Use Your Strengths

This week has been a peculiar week for me. I feel very fortunate in my life to have 4 beautiful, healthy, thriving kids, a wonderful husband and positively super job and the list goes on and on. My life isn't perfect, by no sense of the imagination (I'd like to meet someone who does have the perfect life), but in reality I have it pretty darn good. I get the opportunity to meet new people everyday and on the best of days I get to spend at least a few minutes getting to know them a little better. As a matter of fact, you may be one of those people that I got to spend time with, on the bike or in the shop. Each person I meet leaves some sort of an impact on me, at times I have to sit back and really think or reflect about it.

Now, what makes this week different for me is that I came in contact with 3 people in 3 days who have been affected by breast cancer. For me that is an astounding number. The first is a friend, who lost one of her dear friends this week to breast cancer. This lady was a cyclist, a wife and most of all a mother of two young children. The next is an acquaintance from my kids' school, whose sister was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago and just started chemo this week. Again, she is a mother of young children. The last is a dear friend of mine who thankfully found out this morning that she did not have breast cancer, after a very long few days of waiting for test results to come back. Once again she is a mother of a young child and a fellow cyclist. So I have spent time each day reflecting on these people and what they have been through and what they will continue to endure in the future ahead. My heart and my prayers go out to each family as they deal with their own struggles. But what else can I do to help, I'm only one person? Ahhh, I'm one person with a voice who can beg and plead for everyone else to use their voice and their strength to help.

What I ask is that you use your strength as a cyclist to help a good cause, support a charity that speaks to your heart. I personally have two, Breast Cancer Awareness and Research and the MS Society. I can't do much, but I can sign up for that charity ride and pay my $35 entrance fee, I can ask a friend to join me on that ride, now that's $70 going toward a charity. I know that my $35 when combined with 500 more people paying $35, can and will make a difference. I sit here asking you to do the same, sign up to ride, pay your fee, maybe even do some fundraising and then go out and have fun on your ride. You may choose a ride to prevent child abuse, to help end hunger, to help fight cancer, whatever your cause, just sign up and ride.

See, I told you it was really simple, no complicated training formulas here. Just you and your bike making a difference, one pedal stroke at a time.

Here are a few websites with good info:

www.komen.org
www.nationalmssociety.org
www.bcrfcure.org
www.teamintraining.org