It's Official Now...I have my Jersey!

I am dying to show you my new cycling jersey! It arrived a couple of days ago and I was so excited I could hardly wait to get home and try it on. Let me know what you think!

....too cool for school! :) This is the jersey I am going to be wearing whenever I am out on my training rides and of course on the day of my 200km journey. If you see me buzzing around town, drop me a line at my website cycleforshelter.com!

What a crazy few days it has been. Last week I was delighted to receive an invitation to join the Durham Cycling Club for one of their Sunday group rides. I went out with the Club last weekend and had a wonderful time! The members are every age and experience level, and without exception they were welcoming and friendly. Of course there were a couple of tense moments when word got out that I was a "tough" Spinning Instructor (I have a repuation, you see)...but aside from the promise by all that they weren't going to let me go 'easy' up any of the hills, it was a great. Sunday was a beautiful day and I completed an 86 kilometre training ride.

On the fundraising front I was totally ecstatic yesterday when I received a notification that I have now raised just over $1,000 for the RLP Shelter Foundation! At $1,020 raised, I am now just over a third of the way to my goal. This is great, but I am well aware that I am still on the "up hill" portion of the proverbial fundraising goal.

In order to help me on this front, I have been busy organizing two additional super cool and exciting events to help raise funds for the Shelter Foundation, and I hope that you will be able to come out and join me at one or both!

Here are the details:

GROUP RIDE KICK-OFF EVENT
Thursday August 12th, at 6:00 p.m. We will be starting and ending at the McLean Community Centre in Ajax and completing a 15-20 kilometre fun and easy ride around Ajax. I am asking for a minimum donation of $20/participant. After the ride all participants are invited to Casey's Bar & Grill in Ajax for an Apres Ride Party and can enjoy complimentary starters, and door prizes!
***PLEASE REGISTER AT CYCLEFORSHELTER.COM***

ZUMBA FOR SHELTER!
Friday September 10th, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at McLean Community Centre Gym, Ajax. Come out for 1.5 hours of Zumba style! The three best Zumba Instructors in Ajax have signed on to team teach this amazing dance fitness class and will make sure you have a dance inspired, hip shaking, jump up and down good time! There will be complimentary refreshments, door and raffle prizes! A minimum donation of $20/participant is requested.
**PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT AT CYCLEFORSHELTER.COM** We are expecting a capacity crowd so don't miss out. Register right away!

I will post another update in the next couple of days.

Sarah

It was a man who asked for the map

This past Saturday I completed a long training ride in Durham region. The weather was perfect; no humidity, bright sunshine and (at 7:00 a.m.) cool temperatures. My route was a fantastic loop that saw us start in Ashburn, travel north through Utica to Epsom, over to Port Perry, south and east again through Shirley and Purple Hill and then north up to Blackstock. From there we were southbound to Burketon, Enfield and finally back west to Ashburn. On paper it was 73kms and seemed easy enough.

Kyle (my husband) and our good friend Tony set out with some other friends of ours to journey around the region. There were lots of rolling hills on our loop, which is exactly what I need to train on. As each new hill appeared on the horizon I looked forward to climbing it just a little faster, in a higher gear and with a little more strength. After an hour and a half though there were grumblings, groans and muttered comments from my cycling buddies as we saw each new hill up ahead. Even I stopped looking up and kept my eyes on the road for fear the next rise would be even steeper then the last. Some hills were long and gradual; others were shorter and quite steep. No matter what type, there was no end of them! In order to complete the Cycle for Shelter in good time on September 18^th I am going to have to spend some serious time doing hill repeats over the next couple of months.

Remember I mentioned the length of our Route? 73 kilometres. Well I was enjoying the ride so much or just too focused on breathing and getting up each hill that I forgot to keep an eye on the street signs! Not once, but three times I missed turns and we had to back track to find the route again, adding an extra 5 kilometres to our overall trip. J I have now been officially fired from my role as “Keeper of the Route Map”!! The guys were really having fun with the whole genetics/asking for directions “thing” that day. I don’t think I will ever be able to make a comment about my husband getting us lost and not checking the map again. Yikes! Thankfully the day of my ride I will have the support vehicle behind me, and the GPS will keeping track of my location/route!

The whole trip took just over three hours and included a number of breaks during which we rested, checked the map, and had an opportunity to chat with the local residents and cyclists out enjoying their rides. When I told them about my Cycle for Shelter and how I was training and raising funds for the RLP Shelter Foundation they were so supportive! Everyone offered well wishes and encouragement. They asked for more information about the Shelter Foundation and were impressed with my goal to set the record for the longest one day ride for charity in Durham. It was amazing! Even though I was pretty exhausted by the end of the second hour of our ride and my legs were aching, I was so inspired and encouraged that I felt I could keep going all day!

This week has been really crazy with work and organizing the Cycle for Shelter events so I haven’t been out on the bike, but I am looking forward to training with the Durham Cycling Club on the weekend. I will keep you posted. Look out for information next week about my Cycle for Shelter Kick-Off Event!

In my next post I will update you on my fundraising activities and have some exciting announcements. Please help me reach my goal of $3000.00 for the RLP Shelter Foundation. Click here to make a donation and help me break the “cycle” of violence.

Official Start of Training

What a whirlwind this last couple of weeks have been! Since announcing my Cycle for Shelter fundraising initiative I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support, generosity and kind words everyone has given me! Here is a brief update on what’s been going on in preparation for my Cycle for Shelter.

I am now the proud new owner of a fabulous Specialized Dolce Elite street bike, which replaces my trusty hybrid. This bike is much better suited to the training I will be doing and the mileage I will be logging as I prepare for the Cycle for Shelter. It hasn’t taken me long to adjust to the way this bike feels and reacts. I must say that it’s a real thrill to finally be able to keep up with my husband now when we are out together and he speeds up!

My first official training day coincided with the Ajax Trailfest “Cycle with the Mayor” event last weekend. It was an easy, but very rainy 35km ride around the trails and cycling lanes Ajax has created for the community to enjoy. It was the perfect opportunity for me to really get used to my pesky new cycling shoes too. “Unclip then stop” is my silent mantra at the moment. It works well right up until I have to stop unexpectedly.... :) I am sure I will have this worked out shortly though.

One of the best parts of the last two weeks has been receiving all the emails notifying me that donations have been made by so many generous people. As of today I have already raised $495 for the Shelter Foundation. This is absolutely fabulous! Talk about motivation. Remember that every penny donated goes towards making difference in the lives of those women and children that have experienced domestic abuse. How amazing is that! In addition, everyone I have spoken to about my Cycle for Shelter and the Shelter Foundation has been so helpful and supportive.

I am humbled, inspired, motivated, excited and utterly determined to reach all of my goals. Thank you everyone for all of your support!

I'll be back soon (I promise it won't be 2 weeks) with more pictures, posts and fun.

Sarah