My AngelRide story began in 2014 when I came to the finish line at the Mystic YMCA to meet my friends Richard and Jennie Sullivan who were riding in their first AngelRide that year. I rode my bike to Mystic and as I got to the YMCA driveway, there was a whole group of people cheering for me. I was embarrassed since I had only ridden 10 miles to get there. Surely, I was not worthy of all this attention. I quickly admitted that I was just a spectator and I didn’t warrant the applause. They said, “That’s OK. We will still cheer for you”.

By the time Rich and Jenny came across the finish line to applause and their names being announced over the loudspeaker, I remember thinking “I want to be part of this”.

I signed up for the 2015 AngelRide even though I was not at all sure that I could ride 135 miles. When Memorial Day weekend arrived, I drove to the Mystic YMCA to meet the bus that would take riders up to the starting point in Norfolk. I remember sitting on that school bus during the >1 hour ride thinking, “How am I going to ride all the way back home?”

The next day we got to the starting point in Norfolk and everywhere you turned there was someone helping and supporting us get ready to ride. Little did I know that the same level of support and encouragement would be there throughout the entire event. At every rest stop, there were people cheering us on, ringing cowbells, feeding us, and offering whatever help we might need. Being
surrounded by such selfless and supportive people was truly inspirational and is an integral part of the AngelRide experience.

The format of AngelRide has changed over the years that I have participated but the one thing that has not changed is that AngelRide continues to be filled with some of the most giving and selfless people I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with. As another rider once told me, “I look forward to AngelRide every year. It re-charges my batteries”. Being able to participate in AngelRide each year, renews my faith in the “goodness” of people.

Let’s talk about scars, shall we? We all have them. We all know what they are. They are the spots on our body or our soul or our emotions that heal over from an injury. But those spots are not quite the same as before. Sometimes we try to hide them. Both the physical ones and the emotional ones. Sometimes we get bullied because of them. Sometimes we try to cover them up and pretend they never happened at all.

Then somewhere along the way, we learn to embrace them. To realize they are part of us. To let them remind us of the growth and change that has taken place within us because of that injury, that has yes, healed over, but not left us unchanged. We stop allowing them to define us. We accept them, and we accept ourselves.

See this beautiful young woman? This is Tammy.  Tammy is gorgeous, smart and funny. Today [June 1 AngelRide 2019] before riding, Tammy told us how she was burned in a gas stove explosion in which she lost her father. She was burned over 67% of her body. Her brother was burned over 50% of his body. She recovered. But she wasn’t the same. She attended this camp, and could wear a bikini in the lake, and be just like the other kids. There were no stares. There were no questions. There was only acceptance. Today she rode with us. Her first Angel Ride. Up until today, the most she had ridden was 25 miles. Her scars, like the rest of us, will never leave her. But they do not define her. Today, I thank her for giving me perspective.

Maybe my own scars are just a little more accepted and a little less hidden and covered up because of Tammy. “”

. . . Why I ride
By Dana Bean

AngelRide is a wonderful vortex.  It draws you in.

It draws you in, not because of the quality of the cycling experience itself, though in many years of riding, I’ve never been in an organized cycling event that is more enjoyable, in terms of the ride itself, or the support and professionalism with which it is executed..

It draws you in, not because of the enthusiasm, overwhelming kindness and willingness to help of all of the volunteers, though I’ve never seen their equal.

It draws you in, not because of the joy and familial atmosphere of the riders, nor from their easy going inclusiveness of all riders regardless of their skill or experience, though AngelRiders display this in overwhelming abundance.

It draws you in because AngelRide isn’t about any of those things.  It has never been. Those things are all true, because the people who started AngelRide and who carry on it’s mission are All About the Kids.  

AngelRide has existed for 17 years to help kids to BE kids.  Not victims. Not patients.

The money we raise as AngelRiders goes to help kids.  We do that by supporting The Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp.  The camp itself is detailed in articles, websites and information available through links elsewhere on this site, by people far more qualified than I to explain it.  Please take the time to read and watch all you can.  

Let me tell you as someone privileged to tour the camp while in session – there’s a wonderful sort of magic happening there. AngelRide has seen, through 17 years experience supporting camps for kids suffering life threatening conditions, and now with burned children – that an incredible sort of healing and growth takes place among kids when they are afforded a chance to BE kids in a safe place, surrounded by other kids, counselors, and staff who know firsthand through their own experience what a child who is so affected feels.  

