We Did It! Thank You So Much!

Welcome Family and Friends!

At the beginning of this year I created this page with the tagline, "I figure if Lance Armstrong can come out of retirement, then so can I!"

So much has happened since I started my journey in January, with no real level of fitness, a mild fear of road riding after a spill from last year, and just the tiniest bit of dread about asking my friends and family to make donations for a cause that means so much to me.

These last few months have been simply incredible. After several months of training, I rode 100 miles around Lake Tahoe in 7 hours and 52 minutes, just under the eight hours of ride time I had hoped for! I spent just over ten hours on the course, among well over 1500 Team in Training riders who raised 6.8 MILLION dollars to find a cure for leukemia and other blood cancers.

I rode in memory of my sister, Page Stanton. Page was diagnosed with leukemia in 1979. At that time little was known about the disease and even less was known about how to fight it. I traveled to Seattle, from Atlanta, to be the donor in a bone marrow transplant for Page. It was an experimental and risky procedure.

While the transplant was itself a success, Page suffered complications from her treatments. She battled leukemia courageously for two years before we lost her at the age of 12. I will never forget her funeral. Sitting alongside her grave on a cold, drizzly December day under the rough canvas of a funeral home, it felt like we were at the end. It felt hopeless.

If only I could go back in time to whisper in that awkward little girl's ear that one day she would get on a bike and raise more than $12,000 to make sure that no one ever had to lose their sister again. That would have been life-changing. And even though I didn't have such amazing inspiration then, I do now!

We DID IT!

My fundraising totals don't yet show the value of all the corporate matching gifts, but together you and I have raised more than $12,000 to find a cure. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey and for having faith in me. Together we have truly, absolutely accomplished something incredible!

I began this journey with Team in Training, to raise money to help find a cure for leukemia, and to find something amazing within myself. It's been such a fantastic ride, both literally and figuratively that I am not about to let it end.

I hope to join Team in Training's volunteer ranks as a mentor soon, and I will continue to raise money for this wonderful cause. If you'd like to know how you can help, please contact me.

And until next season, I'll keep riding! Thank you!

I RIDE: In Memory Of:

- Page Stanton

- Dottie Gibson

- Becca McClendon

- Patrick Romeo

- Eddie Vann

- Hannah Klett

- Sarah Crews

- Greg Whitlock

- Syd Goldlust

- Theo Runion

- Vikki Jacobson

- Buck Bowser

- Bill Berg

I RIDE: In Honor Of:

- Kathleen Martin

- Doug Wagner

- Steve Boger

- Hillary St. Pierre

Follow along at my blog, Ride Cat, Ride!