Two Weeks From Today

Two weeks from today Jessica and I leave for Death Valley. Thanks to all of you, we are doing well in the fundraising but still hope to raise more as we work for a cure!

In case you were wondering, today's high in DV is 112. Fear not though, temps will get into the 60s at night and only rise into the 90s during the day starting next week. Let's hope winter hits the dessert in two weeks! Here is the ten day forecast as it stands right now.

The semi-truck that drives around the country picking up bikes for each JDRF Ride event will be coming through Knoxville on Sunday night or Monday morning. Paul, the truck driver, will be meeting me to pickup my bike and load it in with the hundreds of other rider's bikes who are making the trip to DV this year.

After my bike is picked up, I hope to ride Jessica's hybrid a few times next week and the following week before we leave. It will be a bit like training for a swim meet with a t-shirt on...helps to have a little "drag" attached to you so that the road bike feels like feathers on October 16th!

Last Day

The last day for the "Ride With Me in Death Valley" challenge is tomorrow. As of tonight, we still have 31 miles available to be sponsored at $10 per mile.

If you have not yet made your gift, please consider doing so, not for me necessarily, but for the millions of diabetic men, women, and children worldwide. Three weeks from tomorrow we fly to Death Valley to begin ride day prep. One week from Friday my bike is loaded on a semi-truck for its own trek across country. This truck goes to many cities throughout the country picking up bikes for riders in the Death Valley event.

Give to The Challenge now and let me know which miles you would like to sponsor. Your name on that list of 105 miles is going to be what motivates me to finish the ride this year. Thanks for your support!

Ride With Me In Death Valley

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Dear Friends and Family:

Back in July, I sent out my 2010 Ride to Cure Diabetes appeal for support of The Shafer Ten Year Team once again this year. Many of you have responded and I cannot begin to express my sincere gratitude and thanks for your generosity to date. As of the writing of this note, you have helped me raise $1,340! Every dollar of that total will be going to research as Jessica and I personally cover all expenses related to this event. Not one penny of the dollars raised support anything but science behind what will one day be a cure for the millions of people with diabetes worldwide. Hopefully lives will be saved and research and healtchare dollars can then be designated to cure yet another disease to save even more lives. It is estimated that the annual cost of diabetes in the US alone is $132 billion annually!

THE CHALLENGE

Now, last Wednesday, I posted a blog and in that entry I wrote about a challenge that would be realeased today. Well, here it is! My goal for the 2010 Ride is $3,000. The ride itself, all 105 miles, takes place exactly one month from today on October 16th. I would like to make a challenge to all of you to support me by the mile. Here is how this will work. For the low low price of $10, you can “ride a mile with me in Death Valley.” It has a great ring to it and I am going to carry a sheet with me during the ride to remind me of everyone who has made this event a success this year. To be fair, the first 15 miles are already taken and the last mile is already taken as well. The first 15 miles go to the 15 individuals or families who have already donated to the cause and you will be given a number based on chronological order of your gift to date. The last mile of the ride goes to Jessica because I know at that point I will be needing the ice cold towel and cold water that she will be holding at the finish line!

So, “Ride a mile with me in Death Valley!” 89 miles of the 105 mile route are up for grabs and when you make your gift, please indicate which mile you want to sponsor. For example, if you give $50 tomorrow, you get 5 miles and you can choose the mile numbers to sponsor (i.e. - miles 50-54). My goal is to get all 89 remaining miles sponsored and in turn raise $890 more dollars towards my goal by next Thursday, September 23rd.

Complete the challenge by GIVING HERE!

Thank you for participating and let’s get all 105 miles sponsored as we all Ride to Cure Diabetes!

Andrew

...if you wanna go and take a ride with me

106 Degrees

That is today’s high temperature in Death Valley, California (DV). Over the next ten days the lowest temperature predicted is 71 degrees and the highest is 110 degrees. In a short 39 days from today, I will be riding along side others fighting for a cure for diabetes. This fight will be in all friends, family, volunteers, riders, and staff at the ride. This fight will take place during the fourth of five JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes events in 2010, the Death Valley Ride to Cure. The third event of the season is actually this weekend in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

To date, you have contributed $915 or 30% of my $3,000 goal for 2010. Through your support, I am hoping to surpass my goal of $3,000 and afford JDRF the opportunity to continue to support ground breaking research to rid the world from the constraints of diabetes.

It has been some time since I last wrote on this blog and sometimes life takes a turn that you do not expect. “Life on life’s terms” unfortunately can throw you a bit off track and this is why I have not written on the blog over the last few weeks. I hope to get back on track and regularly update you on where things stand with my training. I also plan to release one more fundraising challenge on next Thursday, September 16th, exactly one month prior to the big event.

To update you on where things are to date, I have been trying to do a strenuous ride each weekend while riding during the week as much as possible. My goal has been to ride twice during the week and once on the weekend but unfortunately that has not always happened. Training is going well and I feel good about where my legs are right now but I still need to get a few more long rides on the saddle prior to DV. I have participated in two events during this training season, the 67 mile Knoxville Tour de Cure to benefit the American Diabetes Association and the 50 mile Bike Ride Across Wilson County as part of the 2010 Wilson, TN County Fair!

Please stay tuned for more frequent updates on the blog and for the big fundraising challenge set to start next Thursday, the 16th of September. Until then, thanks for your support, help me spread the word about the Ride, and Go Vols against the Ducks of Oregon this Saturday!