The camp is run by volunteers.  They take personal vacation from their careers to be there for the kids, and some have done it for many, many years.  Many of the camp counselors were once campers themselves. They are a tight knit, close group. We are privileged to be able to help them in their mission.

AngelRide is helping to provide the camp with assistance to grow it’s programs.  To provide for more kids, to improve or expand. To make it more available to help more kids.  Speaking for myself, the benefit I gain from knowing that my efforts in fundraising are contributing to such a cause and to the happiness, healing, and growth that go on there is tremendous, and hard to describe.

At last year’s AngelRide –  at camp on the night before the ride, some of the “old hands” were all talking and joking before bed.  A long-time AngelRider (who is also the father of a camper, now a grown woman) said it so well that I wish I’d had a recorder, so that I weren’t forced now to paraphrase.  He said, in effect that the ride – the actual “pedaling down the road” ride itself – is in no way what AngelRide is about. That well organized, well orchestrated, wonderful event is the reward that we as riders are given by a truly remarkable group of organizers and volunteers for the work we as riders must do to raise money to support the camp and its mission, because it really IS ALL ABOUT THE KIDS.   That’s what the training, fundraising, volunteer preparation and logistics are all about – supporting the efforts to help the kids.  

And it is. 

As riders, we are in the confusing position of being cheered (CHEERED!!!) and thanked – profusely, sometimes (to me) embarrassingly so – by people (volunteers, parents of campers, and campers themselves), who have by far the more difficult job – either in terms of the herculean effort to put on the ride, or the even bigger task of being the child, parent, sibling or friend of the child/family –  affected by burns. Heck, the riders just have to ask some friends and family for a little dough to help a really great cause – that’s not so hard, really. We get to ride our bikes which is no work at all (I did not say it isn’t hard, just not work)

That is the vortex, the thing that pulls us into this swirling ride that is so challenging, so smile (and happy tear) inducing,  and ultimately, so very rewarding, that many of us have been coming back year after year to see our old friends and make new ones as we share with them the joy of helping to bring this experience to kids.

Grab your paddle, slip into the flow.  The water is fine!

Dana Bean

12th year AngelRider.

A different road brought each of us to AngelRide. Whether you were faced with the effects of cancer or knew someone who had been; whether you are a burn survivor or know someone who is, we join together as an AngelRide community to make a difference in children’s lives.

My journey began as a young child that suddenly went from a happy normal life and was thrown into the suffocating quicksand that is cancer. I spent three years in and out of hospitals across the country. I was constantly meeting with specialists and researchers all the while being bombarded with chemo, radiation, and a variety of chemicals that left me unrecognizable to those that had known me my entire life.

After going into remission adjusting to normal life was very difficult. With a delicate immune system, I was required to limit my exposure outdoors and often made to wear masks out in public. In the early 90’s school systems were unsure of what to do with me. At that time all their efforts to protect me and ensure my wellbeing unfortunately made me even more of an outcast. I was sinking into a very deep depression. Then I was invited to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. A summer camp specifically designed for children that had gone through the same nightmare that I had. A camp of peers. I was surrounded by children suffering the effects of prednisone and chemo. Children who had similar scars and trauma. We were also surrounded by smiling counselors that were there to help us remember happiness and joy and what it felt like not to be judged. Over the next few years I attended similar camps and each one had the same core values. Give children the childhood they almost didn’t have.

25 years later I came across a bike ride that gave back to the camp that had given me so much. I had to find a way to become part of this. Through the help of a coworker, who also was a long-time rider, I embarked on my first AngelRide in 2015. Arriving back at camp more than two decades later left me speechless as the emotions took hold. It still felt like home, the smells, the sounds, and most importantly the staff. All the joys came rushing back. Being able to see riders and volunteers experience that same feeling was incredible. Then in 2018 AngelRide announced that this was the final ride, much to the dismay of many that had become part of this massive family of friends.

Later that summer I was invited to join in a small group for a tour of a new camp and potential partnership for AngelRide, The Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp. Our group was met outside by Kathlene Gerrity, Executive Director of the CT Burns Care Foundation. She was very protective of this special place and all that it stood for. We soon saw the reasons why. As we met the volunteer camp staff, I came to realize that many of them were firemen and women, medical and emergency professionals, and former campers who were taking time from their already hectic lives to give even more of their time and of themselves. The dedication of this special group of people was simply astounding.

The Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp was not designed to treat the physical injuries so much as the injuries to the mind and the soul. You could see the impact on every smiling face, the sparkle in every eye. As we walked the campgrounds, I saw none of the luxuries that I had become so familiar with. There were no AC units. There were limited power supplies, but also there was a beautiful pond that was made for swimming and fishing. It was nature with no barriers. Each activity we came across was designed to not only bring absolute joy to the campers, but also help them rebuild their confidence. Simple games and crafts were being used to reteach muscle groups to preform tasks that we take for granted every day. Even more amazing was the fact that at each group of cabins was a campfire. This campfire was kept going and reminded the campers that fire and heat are not something to be feared. I was amazed and can only imagine the trepidation that some campers must go through when first encountering this.

During our lunch I was able to sit down and talk to several campers and although we were informed not to ask about their past, no restrictions were put to the campers. Being able to speak openly to strangers is a huge step. I was once again struck by the strength of these children and their willpower to keep moving forward. I also came to realize that just as Hole in the Wall Gang Camp changed the lives of all who attended or were blessed to work there and experience camp, so did the Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp. Each visit will at first, for a very brief instance, leave each of us in shock and most likely tears. However, that will only last for the blink of an eye. As you will soon be overwhelmed with the love and compassion that emanates from the campers and staff. Your vision is flooded with children laughing and playing. Your heart is healed. The shock is gone. You suddenly feel like a kid again and want only to go to camp and play.

Being able to volunteer as a counselor for the burn camp that had given me so much as a kid was an amazing experience. The confidence I have is in large part due to the experience I had at camp.

So this year, I am participating in AngelRide to benefit the Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp. The cost to send ONE kid to camp is about $2500. All kids attend at no cost to their families and all the staff are volunteers. Come out to support this event to help send these awesome kids to camp.

I’ll be biking 69 miles on June 1st. My goal is to raise $1991. 1991 is the year I was in a gas leak explosion. Both my brother and I suffered first, second, and third degree burns and I lost my father.

It is also the year I attended Burn Camp as one of the very first campers. I’ll be back to volunteer at Camp again this year because it means a lot to me to play a role in developing the self-esteem of young burn survivors and helping them to have the greatest experience – just being a kid at camp.

Click the link to make a donation to my page: http://events.angelcharitiesinc.org/goto/scarsarebeautiful

I’ve ridden in the two-day AngelRide for the past six years, and God willing, I’ll ride it for twenty six more!

I began riding AngelRide as a goal, something to shoot for in order to get back in shape after too many sedentary summers. I wanted to set an ambitious goal, both in terms of miles (I hadn’t ridden 135 miles over two days in a LONG time), and dollars to raise – a thousand dollars seemed like a lot. As it happened, the fundraising wasn’t so hard, we (my wife and I) raised over two thousand dollars that first year!

On the first day of my first AngelRide, I began to see the magic of the AngelRide “family”. The volunteers – who handle every detail from the time we arrive in Norfolk, CT at the starting line, are amazing! They check us in, feed us, handle our bags, cheer us on our way and keep us safe, fed, watered, and rolling across eighty five miles of northern Connecticut. They work their buns off to make the ride work in every detail, and cheer for those of us riding the bikes as if we were doing the hard part. The riders – in all shapes and sizes, on all sorts of bikes good-naturedly pedaling across the miles – climbing challenging hills, and zooming through the shaded woods, are having too much fun to think of it as being hard work (mostly).

Once we reached Camp in the afternoon, the magic of AngelRide merged and morphed into the MAGIC of camp! The volunteers were still there, looking after the details, cheering us in and whisking us to our cabins, and ensuring that we were aware of the massages, tours, snacks, and other fun that was there for us (I had to keep wondering why these people were thanking me when they seemed to be doing all the work). The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp staff was there too. They were cheering, thanking, and hustling too, but there was something else – a positive energy, a power and (there’s just no other word for it) a magic.

The magic continued through the evening, as we went to the theatre and heard from current and former campers and their families, who told us about the power for good that the camp and the Hospital Outreach® Program (HOP) have had for them. The programs mean A LOT to all of these wonderful people and really contributes to their health and healing as well as their happiness.

