Friends & Family,
I am writing to you to raise money for ERRACE (www.errace.org), a cancer charity organization that I am a part of. As you may remember, last year, to raise money for ERRACE (Everyone Ride/Run Against Cancer Everyday), I hatched the idea that I would ride my bike up Mt. Greylock, the tallest mountain in Massachusetts. I climbed Mt. Greylock repeatedly, on my bike, in early July of last year, based on the amount of money raised. In total my charity ride took me 2 days. I rode over 320 miles and climbed over 47,000 feet. It proved to be physically the toughest; the most emotionally impactful, thing I have ever done on a bike. When I crested Mt. Greylock for the final time last year I was completely drained. I lifted my weary body off the bike and sat down on the nearest rock. Beyond my control and despite those watching, I cried, proud of my accomplishment, relieved to be done, thinking of those affected by cancer in my life, my sister, a survivor of stage 3 malignant melanoma, and my father-in-law taken from us too young, by pleural mesothelioma.
On September 23rd and 24th I will repeat this challenge. I will ride my bike up Mt. Greylock in Western Massachusetts. I hope to ascend Mt. Greylock over and over until I have climbed 50,000 vertical feet -- or more!
• I will climb 2,500 vertical feet on my bike for every $150 I raise for ERRACE.org.
• My goal: to raise $4500.
• Cool, right?! Crazy or stupid?!
• I challenge you to challenge me. Help me raise money for ERRACE.org.
• Donate and make me climb the mountain one more time.
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In addition to raising money for ERRACE, I add a twist. For every 10,000 feet I climb during my ERRACE charity ride, I will personally donate $100 to the Chad William Young Foundation (www.cwyf.org). Chad Young was a talented cyclist and student who grew up in New Hampshire, raced his bike professionally for the Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team and attended the Colorado School of Mines, where he excelled in their mechanical engineering program. Chad tragically lost his life earlier this year as a result of a traumatic brain injury he sustained in a crash during the Tour of the Gila bicycle race.
Chad's passing earlier this year affected me greatly. Chad had been an ubiquitous part of the New England bike racing community; he so positively touched the lives of all those he knew. As a father, and because Chad was so young, his passing particularly struck me. The loss of someone so young, so loved, so talented, made me think of my daughter and the ragged gaping hole her (imagined) loss would leave in my life. I feel compelled to (also) use this ride to ride for the foundation in Chad's memory.
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I know I ask a lot. I have written to you the past 2 years to fundraise for ERRACE. However, while there are many charities worthy of your limited time and financial resources, to state the obvious, the needs of cancer patients have not abated. Like you, I am not a cancer doctor or scientist. I cannot directly "fight cancer," by finding treatments or cures, or by having a direct impact on the lives of cancer patients as they receive their care. Most of us are limited in the direct impact we can have on cancer and cancer patients. Yet I am sure cancer has "touched" each one of you. It is for each one of us to determine how we can still have impact. For most of us this means raising and giving money for this important cause.
Help me raise money for ERRACE.org. Challenge me to climb Mt. Greylock one more time (or whatever fraction thereof you choose to afford.)
Thank you for reading and for your generosity.
Tim