Curious

[Medianox]

I was wondering...being pretty new in the world of cycling, organized rides and charity events...have any of you heard of or participated in anything that was focused on autism or autism awareness? I did a search and found a few but nothing at all in my region (northern California). I'm hoping there is something out there that I could either ride in or at least get a jersey from to wear on other rides to get the word out. My youngest son is mildly autistic and loves bikes-my goal is to eventually do family rides with him as a way to encourage his social skills and being active. He is a great inspiration to me and is a good example that autism has many faces.
Can anyone point me in the right direction? As I said I did a search but didn't come up with much (I'll keep looking) and I'm sure its going to come down to making some phone calls too-maybe organizers still have some leftover jerseys around that I could pick up and at least wear them whenever I am out riding.

[Thorn]

Probably no jerseys (not big in this neck of the woods), but maybe left over T-shrits.

http://www.wisconsinbiking.com/ridel...fm?eventID=232

Put on by http://www.angelautismnetwork.org/

[Medianox]

Thanks Thorn! I'll look into them

[rubywagon]

Hi there! My oldest son has Aspergers Syndrome and SPD. I just did a google search and found this jersey. It is pretty cute.

http://www.tacanow.org/store/product...roductid=16491

[Medianox]

Greenbeanvw-
Thanks a ton! I like that one a lot (my bike is red an black-coincidence?-lol)!!
Though right now I don't have the $$$ for the jersey, I sure will get one in a week or two!
Thanks again!!!!

[sfa]

My son is autistic and last year I participated in two events--one super-sprint triathlon to raise funds for Autism Speaks and the Ride On for Autism Research (ROAR) to support Kennedy Krieger. Both were held in my neck of the woods, but I'd be surprised if you didn't have something in your area.

The ROAR event has an option for people who can't be there, and if you sign up for it you get a great shirt--you can sleep in for autism research and get a SNORE shirt. http://www.roar.kennedykrieger.org/Page.aspx?pid=206

The ROAR event was a lot of fun--lots of families out on the road, some even doing the longer distances.

You might check out the group Train 4 Autism : http://www.train4autism.org/site/app...zGrF&b=4293363 I've never heard of them before and am not sure how they work, but they have multiple chapters in California and might be able to get you hooked up with something in your area.

Sarah

[Medianox]

sfa: Those are great links-Thanks! I will be looking into them for sure.
I will be keeping my eyes open for events in my area too, I think part of the problem was that they were under my radar before since I wasn't into cycing they didn't register with me. You can find just about anything here in Northern California...I bet I havent really looked hard enough.
Congrats on the triathalon and bike ride too!

[beccaB]

My oldest daughter has Aspbergers(sp?) She is a sophomore and a half at a university and is on the deans list! How I worried about her when she was young. Now she's the least of my worries, it's the other kids I still have at home.Incidentally, and maybe this is for another thread, but she has lost 39 pounds on the Curves weight management plan. I am so proud of that kid. Her marching band did the thriller dance for their halftime show and she is probably the least coordinated with her "disability". Quite of few of her classmates refused to learn the routine out of some sort of snobbishness.But my daughter worked really hard at it, and all her moves were totally in sync with the other students out on the field. I stood up and shouted "YOU GO GIRL!"

[shootingstar]

My oldest daughter has Aspbergers(sp?) She is a sophomore and a half at a university and is on the deans list! How I worried about her when she was young. Now she's the least of my worries, it's the other kids I still have at home.Incidentally, and maybe this is for another thread, but she has lost 39 pounds on the Curves weight management plan. I am so proud of that kid. Her marching band did the thriller dance for their halftime show and she is probably the least coordinated with her "disability". Quite of few of her classmates refused to learn the routine out of some sort of snobbishness.But my daughter worked really hard at it, and all her moves were totally in sync with the other students out on the field. I stood up and shouted "YOU GO GIRL!"

That's fab for your daughter.

[owlice]

Sarah, thanks for the links! My son attended Kennedy Krieger for three years before he was mainstreamed in 8th grade; I had no idea they had such a fundraiser, and I love the SNORE option!

How was the route? I'm wondering specifically about hills and traffic. I'm interested in doing this ride next year.

[sfa]

The ROAR route was beautiful. It starts at Oregon Ridge park in northern Baltimore County and went through rural roads with rolling hills and not much traffic (helped that it was early morning!). I did the 25 mile route and there was only one bad hill that a LOT of people walked up, but it was just a very short stretch. The rest was easily manageable. There was some traffic on the first few miles of the route (along Shawan/Tufton roads, if you're familiar with the area) but next to nothing for the rest of it.

I think they vary the routes from year to year, but it always stays roughly in the same area, so it's always going to be rolling hills with occasional short steep climbs out of valleys.

Sarah