Newsletter -- April 25, 2001
Hi everyone!
Here's a bit more spam from me, just to thank you and let you know I'm still out here and training and appreciative of all your support. If you don't want to receive these occasional updates, just let me know. I won't be offended. I promise.
Gear goddess
Well, the biggest news this spring is that I finally got a "real" bicycle -- my friend Mike Johnson donated the use of a beautiful old Bianchi Volpe, and I've got it fixed up and am riding it like crazy. It's turquoise, and sassy, and has a really cool retro look. Plus, it goes really fast. Woohoo! I also just got clipless pedals (and matching shoes) for it, and some new jerseys, and some of those padded shorts that only four short months ago I thought were totally ridiculous. It's really fun getting little gear upgrades along the way, because each one just makes me feel that much faster and stronger.
Ride, girl, ride
I'm out there on my bike (on one of them, at any rate; I also got a fold-up bike for commuting!) three or four days a week nowadays; that will probably increase in June and July, when I cut back more on running. I did the Cinderella ride a few weeks ago -- an all-girls metric century (65 miles) out in the southeast part of the Bay Area. It was great -- and despite the fact that I picked a fight with a pothole and taco'd my back wheel (that's apparently a technical term), I managed to unclip my brakes and ride the whole way in. Thanks, Sionainn, for sticking with me for those last 10 miles at my superslowpoke pace. And Mike, I promise, the bike is fine now. Really.
Donation report
Well, I'm just past two-thirds of the way to my required goal of $3,400, and if my company kicks in what it promised, I should even be able to hit my "stretch" goal of $5,000. Thanks so much to all of you; it's so wonderful to have this kind of support. To single out a few ... The aforementioned Mike Johnson, who was generous enough to let me put some heavy-duty miles on his beautiful bicycle. Michael Keeley, an editor at Salon who doesn't even know me but joined the copy-desk donation pool. My friend Melissa, who donated once -- my first donation! -- and then had second thoughts and gave me a second check. Anne Neville, who sent in a donation from Paris, making her my longest-distance donor. Patrick Dooley, the generous and talented artistic director of my favorite theater company, the Shotgun Players. (If you're in the Bay Area and you haven't seen their work, check them out! www.shotgunplayers.org)
If any of you have friends or loved ones who want to support the ride, they can now donate online: Just tell them to go to the Vaccine Ride donation website and enter my rider number: 10329.
Once again, thanks much ... I'll keep you all posted as the ride gets closer!
xoxo,
Rachel