Supporting a Cause Leads to Reconnecting with Friends

This year I signed up to participate in a fund raiser associated with a fitness challenge. This is the first time I've ever done something like this. The event is Cycle For Courage, where volunteers participate in group indoor cycling to raise money and community awareness for Camp Good Days. I originally committed to do 5 hours on a stationary bike, and if I raised over $600, then I'd bump it up to 6 hours. As of this writing, I've raised $1,454! Thanks everyone!!

I'll be doing my time on the bike at Wright Fitness & Cycling in Ithaca, NY on February 8th from 7am to 1pm if you'd like to come cheer on all the riders!


For More Good Days, and Making Good Days Great

Camp Good Days is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults, and families whose lives have been touched by cancer. They do this by creating summer camping experiences and hosting year-round activities.

Camp Good Days was founded over 30 years ago by Gary Mervis to provide a residential camping program for his daughter, Teddi Mervis, and 62 other children with cancer from Upstate New York. It has now grown to become one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world. Camp Good Days maintains it's own recreational facility, located on the shores of Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York, where the residential camping programs take place.

A Good Days view of Keuka Lake


An unexpected consequence of sending out a ton of emails asking for a contribution is that I was able to reconnect to a dozens of old friends! People who I hadn't spoken to in years not only contributed to the cause, be reached out to find out what's new, and share what's new with them. It also raised awareness for a great organization doing good things.

If you'd like to contribute to the ride, please click here. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the ride! The kids thank you, my legs won't.

------ addendum ------

Between my page and Kristin's, we ended up raising $2,159! Thanks everyone!

Here's the ride stats: 6 hours, 110 km, 4811 calories. I was all set to reach and beat that goal of 100 miles - until the unthinkable happened: I found out the bikes were in kilometers!! I have been using these bikes for 5 years, and the whole time I thought they were calibrated in miles! I made a comment when I passed the 67 mark around 4 hours and said "I'm going to make it to 100 miles", to which the class instructor April remarked, "The bikes are in kilometers". 110 kilometers will have to do!

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