Then next morning, we met up with all the one day riders, and again, the volunteers were there at every turn to fire us up and move us out and on to Mystic, just as the day before. There again was the Moto-Crew, just as on the previous day – riding their motorcycles up and down the route, ensuring that everyone stays safe, warning of the challenging intersections, and generally ensuring that everyone had nothing but a great day on a bike. Fifty miles, again with some hills – but ending right on the ocean in Mystic, with a great party! Again, all these great people are thanking us – the riders! Amazing!

The Hospital Outreach® Program of The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp touches the lives of tens of thousands of kids undergoing treatment for life-threatening conditions in hospitals across New England and as far south as Philadelphia. These kids and their families live in the solemn world of the patient – doctors, nurses, procedures, treatments, shots, pain, worry, and fear. HOP Specialists bring camp activities – music, arts and crafts, games and laughter – they aren’t doctors, or nurses, but they are friends, full of laughter and good times. They bring smiles and laughs to these kids – allowing them to BE kids – not patients – for a little while. There is no cost to the family or the hospital – the entire cost of each of these visits (about $50.00 per kid, per visit) is paid through donations. EVERY Dollar raised by AngelRiders and Volunteers goes directly to support the Hospital Outreach® Program – it’s what we do. I started out to ride in AngelRide to get into shape. It worked! But far, far more important to me now – I ride for the Kids and for the MAGIC healing power of the HOP and of the Camp. I’ll keep doing it as long as I can turn the pedals (maybe longer)!

. . . NEVER stop Climbing!

It has been an honor and a privilege (although the tips have been a bit meager, the payback has been more than phenomenal – partially described below). I sincerely thank Fred and Lynn, all the mangers, riders, and other volunteers for such a deep set of life changing moments.

It has been an honor and a privilege (although the tips have been a bit meager, the payback has been more than phenomenal – partially described below).

I sincerely thank Fred and Lynn, all the mangers, riders, and other volunteers for such a deep set of life changing moments.

Since 1988, and before I became a baggage handler, I was a camper parent and volunteer at Camp. In one of my roles I was responsible for fund raising with a group of dedicated parents. In brief, we were not terribly effective (we lacked critical public recognition outside of the Camper and medical communities). About the same time I was called by Fred and Lynn (just before the first RIDE). That asked for some help with a wild idea. I had no clue what was about to happen. Did anyone?

The first year was small (37 riders if I recall), but it was also clear that failure was not an option, enthusiasm was sky high, and things were about to really develop. And it blossomed. Among the many things it did for the Camp (and therefore the kids and their families) as it grew and evolved was to turbo charge the image of the Camp. Each year as the riders rolled across the state as ambassadors of the Camp and its’ ethic, the image, stature and healing message of the Camp grew. It put the Camp on the map. I saw it. I felt it. Everyone did.

For me personally, there are many experiences I would love to share. Perhaps the most memorable two examples involve the 2006 and 2007 Rides and our two sons. Both involve learning moments (for me). In 2006, the younger son (at college at the time) decided he was interested in riding a road bike (no real experience, but it was only across Connecticut). He raised all his own pledges (a large number of them at a couple of bucks each from his buddies) and decided to ride for his older brother – who had attended Camp for several of the Camp’s early years. He joined the lead group as they rapidly peddled off in the wrong direction. After riding a total of 98 miles the first day and doubling up on some miles on Day 2 (to encourage some lagging riders), I complemented him and expressed my pride on his athletic performance (completing the ride each day with the first finishers). He rejected the compliment. Then proceeded to advise me that his performance should be expected from a college rower with little else to do but exercise, and that if I was going to be impressed, I should direct my compliments to the “older guys” that he rode with because they were special, and did not have a brother who had attended or benefited from Camp. For me, a truly an amazing epiphany. I recorded the Ride as a milestone event in the transition of boy to young man and a life lesson. “The Power of the RIDE”.

The second learning experience came the following year. By that time older son (and camper) was in his residency at Brown. He met me at Camp on Day 1 to make the RIDE to Mystic on Day 2. We were sitting by the craft shops when a woman asked if an EMT was available as her friend and rider was not feeling well. I said I had an “almost doctor” right there. I assisted in moving the young woman to the OK Coral and left them and ran to the theater to get the assistance one of the AngelRide doctors (thanks Terry!). I was then able to observe how those two worked together and took care of this rider, not just then, but throughout the night taking turns checking in on her condition as she rested comfortably in the infirmary. She was well in morning, and the sun was out. Of course it was … “The Power of the RIDE”. Another epiphany, the first time you get to see your son in action as a doctor!

