There are people in this world who like to invest their time and money in buying things. Things for the house, or things to wear, or things to drive, or things to hang on the wall. I love buying things as much as the next person: I love my golf clubs, and my pink bicycle, and my MacBook and iPod and my running shoes. I also really love our new comfy couch and awesome office furniture. Did I mention that I love my paper shredder? I also love to buy luggage and backpacks. So yeah, I like having cool things that serve a functional purpose.
But I also love having great experiences. These are intangible things that are fleeting: going to a concert, running in a race, taking a trip. At the end of the experience, all you have are your memories of the experience and maybe some decent photos. I happen to believe that these memories count for a lot in life.
When I am old and grey, sitting in my rocking chair on the front porch, I want to have good memories of great times. If my memory holds up that long, I want to remember back to the epic adventures that I had throughout my life, adventures that I shared with the people that I love and care about.
Which is why I have made some important decisions this week, some of which I’ll need your help with:
1. I’m going to ride my bicycle 620 miles from San Francisco to San Diego in October
2. I’ve committed to raising $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation
3. I’m going to organize and host a golf tournament – as a fundraiser
Yes, all three of these decisions are related. Let’s start with the bike ride.
A friend of mine celebrated his 40th birthday by riding his bike from Canada to Mexico. He took a month to do it. I always thought that sounded like a fun adventure, but I can’t figure out how to take a month off to do that right now. And 30 days is a LONG TIME on a bicycle. However, I do like the idea of planning a memorable adventure to celebrate a birthday – somehow that just seems appropriate.
I first heard about this ride last year after another friend completed this ride last year – she described it as one of the most memorable experiences of her life. When I researched more about this, I realized it was perfect for me, because (1) It’s a challenging bike ride, which will require significant training, (2) It’s a beautiful and scenic ride, all along the California coastline, and (3) It supports an organization and cause that is totally aligned to things I truly believe in. The ride takes place over seven days – we start on October 15 in San Francisco, and finish on October 21 in San Diego. Just 2 days before my birthday!
The bike ride is a fundraiser for The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). In case you’re not familiar with CAF, they provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics. CAF believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life. This organization enables people with physical challenges to participate and compete in the sports the rest of us take for granted. What I love about their mission is that they are NOT just helping people with disabilities live typical, ordinary lives. They are actually helping the challenged athletes become remarkable competitive athletes. Athletes who do marathons and Ironmans and compete in races around the world. These are not people who consider themselves "victims" - these are people who lost a limb and then decide to compete in a marathon or a bike race. These are people who are setting an example for everyone about what it means to live with courage and hope.
I am particularly inspired by their program “Operation Rebound” which provides sports opportunities and support to our troops and veterans of any branch of service and first responders who have served honorably and have suffered permanent physical injuries. They award grants to help the veterans with event travel, lodging, entry fees, training and equipment. You can read some amazing stories about these extraordinary veterans here:
Each year, CAF organizes this bike ride as a fundraiser - called the Million Dollar Challenge (MDC). They limit the ride to 100 participants, each of whom agree to raise $10,000 for CAF. This means that I actually have three ambitious activities ahead of me this year:
Step 1: Figure out how to raise $10,000
Step 2: Do all the necessary bike training to prepare for a long and hilly bike ride
Step 3: Actually finish the 620 mile bike ride
Which brings me to the immediate task I now have in front of me: organizing a charity golf tournament in order to help raise money for this event. Luckily, I know people who know people, and I’ve already been able to confirm a date and location for the golf tournament: Saturday, May 7 at Oro Valley Country Club. The registration fee will be $100 per person, and that includes golf, cart, and lunch. It’s really an awesome deal on one of the MOST beautiful golf courses in Tucson.
So now you are probably all inspired and you want to know what you can do to help. Right? Here’s what I need right now:
* Golfers. My goal is to register 100 golfers for the tournament. If you want to play, just let me know, I’ll start collecting registrations soon. Even better would be if you recruit a group of 4 of your friends to play on a team.
* Sponsors. If you would like to donate raffle prizes for the tournament, or your business would like to help sponsor the event, just let me know. I’m open to all suggestions about sponsorship.
* Volunteers. I’ll need 3 or 4 people to help with registrations on the morning of May 7, from 7:00 am to 9:00 am.
* If you have no interest in golfing, or sponsoring a golf tournament, but you just want to contribute, that’s great too! Here is my personal fundraising page, where you can make your tax deductible donation online:
Now that all the logistics are out of the way, you might still be wondering why I’m going to all this effort. I mean really, why not just enjoy 2011 from the comfort of my new couch? Why make such a big time commitment to fundraising and training and cycling?
Because my theme for this year is “Love, Act, Publish” and this totally aligns with that theme. Now that I’m finished with Ironman triathlons, I’m done with graduate school, and I’m finally moved into this house, well, I have some choices in front of me. I can choose how to spend my free time, and what to organize my time around. The year ahead is still sort of a blank slate, and I want this year to be about things I love. I love riding my bike, I love inspiring people, and I love helping people see the connection between physical health and psychological well being. This bike ride connects all three of those things.
As for the “publish” part of the year? Well of course I also plan to write about this epic adventure. I’m not just going to write about my own personal experiences, I also want to write about the challenged athletes. I intend to write and publish profiles about people who are inspiring, people who exemplify determination and grit and grace. I have a lot of ideas for how I can write about this project, and I’m really excited about all the possibilities.
When I look back on 2011, I don’t want this to be the year when I sat on the couch. I want to look back on this year and be proud of what I accomplished and I want to savor some amazing memories. I think I’m off to a good start.
Now tell me, what will you look back on and remember about 2011?
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