This past week was an epic one for me. I surpassed my fundraising minimum on Thursday, and we had our last training session before Tahoe on Saturday.

Reaching my fundraising goal:

On Monday Andrew Catalon, the sportscaster from News Channel 13, did a story on my training for the century ride in memory of Andrew and Kathleen. I swear Andrew and Kathleen were looking out for me throughout the entire story because it had been raining all day and then stopped for the 45 minutes of taping we did. As soon as Andrew and I had gotten back into our cars, however, it began to pour again.

There was an amazing outpouring of support following the story. Going into the filming and airing of the story I still had $745 to raise. After that however, donations kept coming in -- some from individuals I knew, some from complete strangers. It was a very touching experience for me because the individuals who made the donations willingly told me their memories of Andrew and Kathleen, or told me about the effect cancer has had on their life. It definitely put a new level of purpose behind what I am doing.

Here is the link to the story Andrew Catalon did if you have yet to see it:

http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S2115810.shtml?cat=256

The Last Ride

As I mentioned before, we had our last long ride before Tahoe this past Saturday. The ride was 77 miles long and I was in good spirits for all 77 miles of it. I must admit though, my nerves began to sink in as soon as I finished the ride. There is a level of uncertainty and unknown that comes with riding in Tahoe since I have never been out West, and I have never done a century ride before. This all leaves me wondering things like: How steep are the climbs? How long are the climbs? and Am I truly ready for the event?

I have been able to look at an elevation map of the course which has given me some insight into the ride, but I can't help but to be nervous :

http://www.bikethewest.com/AMBBR/AMBR_cartography_09.jpg

All in all, I am super excited for Tahoe and I am 100% up for the challenge. I would never have been able to get this far without your support though so THANK YOU everyone for your donations and for your encouragement!

21 days until the big ride!

Riding has been going GREAT. I kicked off this past week by going for a short 5 1/2 mile ride in the morning before work. I did a number of laps around my elementary school and tried to increase my speed everytime I reached the back corner of the school. It was great riding there because so many memories of Andrew and Kathleen came flooding back.

My mom and I went for a walk Tuesday night and we did a lap around the school then too. We stopped at the tree that was planted in memory of Andrew and it was amazing to see how much it had grown since it was first planted in 2000. I went into the school to see if they still had the "Andrew Towne Spirit Award" hanging in the entrance. Sure enough, it was there and I was actually quite floored upon seeing it. There was a picture I had not seen of Andrew in a while, on the top of the plaque-- He had a bald head from treatment, and the warmest, friendliest smile on his face. It brought up a great deal of emotion in me because that picture captured 100% of Andrew's personality. Oh how I have missed that smile.

After sitting and staring at the award for a little while, I brought my mom into the cafeteria of the elementary school. Bordering the right side of the cafeteria, above the windows and doors, were drawings my class had done about what we wanted to be when we grew up. The drawings ranged from Veterinarians, to Scuba divers, to Rockstars. It was bitter-sweet to see the border again because it made me think about how my two friends never had the chance to become a rock star or a pilot or a famous athlete. Upon thinking about it a little longer though, I realized that they became even more than any of those professions-- they became heros.

Wednesday, I rode with Yossi's Posse in Delmar, followed by a speed interval workout on Thursday around the State Campus loop in Albany. Both rides went pretty well and helped me work a great deal on my technique.... the tippy toes are still there but I think I am slowly beginning to defeat them . Saturday, instead of riding with the herd I did a 40 mile ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike trail/ Erie canalway trail--- I finished up around noon and took my bike into the shop for a tune-up since Tahoe is right around the corner. It truly is amazing how time flies. When I had signed up for this event it felt like it was years away-- now, after 4 months of training it is only 21 days away!

The Ride

Today's ride was more of a mental challenge for me, than a physical one. This morning, when my alarm went off, I was still exhausted from the week and struggled to get out of the bed. The beginning of the ride started off fine, but Jillian, Tara and I got lost which added an extra mile or two onto the already long ride. I think the whole getting lost, and already being in a crummy mood, got me pretty discouraged because there were multiple times I considered quitting. Luckily though, my mind wouldn't let my body give up. It started raining just before our last Stewart's rest stop, but we weren't too far away from the stop when the downpour began. Once the rain let up, we biked another 10 miles and ended up back at the Malta Park and Ride.

All in all, I don't think I was mentally prepared for this ride. It was supposed to be a 65 mile ride and that's what I went into the ride thinking it was going to be... in reality though- the ride was lengthened to 69 miles + getting lost. Despite all of these unforseen things happening, I am extremely proud of myself for pushing through and completing this ride. If I had not had Kathleen and Andrew in the back of my head the whole time, I guarantee I would have had a harder time finishing it. On top of completing this ride, I got much better at unclipping one foot, instead of both, when coming to a stop... I did tip over a few times but hey! I'm getting there. I have officially been dubbed ' tippy toes' because I still don't ride with my heels entirely down but that is something that will come with practice.

