First off, here are the ride stats:
- Total Miles Ridden: 420 miles
- Total Elevation: 18,276 ft
- Total Dollars Raised: $20,574
While we have blown past our original fundraising goal, we are still the #2 fundraiser. So if you haven't donated, please consider making a donation (and make sure you check the employer match option): http://stayclassy.org/naveen
What an amazing journey this truly has been. When Crystal and I first decided that I would ride in PAA this year, we knew it would require a lot of time investment from both of us, training time on the bike, time at home with the kiddos for Crystal, and time for all our efforts to fundraise. And man has it been worth it.
First off, we've raised over $20K for OMS research and hopefully brought some attention and awareness to the rarity and severity of this disease. Being able to spread Keira's story with other riders who have kids or nephews going through cancer treatment, or dealing with ongoing complications, helps draw some connections and commonalities with how cancer can manifest itself in very different ways. Sometimes, cancer doesn't end with cancer, and OMS is one example of this. We are well on our way to our $50K goal for an OMS Research grant and in the coming months and year, we will work to raise the remaining funds and also start working with the medical and research community to encourage them to prepare research proposals in the coming year.
The cycling, training, and PAA experience has also been an amazing adventure to be a part of. When I was doing all the training rides, I had a lot of solo time on the saddle and I thought a lot about how far we have come as a family and community since Keira's original diagnosis. Two years ago, it felt like so much darkness surrounded our lives, but Keira's spirit and spunk has lit the way out of this darkness and really shown us all how we can all come together to do something positive about this disease. The best quote that sums up how we all now look at this disease is one from Lance:
"Make an obstacle an opportunity, make a negative a positive"
Since we left Boston about a week ago, the ride itself has been filled with many ups and downs. We rode through rain for all but 2 days, encountered food poisoning, crashes, illnesses, but all of this served as a symbolic reminder of what our kids have to go through that are battling diseases like cancer and OMS. You just get up and keep trucking forward. At the end of each day, no matter how glorious or challenging it was, this spirit filled the dinner table as many of us dads have been there personally to witness that whatever we went through on the road, was nothing compared to what our kids have already endured.
We would all keep a pretty light-hearted atmosphere both on and off the ride, filled with lots of joking, lots of nicknaming, lots of fun challenges for hill tops and road signs, and a whole lot of camaraderie. But every morning, we would be reminded of why we were out here doing what we were doing, as we made a video dedication to a child currently fighting cancer or the after-effects of it. One of my proudest moments was to make a ride dedication to Keira on the 2 year milestone of her diagnosis.
I also want to recognize how amazing of a cycling experience this has been, beyond my wildest expectations. First off, we are getting pro-level treatment from pro companies like SRAM, Zipp, Giro, Capo and others who are donating time and equipment to help bring this together, and from pro-level riders and crew who are leading us down the road. This includes Butch Balzano, head of SRAM Neutral Race Support; Chad Contreras and Sara Jarrel, SRAM pro mechanics and bike sages; Camile and Bill, our soigners; and our ride leader and manager Chad Moore (pro cyclist and cycling company founder) and co-ride leader and soigner Michael Robson (CO state cyclo-cross champion, editor for Velo News, Moots team rider, and general renaissance man).
Here's a typical breakdown of the day on the road:
Breakfast at 6am or 7am. Then back up to our rooms to get into cycling kits and pack up
Pre-ride meetup at 8am or 9am - review the route and pick up bikes and do our video dedication
Roll out - around 8:30am or 9:30am
On the road we had Chad at the front and Michael at the back and we would keep a tight peloton pretty much the whole time. Two SRAM cars would rotate supporting the pack doing route recon in front, and blocking traffic from the back. Ride leaders and SRAM cars would be in constant radio contact, calling out any mechanicals, flats, route deviations and rest stops. If you got a flat, the SRAM car would just swap out your tire with a new one. If you had drivetrain issues, they had a spare bike to get you on. Chad or Michael (or one of the stronger riders) would help pace you back up to the group. It really felt like I was on a pro tour, pretty amazing.
Ride end - between 2:30pm and 5pm depending on the day. When the ride finished, we would drop off our bikes and the SRAM mechanics would go to work on washing, fixing and tuning bikes, every night!
Our soigners would have already checked us into hotels, our bags would be ready and we just had to pick them up, check into our rooms, shower, and get ready for massages (yes massages, every day!). As cushy as this sounds, it does have therapeutic value and helps old dudes like me recover for the next day's ride.
Dinner - around 6pm - we would typically have dinner and social time to update blogs, call family, talk about the day's adventures and generally get to know one another and our stories of what brought us here.
Bed Time - around 10pm
Also, Megan and Raul from Pablove were amazing in coordinating all the activities, hotels, logistics, stops, hospital visits, food changes, dinners and bringing it all together to produce a world class experience.
And I think that is why this ride has attracted several people who have simply been inspired by this crew of people and the mission of Pablove, those that haven't directly been impacted by childhood cancer but who feel this experience resonate deep within them. I got to room with Wes McWhorter who found out about Pablove through New Orleans connections, heard about organization, and got inspired to ride. He is a big bike guy in New Orleans and this is now his second year doing PAA, and I'm thankful that people like him feel the call to support children and that PAA provides a vehicle to do something about it.
After spending a week on the road with such a cool crew, doing cool things for a great cause, I'm saddened to be leaving this amazing experience and all the friends I've made, but am heartened that I will be on this ride again next year and am ready to inspire others (including Crystal!) to participate. To any of my friends who ride bikes, have done events like this or race on amateur/semi-pro teams, nothing compares to this experience...nothing.
So with that, I leave you with this video that captures the essence of what we're doing out here.