And lastly, (if you are still reading this – thank you), the question is: “What have you learned about the Power of the RIDE? Many good things I am sure.

As I prepare for my 14th AngelRide, it feels like the right time to reflect on some of the things I’ll carry with me long after I get off my bike in Mystic for the last time.
I have to say that it surprised me a bit when I first felt it. That feeling of melancholy.

Mostly on my first AngelRide back in 2005, but also in every AngelRide since, if to a slightly lesser degree.

It surprised me because the goal of that first ride was to be a finisher. So I was excited as the miles of Day 2 clicked by. But as I got closer and closer to the finish line, the feeling surprised me. It wasn’t quite sadness, because I was certainly glad that a break from my hours in the saddle was coming. It wasn’t fatigue, either, though I was certainly tired and my legs were ready for a rest. No, it was more like that feeling of melancholy after spending time with a good friend when you know that you are going to be saying good bye for a while.

It surprised me because I didn’t expect it, and I guess I didn’t expect it because I didn’t quite know what I was signing up for when I signed up for my first AngelRide.

When it was recently announced that AngelRide 2018 would be the 15th and final AngelRide held to benefit the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp’s Hospital Outreach Program, I started to feel that same twinge of melancholy. So, as I prepare for my 14th AngelRide, it feels like the right time to reflect on some of the things I’ll carry with me long after I get off my bike in Mystic for the last time.

• Community – There is an African proverb which states “if you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.” I’m not just citing to this proverb because its preference for “far” over “fast” mirrors my riding style (as the many of you who have passed me can attest), but it says something important about accomplishment that the AngelRide community truly embodies. Fifteen years ago, the Hospital Outreach Program was just getting started, working with patients in one Connecticut hospital. Today, with a significant boost from the funds that we’ve raised on AngelRide, it brings joy to kids in over 40 hospital sites in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We did that. It is important to take a minute to both marvel at that accomplishment and to also recognize it as a reminder of the importance of community.It is also worth noting that this community is even more remarkable because it is a community of choice. We didn’t all go to the same school or share some other bond that happened to draw us together. Rather, with some grit and determination from Lynn and Fred, this is a community that comes from all corners of Connecticut (and beyond) and chooses to wear the banner of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp with pride to try to do our part to help those who need to be lifted up. I, for one, will always be grateful for the AngelRide community and proud to have been able to play my part.So, not all of us went fast (present company included), but boy have we gone far together.
• Challenge – I’ll be honest. When I started training for my first AngelRide, I was a bit of a mess. I remember going on a ride with Lynn and Fred on a borrowed bike and zigzagging back and forth to make it up an incline that barely would qualify as a hill on the AngelRide route. (In fact, I think I remember Dan Shapiro passing me as I rode that day – it is the last observation of Dan saying “on your left” and meaning it in AngelRide history). I’m pretty sure that Lynn and Fred were planning on trying to convince me to be a volunteer instead of a rider. Even though I was pretty miserable on that first day of training, I stuck with it and discovered that I enjoyed pushing myself to ride farther and to climb more hills, getting into better shape along the way. While there is a tangible physical benefit that comes out of pushing yourself a little harder, I think I most appreciate the greater lesson that lies therein.Perhaps it is best summed up by, Ross Gipson a Camp alum. I remember hearing him tell his story of conquering his illness and he left us with the mantra to “never stop climbing.” And for me, the annual process of accepting the challenge of AngelRide has continually reminded me to never stop climbing, especially when the purpose of the climb is to lift others up as you go.
• Joy – Perhaps the most important thing I will take, with deep gratitude, from my years as an AngelRider is the fundamental truth about finding joy, and making joy, in the world. I think I had flirted with an awareness of this truth before, but it wasn’t until I heard Matty Cook share the words of George Bernard Shaw on my first AngelRide that my eyes were opened wide to it. “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one …. “It is easy to be deceived by the prevailing “wisdom” of modern society that the clearest path to joy is by accumulating those things that will make us happy. But what George Bernard Shaw’s words tell us, and what the experience of Camp and AngelRide reveals, is that the real path to joy is in giving yourself away. That is the mighty purpose. Here, we do it on a bike, raising money for kids who have been shattered by life’s challenges and then made whole by the magic of Camp. To be able to touch a part of that, to be able to participate in that magic, has been one of my greater experiences of joy.That I have been able to share this joy with my 3 kids who have all participated as riders — my oldest, Henry, is riding for the 8th time this year — has made that joy even more profound.

