Web blogs live forever apparently. My last Ride Ataxia blog was the SoCal ride in December 2010. I missed telling you here about the 2nd annual 2011 RA NorCal ride that occurred in Davis, CA. so here the post-ride Email blurb I sent out:
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May 14th, 2011 Ride Ataxia NorCal
We had a great time at the 2nd Annual Ride Ataxia NorCal in Davis, California on Saturday! Over 300 riders participated and so far the Ride has raised over $87,000! WheeHoo (And money is still coming in! It's not too late to sponsor the ride if you haven't yet!)!

For those of you on Facebook go here for some pics and blogs.
https://www.facebook.com/RideAtaxia
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150182140361375&set=a.10150182140311375.303241.516956374&type=1
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1971458976073&set=a.1971416375008.2120308.1530967096&type=1
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.179176222109105.48065.156998930993501
http://thegorecycle.blogspot.com/2011/05/rideataxia-norcal-wrap-up.html

We drove to Winters with our camper on Friday morning, got it set up and
drove the 35 minutes to the Davis Veteran's Memorial building at 3:30pm to
help the pre-registration starting at 4pm. Organized social chaos ensued,
with Felicia knowing every team's unique details to help the process along
and everyone getting re-acquainted all around the table. At 5:30pm we closed
shop and went to the Bicycle Hall of Fame museum where Brown snd Caldwell
hosted a wonderful get together with Outback Steakhouse provided hors
d'oeuvres and drinks. Wonderful casual re-acquainting and meeting time.

The morning was cool and some clouds were overhead but spirits were high as
we started to gather at 7:30am for a biker's breakfast and last minute
registrations. Highlights of the day:
- It was great to have all the 2010 Team FARA RAAM riders there (Kyle, Sean,
Mike and John), and to see how encompassing they were with everyone. I puff
up with pride when I see how much more than just athletes these young men
are.
- The Helms' came down from Missoula, Montana for this one day ride! Wow! It
was so good to see all of them and to meet the grandparents.
- I got to meet a load of wonderful new people including the Penston's and
the Prettyman's!
- The food and drinks provided by business friends of Greg Mazeres were over
the top just like last year! Kudo's to Greg and cohorts!
- I want to mention the Hartigan's as an example of all the volunteers doing
SAG, rest stops,etc. I saw Vicki briefly at pre-registration, period. She
and all the others worked tirelessly to make the Ride the outstanding
logistical and supportive ride it was. Kudos, Kudos and Kudos!
- My bit this year (and probably for years to come) focused on the
wheelchair trailers. Sophia's dad Eric pedaled her in Phillip Bennett's
memorial wheelchair trailer and I pedaled Brianne in hers, both of us on the
15 mile course. We had just enough time (with Felicia holding the start for
a few minutes) to get Brianne and Sophia "mounted" and comfortable in their
"bikes". Off we went with both trailers working flawlessly. My only worry
was that the girls would get bugs in their teeth because of their big smiles
as the wind blew their hair and they could look eye-to-eye with the other
riders. Both were very comfortable and reported the ride was very stable (as
long as the dads didn't run the trailer off the road forgetting it stuck out
to each side of the bike! lol). The wind was ablowin' stiffly in our faces
so we worked pretty hard on the first half of the ride. My lowest speed was
6mph and when the wind died momentarily I was up to 11 - 12mph. I had
Brianne's FM transmitter/receiver system so I could harass her as I was
riding (and maybe warn her of bumps and turns); she kept asking if I was all
right because of the loud breathing sounds coming into her ear! lol The far
end of the 15 mile course was at a fire station next to the airport. The
break was welcomed. Brianne and I made it only a few hundred feet back down
the course when I discovered one of the trailer's wheel bearings had
self-distructed! Darn! Well, she made it half of the 15 miles! I called our
special priority SAG truck (Susan) and soon Brianne and the disabled trailer
were on their way back to the finish line. I finished the 15 mile course
trailing Sophia so I could evaluate Phillip's trailer's performance.
- There were two other interesting bike trailering rigs out that day also.
The Helms brought a custom commercial recombent trailer with attached
optional pedaling they wanted to try out (guesstimate price tag $2K-ish)
with Dylan which looked like it performed well. Sienna rode with mama in a
standard child's trailer. Another family rode a tandem with an attached bike
behind that with a standard child's trailer behind that! No tight turns for
them! lol
- After the Ride back at the Veteran's Building I gave wheelchair trailer
rides in the parking lot for Dylan, Sienna, Izzie, and Owen! A fun time!
- Outback provided a delectable lunch of ribs with all the trimmings, and
carrot cake and/or cookies for dessert. Patrick Kruk and his crew are just
beyond the best! I say it over and over but they blow me away coming out to
volunteer their time to help us like this, just because! Our kids of course
capture their hearts once they are there but they came out just to support
the community! How ultruistic is that?! I love 'em every one!
- Once that shindig wound down (about 4pm) about 2 dozen of us retired to
Woodstock Pizza to continue the celebration! Susan and I left about 6:30pm
and the rest were still going strong. We were in bed in the camper by 8:30pm
(normally 11-ish) and only intermittently heard the rain pattering on the
roof through the night.
Another wonderful partnership effort between FARA (Kyle/Felicia) and local
supporters resulting in $87K+ for FA research! A note is that these regional
Ride Ataxia fundraisers cannot be put on by FARA alone. If we want a
treatment to happen the soonest for our children then these $87K - $150K+
riding fundraisers need our active volunteer participation to continue.
Leadership and organizing, being a support person volunteer, and/or putting
together teams to participate and tapping the network of your personal
supporters is what it takes to pull off this event. We are all busy but
involving your FAer (and ataxian for our non-FA members, because some of the
coming treatments may make a difference to them as well) in this event (or
one you are doing) will give them a great social outlet, a bonding
experience, and a sense of some control in this FA life. Each participant,
and especially the ataxian participants, can see how their efforts are
directly accelerating FA research. Sorry if I'm lecturing but I could see
the excitement and satisfaction in the faces of all the ataxians that were
there.
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