Charity/Fund raising rides

[tatormc]

I did the Elves and More Texas Cycling Classic this past October. This was my first organized ride and it was so much fun!! Elves and More is an organization that donates bikes to underprivileged children. This ride was a time for me to set a goal for myself to go farther than I ever had. I just started riding last April so I really wanted to step it up a bit. I completed my goal and was thrilled to know that I helped contribute to this great organization.

[slinkedog]

He loved it! He was with a group from our church and they all had these yellow North Face jackets, so everyone called them the "yellow jackets." Blaine enjoyed the ride because he was in good shape, so it was pretty easy for him, and since he was usually one of the first to make it into camp every day, he got to help a lot of people set up their tents and stuff. He loves to do that kind of thing. His favorite part was going to the Alaska State Fair and getting to eat junk food.

[MM_QFC!]

Yeah,the weather for sure, was the huge difference for us on the 2000 ride. It wasn't the route at all and the camaraderie on an AIDS ride can't be beat. From Day 0 in Fairbanks where we took over the city, riders and crew packing every restaurant and buying up last minute supplies to the first rest stop of the ride in North Pole, AK - the line at the espresso stand was soooooooooo long and the woman giddily admitted that she had made her year profit-wise with our stop there (in August!) - same thing for the sole sporting goods store a day into the ride, and on Day 2, when the temps dropped and it sleeted, snowed, buses were called to help get injured and shivering riders off the road and avoid the freezing conditions. I wore cold weather and rain gear all week! It was only when we arrived in camp on the 2nd to last day 50 miles from Anchorage and the finish, that we had sunny skies, warm and dry weather. I felt so bad for those riders from Florida and other sunny, flat climates who didn't have the mountains to train on, and certainly couldn't have experienced rain and temps like that during their training!

Friends of mine that rode in 2001 had heard our reports and were glad to come back raving about their experience with dryer, warmer conditions and said that they decided to use buses for riders and cut out portions of the route that were deemed too tough and unsafe.
It was all worth it though and I think I'd do it again in a heartbeat! One other unique feature of our experience was the pioneering feeling of heading to Alaska - the ends of the earth, as it was marketed - to battle AIDS with our bodies and bikes - remarkable! The governor visited our camp 1 night and declared our tent city the 6th largest in Alaska - no matter our location! We had 1500 riders and another 1000 or so in crew and staff that year, so it was quite a group when we all got rolling!
slinkedog, it sounds like your husband had an identical awesome experience and it always makes it more meaningful for me too, when I can help others enjoy it more or get into camp safely - good for him.
Mary