Dan mentioned this a few weeks ( months?) ago, but we signed up for a 100 km bike ride from Ottawa to Merrickville.
I’ve never ridden 100 kms in one ride. I might not have done it in 3+ rides. Cycling is not my sport. Not even close. My bum is very, very scared.
But when Dan mentioned his work was putting a team together, I jumped at the chance. A few hours on a bike? Awesome. A few hours spent with Dan doing something fun that we’ve never done before? Why not? A few hours to do my part in the fight against cancer? Where do I sign?
Cancer. The word itself strikes a myriad of emotions in any of us who have been touched by it. Sadness, grief, anger. But also hope. A hope that one day the people we love will not be taken from us after a battle with cancer. A hope that our children won’t feel the same pain when a parent, an aunt, an uncle, a sister, a brother, a grandparent or a friend receives a devastating diagnosis. A hope that cancer will be stopped dead in its tracks.
I have lost, but I have hope. And if hopping on my bike to ride 100 kms can do anything, anything at all, to help that fight along, I’m in.
Not everyone can hop on a bike, whether they desperately want to or not. But everyone can make a difference. And this year, this time, maybe that small difference can be in the form of a small (or big!) donation in support of Dan or I. (We’re competing, in case you hadn’t heard).
Each rider is asked to raise $1500. Dan and I have a few supporters, but not enough. Nowhere close. I, for one, am terrible at asking. I don’t like to bother people. But I’m asking now. Please, if you can, help us meet our goal of $1500 each. Every dollar gets us that much closer and, more importantly, could be the dollar that funds finding a cure. Just imagine…
No matter how big or how small…we thank you in advance for being so generous.