As I depart on this adventure I want to take just a moment to thank all of you that have donated your time, money and emotional support; without any of that, this would just be a really long bike race with a promising title.
I have had a lot of people ask me why I am doing this since I first made it official in August and to be honest with you, I wasn’t entirely sure what the force behind all this was either. I just remember leaving at 11:30am on a beautiful day off work on my bike and arriving back at my apartment at 4:00pm with a departure date for a large undertaking. It took me a few weeks of a lot of people asking me what I was thinking before I truly understood why it was that I wanted to do this. The answer is simple; I felt helpless.
There are people in the world that I swear we are just destined to meet, to care about, and to protect. I met an amazing family when I left home for college and was privileged enough to be a part of gatherings and holidays, and eventually their home just this past year. Unfortunately, like so many other families, cancer no longer was some abstract fear but instead a face paced reality of decisions and emotions. I felt the impact of it but only in the sense that I could not protect these people from the destructive path cancer can take. I could only offer small services which felt so foolish in comparison to what I would have given anything to fix. I was awed by their fortitude and the ability to resurrect strength in the most difficult times.
With all that being said, this is not the first time I saw cancer up close, and it never got easier to watch. Sometimes I wonder why the person battling can be the strongest and sometimes I wonder why the most defeating odds get trumped time and time again with a medicine that appears to be fueled by determination and strength that most people lack with the seasonal head cold.
I’ve lived a pretty privileged life, although accident prone (those of you that know me personally might feel this is an understatement), I have lived a pretty healthy life. People keep asking me why I am doing this, some ask it with a tone of doubt, some with support, and some with no understanding as to why I would care to take 2 weeks off school and work (and say goodbye to my bed and shower) and raise money for something that doesn’t directly benefit me. As I stated before it’s because I feel helpless, because I can’t fix it for the people that suffer, but more importantly, I’m doing it because I can. I still have been given a gift of health and I’m doing something to help those that can’t do this. I’m giving those in my life that need a reason to donate, a reason, and I’m reminding those that want to do something to help out the greater good of mankind to get going and quit wasting time. We are all capable of amazing things, sometimes we just need to put our own needs and comforts aside to help those that need it most.
I want to thank a few people extensively for the support they have provided.
First of all, thank you to the Lindley and Pflugrath family for your support with this ride and everything else. Your family has taught me a lot in 4 years and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Second, thank you to Maurice and Marty Shupe and my parents in Scottsdale, Arizona for putting together a raffle to benefit our ride. Maurice and Marty contributed a used Mercedes Benz and after a certain dollar amount was reached, we benefited the remainder. Thank you to my parents’ business for hosting the raffle and spreading the word.
Thank you to Drew Smeback for being my support vehicle and spending a handful of cold weekends selling beer and donating wages with me at Seahawks games. I can’t thank him enough for trips to REI, my last minute ordering of maps, my obnoxious energy and my last minute changes. He has been a real trooper and simply put, I wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t for him!
Thank you to Nicole Spata for being not only helpful with donations, but more importantly, modeling what true strength and courage is. It is people and families such as hers that remind me why I am doing this and motivate me to keep moving no matter how tired or exhausted I may become. I have a wonderful sleeping bag (and survival kit) thanks to her and her family, but more so I have one more reason to keep fighting for this and to encourage others to join. Please check out their website at lucasspata.com and do what you can to help.
Thank you to ARAMARK for providing me with a bicycle to complete this trip and all of the employees that have rallied and shown incredible support for my efforts.
Thank you all that have helped! Please check the website daily for locations and updates as we head towards Santa Cruz, CA. For those of you that can, please keep donating and encourage others to do the same. Also feel free to leave comments in the guestbook; words of support will go a long way on some days!
-Lauren Brem