Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Endorphins = Success
Woooo so much to say!
FIRST I have reached & PASSED $2000! This was the result of donations from friends and some public fundraising I did where I set my bike up outside on a trainer with a sign that said "Won't stop until I raise $500!" This was on St. Patrick's Day, so I think everyone was in a good mood, and of course, wearing green!
Well, I actually stopped when I got to $265, after 3 hours because it was hot out, I had already finished off 3 bottles of water, and I realized that I needed some real nourishment or I was going to actually faint. (next time I'll bring some energy bars)
The public trainer event was probably the best fundraising I've done so far. Everyone who passed me was very excited about what I was doing, and it was great to see different reactions from people as they passed. Some would say "Don't die", or throw in some money and say, "I hope you make it soon!" While others would give me a few dollars, smile, and say "Keep riding". Once I reached a base, I was able to ride and talk to people very easily, and although one lady said, "I don't want you to have to talk to me--here" and she put her money in (very very kind!), there were SEVERAL people who came up and stood there chatting with me for a good 5 minutes or so.
There are so many great moments from the day. One lady had 19 month old twin boys and when she passed she gave them each a dollar to put in my bucket. After they figured out what to do with the dollars, they stood there staring at the bike, entranced. She tried to get them to say "Good Luck" but all they would say was "Bike". haha!
One guy was riding by on his bright green bike, wearing bright green shorts and a t-shirt, and an old man on a recumbent yelled at him for not wearing a helmet. The young guy instantly turned his bike around and said, "Have you donated to her yet?" The two then quarreled for a bit, which eventually resulted in both donating to me! yay! (it was pretty hilarious to watch)
There was a very nice guy sitting nearby eating his lunch, and he came by unexpectedly and had bought 2 bottles of water for me. I drank both over the next 2 hours and was very grateful to have cold water!
Several people wanted to know if I'd be back another day, and I told them Saturday I would. I'll let you know how Saturday goes ;)
EDIT: SATURDAY WAS ALSO SUCCESSFUL! I rode for 5 hours & made $429!! Though I really wanted to make it to $500 I was exhausted after 5 hours without a break. I'm really happy though, yay for $700 to B&B in one week!
I set up my bike on the paved brick area, in front of the small gardens. This location was excellent because it is across from a parking lot where people are constantly going to refill their meters during lunchtime (or just parking for lunch), between the two crosswalks which get a lot of traffic, and meets the Crescent Trail, so a decent number of bikers/runners passed by as well. In addition, the area behind the gardens is a nice outdoor seating area, so people were sitting and eating their lunches and could watch me bike (lucky them) without having me watch them, but many of them heard what I had to say and donated after they were done.
Bike Fitting
A few days ago I went down to a bike shop in Philly and got my bike fit. It was definitely worth it because prior to the bike fit I was having pain in multiple places that I did not know how to fix. Though all my problems are not gone, I now have an idea of how to fix them myself, and I can go back and have my bike tweaked if needed until the fit is absolutely perfect.
Training Rides
I've been on a few training rides since my last entry. I wasn't riding more than 20 miles at once though, because my bike fit was not right & it was not comfortable. But now I have no excuse! The night after my fitting, I went down to the Wayne cycle shop to meet other riders at 6pm and ride till 7:30pm. This first ride was described as an "intro" and there were 4 of us--the shop manager, one guy who showed up for the fast ride but nobody else was there, so he went on the intro ride, another guy who just bought a new bike, and me.
Well the intro ride was kinda fast, and in the beginning we were averaging 18mph and I DIED going up hills (literally). We got to the top of a hill, maybe 15 minutes into the ride, I was panting out of breath, and I said "I can turn around, this is too fast for me". They asked if I knew how to get home, which I didn't, so they wouldn't let me leave, and from that point on the pace was a lot slower (thank goodness) and they waited for me at the top of hills.
In the end, the ride felt great--it must have been all those endorphins--and though we only rode 15 miles, I was exhausted. That night I was sleeping by 9:30 pm.
FIRST I have reached & PASSED $2000! This was the result of donations from friends and some public fundraising I did where I set my bike up outside on a trainer with a sign that said "Won't stop until I raise $500!" This was on St. Patrick's Day, so I think everyone was in a good mood, and of course, wearing green!
Well, I actually stopped when I got to $265, after 3 hours because it was hot out, I had already finished off 3 bottles of water, and I realized that I needed some real nourishment or I was going to actually faint. (next time I'll bring some energy bars)
The public trainer event was probably the best fundraising I've done so far. Everyone who passed me was very excited about what I was doing, and it was great to see different reactions from people as they passed. Some would say "Don't die", or throw in some money and say, "I hope you make it soon!" While others would give me a few dollars, smile, and say "Keep riding". Once I reached a base, I was able to ride and talk to people very easily, and although one lady said, "I don't want you to have to talk to me--here" and she put her money in (very very kind!), there were SEVERAL people who came up and stood there chatting with me for a good 5 minutes or so.
There are so many great moments from the day. One lady had 19 month old twin boys and when she passed she gave them each a dollar to put in my bucket. After they figured out what to do with the dollars, they stood there staring at the bike, entranced. She tried to get them to say "Good Luck" but all they would say was "Bike". haha!
One guy was riding by on his bright green bike, wearing bright green shorts and a t-shirt, and an old man on a recumbent yelled at him for not wearing a helmet. The young guy instantly turned his bike around and said, "Have you donated to her yet?" The two then quarreled for a bit, which eventually resulted in both donating to me! yay! (it was pretty hilarious to watch)
There was a very nice guy sitting nearby eating his lunch, and he came by unexpectedly and had bought 2 bottles of water for me. I drank both over the next 2 hours and was very grateful to have cold water!
Several people wanted to know if I'd be back another day, and I told them Saturday I would. I'll let you know how Saturday goes ;)
EDIT: SATURDAY WAS ALSO SUCCESSFUL! I rode for 5 hours & made $429!! Though I really wanted to make it to $500 I was exhausted after 5 hours without a break. I'm really happy though, yay for $700 to B&B in one week!
 |
| Where I set up my bike on St. Patrick's Day |
Bike Fitting
A few days ago I went down to a bike shop in Philly and got my bike fit. It was definitely worth it because prior to the bike fit I was having pain in multiple places that I did not know how to fix. Though all my problems are not gone, I now have an idea of how to fix them myself, and I can go back and have my bike tweaked if needed until the fit is absolutely perfect.
Training Rides
I've been on a few training rides since my last entry. I wasn't riding more than 20 miles at once though, because my bike fit was not right & it was not comfortable. But now I have no excuse! The night after my fitting, I went down to the Wayne cycle shop to meet other riders at 6pm and ride till 7:30pm. This first ride was described as an "intro" and there were 4 of us--the shop manager, one guy who showed up for the fast ride but nobody else was there, so he went on the intro ride, another guy who just bought a new bike, and me.
Well the intro ride was kinda fast, and in the beginning we were averaging 18mph and I DIED going up hills (literally). We got to the top of a hill, maybe 15 minutes into the ride, I was panting out of breath, and I said "I can turn around, this is too fast for me". They asked if I knew how to get home, which I didn't, so they wouldn't let me leave, and from that point on the pace was a lot slower (thank goodness) and they waited for me at the top of hills.
In the end, the ride felt great--it must have been all those endorphins--and though we only rode 15 miles, I was exhausted. That night I was sleeping by 9:30 pm.
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