For all of these things — the community of Camp and AngelRide, the enduring lessons learned through challenging myself, and the transformative effect of the experience of joy — I am eternally grateful and will be forever indebted to AngelRide and Camp.

And so there it is, again, that feeling of melancholy. I would love to ride every Memorial Day weekend for as long as I am upright and continue to do my part to lift up Camp. But all good things, I guess, must come to an end. As much as it will be disappointing to close this chapter, I am heartened by something else that Ross Gipson said. “Camp is not just a place you go, it is a place you take with you as you climb.”

I hope to always carry a little piece of Camp with me as I climb.

Half a league half a league, 1.5 miles
Half a league onward,
All in the hills and valley
Rode the two hundred:
‘Forward, the Bike Brigade!
Charge for the rest stops he said:
Onto the Hole in wall Gang Camp
Rode the two hundred.

Half a league half a league, 1.5 miles
Half a league onward,
All in the hills and valley
Rode the two hundred:

‘Forward, the Bike Brigade!
Charge for the rest stops he said:
Onto the Hole in wall Gang Camp
Rode the two hundred.

‘Forward, the bike Brigade!’
Was there a person dismay’d?
Not tho’ the bikers knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to petal & fly,
Into the Ashford Camp
Rode the two hundred.

Plunged in the sweat soaked shirts
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Local and foreigner
Reel’d from the petal-stroke,
Shatter’d & sunder’d.
Then they rode onward
Almost all of the two hundred.

Sag wagons to right of them,
moto to the left of them,
poop out pick up behind them
petaled’d and thunder’d;
They that had biked so well
Came thro’ the jaws of killer hills,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of two hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the bike Brigade,
Noble two hundred!

I only started road cycling in 2009 and am by no means an elite rider. I bought my first road bike with the idea of riding 100 miles in the Sierra Mountains to cure cancer. That was a life changing year for me. I could not have done this without the help of my team. They showed me the right way to ride, call out road hazards, ride in a pace-line to save energy, how to fundraise, and to have fun.

For those who do not know, cycling is a true team sport.

Every professional cycling team has a team leader. The rest of the team is there to support the leader and try to get them to win the race. You will never see the winner of a race that does not have the support of their team.

I only started road cycling in 2009 and am by no means an elite rider. I bought my first road bike with the idea of riding 100 miles in the Sierra Mountains to cure cancer. That was a life changing year for me. I could not have done this without the help of my team. They showed me the right way to ride, call out road hazards, ride in a pace-line to save energy, how to fundraise, and to have fun.

AngelRide is no different. We have a team of hundreds of people, all of whom are there to support our team leaders…THE KIDS!

That’s right folks…this ride is not about you, Our job is to raise money to get the kids in the hospital visits from the Hole in the Wall Gang’s Hospital Outreach team. Many of these kids spend months in the hospital and look forward to having camp brought to them. “It’s all about the kids!”

The team starts with the volunteers: Folks who set up the rest stops, ride in the support vehicles & motor cycles, the medical team, people who run training rides, and of course Lynn and Fred. Try doing the ride without them…You won’t get very far.

Now let’s talk about on the course. The official AngelRide Ambassadors who make sure you are OK on the ride. The other unofficial ambassadors, who talk you up that long hill, give you a gel or power bar, share their water with you, help you change a flat or fix your dripped chain. The support vehicles, the moto crew, the bike mechanics, the rest stop workers.

My heroes on the ride are not the people who cross the finish line first. They are the folks who go above and beyond. The people who step out of their comfort zone and ride a bike farther than they have ever ridden before. The people who have raised well over their fundraising minimum. Remember the winners of this ride are the kids.

Whether for the good or the bad, Lance Armstrong has given us many reasons to remember him by. And before that sentence launches a diatribe of bad reasons, I want to say that the best thing I remember him for and the one that I always hold near and dear to my heart is his simple statement “It’s not about the bike.” The bike is the vehicle we use to help the kids…The ride is about all of us together…The Team!

Tailwinds!