I am sitting here pondering the beginning of my voyage in being physically fit, raising money for charity, etc. I had almost forgotten about riding my bike for the American Diabetes Association when I was a kid. It started when I found out about a friend at school having juvenile diabetes (now called type 1) I researched this at the library because yes this was in the days before Internet and one had to go to the library to do research (unless you were one of the lucky families that owned an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica). I found out all the things she had to do just to live a "normal" life and all the things she had to abstain from. This was also back in the days before pumps and testing meters and such.
I think I did my first ride when I was nine or ten. I rode 18 miles to raise money for ADA. I had to go door to door asking for pledges and then I had to go back and collect my money when I was done. One poor guy pledged $5/ mile. I asked him if he just meant to pledge a flat $5.00. He said no he wanted to pledge per mile. I guess he figured since i was only 10 I would only be able to ride a couple of miles. he was a bit taken aback when I told him he owed $90, but, he did honor his word & pay. I've long since given up my bike for running shoes. It is after all much cheaper and easier to be a runner than a cyclist. Although I'm sure some one could argue against that. What ever you do be it run, walk bike or swim, Id encourage you to find out if your favorite not-for-profit has any kind of program that you can support through your preferred means of physical fitness. Putting hte two together is a win-win combination.
I now have two good friends battling leukemia. I have been wanting to get back into running since Elias was born. So this seemed to be the perfect fit. I could help raise money & awareness and also get some great mentoring, encouragement and training to get me back into road running.