Fundraising

I have finally broken the $3,000 mark thanks to everyone's support. I also have just sent a batch of checks into the LLS offices so those should be processed, and added in shortly as well. When all is said in done, I should have about $3,605 to date. For my last fundraisers, I think I will be having a bake sale at St. Peter's Hospital, a Garage sale (if needed), and some media coverage from News Channel 13's Andrew Catalon.

Thank you to everyone for your continuous support--- just because you are not biking 100 miles, does not mean your contributions are going unnoticed. You are making a world of difference.

Andrew Towne

Our First Grade Friendship:

Andrew and I were good friends in the first grade and we both had class with a teacher named Mrs. Chesterfield. For some reason, this teacher had the ability to terrify some kids even though she was nice. Perhaps it was her tone of voice or her appearance, but either way Andrew would more times than not, lose it in that class. Mrs. Chesterfield would call on Andrew or tell Andrew to do something and he would essentially freeze and then begin to cry. I sat across the room from Andrew, and when he began to cry, it became routine for me to crawl over to his desk and pat his back until he had calmed down. This happened again, and again, and again, until FINALLY we were given assigned seats next to one another.

Play time:

To this day there are certain things I associate with Andrew-- things like the Miami Dolphins, and Scooby Doo. I remember always playing Power Rangers with Andrew at recess. Andrew was always the indestructible Power Ranger... the hero to all of the damsel's in distress. Like any other children, both Andrew and I were easily amused and i can still remember running around the pool in his backyard-- his dog chasing us, us chasing the dog. We would carry on, running in circles, for minutes at a time until finally we were too dizzy and/or exhausted to go on.

Kathleen Sullivan

Kathleen and I first became friends at Forts Ferry and then we became even better friends through our brothers who played on the same baseball team. We would explore the North Colonie Baseball fields and would often times, devote entire games to sneaking up to the concession stand to fill up on Candy. I was a floater between groups in elementary school and she was the one person who always welcomed me with open arms.

Cape Cod:

One year, Kathleen came with my family and I to Cape Cod. I remember we were both VERY bored one day when we were on vacation, and we had just gone to the candy store where we bought a ton of gummy sharks. To ease our boredom Kathleen and I did what came natural; we spent an entire afternoon biting off the heads/ tails of the gummy sharks and throwing them at the ceiling in attempts to get the piece of candy to stick. It only actually stuck 2 or 3 times to the ceiling, but boy were we elated when it did.

Hip Hop:

Maybe you could call this an identity crisis... who knows. I forget what year it was-- jr. high I think- but Kathleen, Kristen, and myself decided to sign up for hip hop dance classes. We had watched the movie "Save the last dance" and we yearned to be good dancers despite the fact that we were relatively uncoordinated, barely teenage girls. We tried to discover our inner grace and poise & I can remember dying laughing at the pictures of us in our hip-hop dance recital costumes. Kathleen and I both agreed that we looked like gorillas.... our shoulders were hunched over, our stomachs were hanging out... all in all-- VERY unflattering. I will never regret trying out hip hop though because there were so many amazing moments spent with Kathleen goofing off in the all too serious dance studio.

Andrew and Kathleen were and continue to be a huge part of my life. They had a profound impact on anyone whose life they entered, and were two of the most accepting individuals I have ever met. These memories are what keep me going on the long rides where I don't think I can go much further, these memories are what keep me going up the steep hills where I'm about to tip over and fall off my bike b/c my momentum has slowed so much. Always and forever will they be carried in my heart; my strength.

Up until now, my longest ride was 45 miles but Saturday I pushed myself a bit further and had a quite successful 60 mile ride with the Herd. Boy was this ride hilly. Around mile 10 I was introduced to the notorious George Thompson climb which definitely took a lot of energy out of me. This was the steepest climb of the day and had every cyclist, no matter how in-shape and experienced, huffing and puffing by the time they reached the top. Luckily, Melissa, who was sagging, was there to cheer us on at the top of the hill telling us to "spit on George when we finished the climb."

I spent most of the ride in the middle of the group on my own but I didn't mind that at all. I had plenty of time to work on getting used to changing gears, to work on my form and to work on my technique which was very helpful. It was nice being on my own because I did not put any additional pressure on myself to keep up with the pack so I literally just kept trucking along at my own pace.

All in all it was a great ride and I was nothing but comfortable the whole way through. The century ride is one month away now and being able to complete this ride and feel like I could push myself to go further after I had finished was a great feeling and is only a good sign.

As far as reaching my fundraising goal, I am almost there! I have some checks to send in to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and that should bump my funds raised to $3,340. Only $1,160 left to go!

A big thanks to everyone's continuous support and donations.

The big day is almost here!! :)