellow Jersey, and riding 40 miles in the Ride for the Roses to celebrate his one year anniversary of being diagnosed with leukemia.

K-EYE news anchor Allison Smith came out to Central Market on Thursday to do a story on the Tour Watch 2005 Tour de France viewing event. The story airs on K-EYE Sunday Morning News at 10 AM June 26.

My five year old son, Spencer, conned me into agreeing to help him raise $25,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation by riding 40 miles in the Ride for the Roses this Fall. It turns out the ride weekend is October 21-23, 2005, and October 22 will be Spencer’s one year anniversary of his diagnosis with [...]

Austin is getting ready for the Tour de France. Tour Watch 2005 is at Central Market every riding day during the Tour de France from 8 AM to 9 PM. It will include Tour watching, interviews with local folks, remote feeds from France, podcasting, 24 Hour Fitness excitement, Trek drink tastings, and a Lance Armstrong Foundation table.

I don’t think I actually wrote about this on my blog since I did not want to curse it. We are on vacation. A quick taste of what’s up with the possibility that I will elaborate later. We had dinner with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and Spencer gave him a few liveStrong wrist bands. We attended my 25 year Deerfield Academy reunion and delivered thanks to my Deerfield classmates who, so far, have donated over $1500 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. We had a family reunion on Sunday in Stuyvesant Falls, NY. We are now getting ready for bed while I quickly catch up on email at the Harding House guest house in Cambridge.