Tax-Deductible Advertising + Warm, Squishy Feeling = (hopefully) Donations!

Arik and I have pretty much exhausted our networks as far as fundraising goes. We are so thankful to our friends and family who have donated and sent us notes of support. Now we're branchin' out! We're trading ad space on our bikes (in the form of stickers) for donations to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Please help spread the word! Local business owners, your employer, even the kid who mows your lawn, all may be potential donors!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Riding with Lance

Though Cash Cab is usually my (Mia's) chosen biking distraction, I changed things up yesterday when I realized the Tour of California was on. The race marked Lance Armstrong's return to competitive cycling, and I was lucky enough to catch most of his ride in a heated time trial. Just for fun, I tried to match my cadence to Lance's and whoa do I know how he got such beastly legs- it was intense! At least now I have a barometer by which to measure my progress:

Doh! I've got a ways to go! I was huffing and puffing 10 minutes in, and was a sweaty, breathless wreck by the time the hour was up.

In other news, we are less than 10 bucks away from being halfway to raising $3711! We have been blown away by everyone's generosity, so a HUGE thank you to all of you!

As for prepping for the logistics of the trip, Arik and I have about three days of camping experience between us, and the longest we've ever ridden in one go is 12 miles. So when it comes to preparing for a 3711 mile bike tour, during which we plan to camp 6 out of every 7 days, we're big newbies. Plus we're having to equip ourselves from scratch, since we don't have years of accumulated camping/biking supplies to draw from, and those few haphazard supplies we do have are too bulky to carry on a bike. So we have a pretty extensive list of stuff we need to buy/borrow before the tour, and the order in which we've been getting it has been kinda funny.

So far we have:

2 bikes (these were pretty important)
2 insect repelling bandanas (obviously!)
2 sets of silverware
2 Camelbaks
1 waterproof jacket
Mini toilet paper rolls (courtesy of Arik's parents)
2 thermarests and stuff sacks (also courtesy of Arik's parents- they rock!)

Good thing we've covered the essentials- what more could we possibly need? :)

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Fundraising Site Change

A quick fundraising note: our original Livestrong fundraising site is being rolled over to a different site for 2009, so please donate there, rather than on the original site.

Here's the 2009 site: http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

If you already donated on the 2008 page, thank you! Your donations should appear shortly on the 2009 page.

Be well,

Arik and Mia

FUNdraising

If you're here, you're likely the victim...err...lucky recipient of our first fundraising efforts. Last night we emailed 250 people, among them family, friends, teachers, professors, people recommended to us by our parents, and long lost facebook friends. Overall it took about 3 hours, but the response has already been awesome. Mia's beloved 4th grade teacher somehow found out about our ride without being emailed, and was our very first donor! Thanks Ms. French. :) We thank all those who have emailed us encouragement, donated, and/or told us they'll be donating soon.

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike