Masskickers

AG recently posted about Eric Galvez. Click HERE for the post. Eric is an inspiring athlete living beyond cancer. What we didn’t mention in the post was that Eric is kicking his cancer’s ass in more ways than one. He is the ED of Masskickers. Their mission is to EMPOWER newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones through RESEARCH and KNOWLEDGE in order to make people feel less helpless when faced with an intimidating diagnosis. mAss Kickers Foundation will UNITE all tumor mass patients and their loved ones through a pugilistic attitude and promote leadership in tumor advocacy.

I had the honor of doing an interview with Eric and it posted on Masskickers today. Check it out http://www.masskickers.com/main/featured-masskicker/74-featured-brad-ludden

Watch this and never say “I can’t” again

Matt Gilman’s latest video, features plenty of riding footage and lends a new perspective to it all by documenting Matt walking out the sections beforehand with his cane. Matt is blind, yet with careful planning and some friends giving a prompt here and there is able to ride bike trials lines well beyond the ability of many able bodied trials riders. At the end of the video Matt issues a challenge to track stand with a blindfold on. Well it is a rainy day in the mountains and I just spent the last 30 minutes in the living room blindfolded on the fixie. Not being able to see makes it damn neat impossible to balance. I am in complete awe of Matt and inspired to improve my bike handling skills.

Thanks for reading! Now I need to get back on the bike and nail this trackstand!

Melanie Lidman’s update from the road!

Update from the road: We’re 500 miles into our bike journey from Vancouver, Canada to San Diego, and about a third of the way to our fundraising goal for World Bicycle Relief. We’ve had some crazy adventures along the way and met some amazing people. I’ve definitely learned a few things about planning a charity adventure that will be beneficial the next time around. First, here are a few helpful fundraising ideas that put us well on our way to our goal:

Bar Night–Jess organized the most successful fundraiser near her home in Maryland. She organized with a local bar for a portion of the cover for a night at the bar to go to our fundraiser. The deal was great–buy $10 worth of tickets for 5 beers, and $7 went to World Bicycle Relief. Through publicizing on facebook and via word of mouth, Jess was able to raise $623 in one night, making her the largest individual donor for WBR’s grassroots fundraising!

Basketball Tournament–Brendan organized a basketball tournament at his local courts. For a $5 entry fee, players competed in an afternoon of 2v2 basketball. This even was great because there was absolutely no overhead, so 100 percent of the proceeds went to the fundraiser. Brendan raised over $125 with the tournament.

Jess and Brendan look at the Columbia River as we ride into Portland

E-mail Plea–I sent out over a hundred e-mails publicizing our trip and fundraising website. This has been moderately successful, and we hope that as we get closer to the end of the trip and closer to our fundraising goal, we’ll send out more e-mails asking for people to help us reach our last hurdle.

Blogging–Updating our website (http://teamgreenjello.blogspot.com) has been a fun way to keep in touch with people at home and let people we meet on the road know how we’re doing. We’re using a website similar to CouchSurfing called Warm Showers (warmshowers.org) that matches bicycle tourers with hosts in various cities. We tell all our hosts about our fundraiser and a few of them have even donated (in addition to letting us crash in their house, do laundry, and take showers–people are amazing!).

One thing I would definitely do for my next trip is make business cards before I left that we could hand out to people instead of scribbling down my e-mail or our website on whatever scrap of paper is available. It looks much more professional and they’re practically free from places like Vista Print (vistaprint.com). Since it’s hard to get it shipped to me mid-route, I’ve made some fake business cards and will print them out at the next Kinko’s we see.

I’ve also played around with the idea of doing a few speaking engagements at cities we’re visiting. But I definitely should have organized these before I left–we never know when we’re going to be in a city and with limited internet it’s almost impossible to organize and connect with the right people. I plan on speaking about our trip at my local library and bike shops after we finish the trip, perhaps with a slide show and information about WBR.

I thought I’d also address an interesting issue I’ve been thinking about a lot on the road (and believe me, biking for 6-8 hours a day, there’s plenty of time for thinking). Before I left, as I was dashing out to the store once again to buy some last minute things, my dad commented that if I just stayed home and donated all the money I was spending on this trip to World Bicycle Relief, it’d probably be equal to the amount I’m fundraising. In terms of straight accounting, he’s totally right. But travel is an essential part of who I am, and this is a way for me to travel and support a cause I am passionate about. I feel strongly that we are spreading awareness about the power of bicycles. Most of the people we talk to have never heard of the organization, nor have they considered what a huge impact a simple thing like a bike has on people around the world. I am incredibly lucky to be on this adventure of a lifetime, and I’m so grateful that we’re able to support a worthy organization at the same time.

Until next time, happy trails and I hope your adventures are all a downhill coast!
Melanie

Let the wild rumpus begin!

I was so excited when I heard that legendary skateboard film maker, Spike Jonze, was making the Where the Wild Things are movie. I grew up watching his skate movies, always coming away inspired to skate harder and to learn new tricks. Wild Things was my absolute favorite book as a kid. I loved the story and the drawings. check out the trailer

It looks like it is going to be the most visually stunning movie I have ever seen. David Eggers, wrote the screen play and Arcade Fire did the soundtrack. As an athlete I always drew a lot of inspiration from Art, Music and Books.

Here is another clip of Maurice Sendak (author of Wild Things talking about the movie). Talking about Spike and the movie:

What books and movies have inspired you guys?

Good Times for a Good Cause

Last night I went to a fundraiser/silent auction for First Descents. FD Alum, and all around awesome person, Mateo, gave a great speech about what FD has meant to him. It is so powerful to hear someone speak from the heart about what camp has meant to them and how something as simple as kayaking for a week can change someone’s life forever. Right now we don’t have the cure for cancer but we do now how to fix people. When I think about all the things in life that have made me who I am and happy it has basically been adventure therapy. That is what FD offers to survivors. I don’t think anyone can explain it any better than Beemer, Please watch this video:

This year First Descents had come up with an awesome new program to raise money for campers: Team First Descents. The concept is this: You pick the event you are most passionate about, literally anything you want. Register for team FD Once you are signed up you send an email to people in your network telling them what you are doing and why. Ask your friends for a donation to support young adults with cancer, show em Beemer’s video if they ask why. As a team First Descents member you will receive an amazing team kit to compete in. We have cycling kit for cyclists and triathletes and Dri Fit Tops for everything else. Be creative with the events you choose. Any event works as long as you are passionate about it. For Example I would love to see someone take on: Competitive Eating, Arm Wrestling, Dancing and Shuffle Board. All of the money raised will go directly to changing the lives of young adults with cancer.

Just a few announcements…

If you are in the Vail Valley, make sure to swing by e-town, in Edwards, for the Team FD Fundraiser. It starts ar 5pm and goes til 8. There will be awesome raffles and silent auction items. I am crossing my fingers that I win the tandem mountain bike.

If you were watching the tour today you saw Lance flying around the lake on This, yet another custom bike as part of Stages the global art exhibit to raise money for Livestrong.

What are you doing this weekend? Wanna ride? I am doing the Colorado Eagle River Ride, a 100 mile loop starting and finishing in Beaver Creek. It is a beautiful route and raises money for the Snowboard Outreach Society

Sometimes the best thing an athlete can give us is a little entertainment and a laugh. Check out the new Nike P-Rod video.

thanks for reading!

mike

Yield to Life

Lance Armstrong is not the only athlete in the pro peloton who is using his status for good. American super-star, David Zabriskie, started Yield to Life after getting hit by a car for the second time. They say that you are not really a pro cyclist until you get hit by a car. Last year I got my USCF pro license and found myself on the hood of an SUV. I was unscathed, except for some cuts and bruises. My bike survived as well. The seat was broken in half but that was it. I still can’t help thinking what would have happened if I had not been able to make it up on the hood. If I had not, I would have been literally run over, a thought that still haunts me. Dave experienced huge setbacks and hospital time after both of his accidents. Dave wants to raise awareness about sharing the road for both motorists and cyclists.

Tyler Farrar, American Sprinting Bad Ass, and Zabriskie’s teammate on Garmin is also passionately involved in the cause. Tyler’s Dad, Ed, was riding his bike when he was hit head on by a car. Ed lost the use of his legs. Cycling continues to grow in popularity. As is does, so to does the need for cyclists and motorists to be respectful and aware of one another. Check out this ESPN article for more info about Dr. Farrar.

Stages

I am so excited about the Stages Project. It combines my 2 biggest passions with philanthropy. Lance Armstrong and Nike have collaborated with some of the biggest names in the art world to create pieces of art that are currently being displayed in Paris. The works of art will be sold with the proceeds being donated to Livestrong. Have a look:

Riding to Break the Cycle

Using your passion for athletics is an easy way to raise money for a cause you care about. We have said this time and time again. Well, in case you didn’t believe us, here’s more proof.

An organization called Global Agents for Change has many programs for change. One of those programs is called Riding to Break the Cycle which is a predetermined route they set up that you can join and ride for up to 8 weeks and 2400 miles. The goal is to fight global poverty.

Not interested in that much riding or don’t have that much time, they also have 1 day city rides. Click HERE to learn more.

The Tony Hawk Experience

Anybody have 100k I can borrow? Tony Hawk is known for a lot of things but people don’t praise him nearly enough for his philanthropy. Check out the Tony Hawk Foundation or click HERE to see some creative ways that he is using his super human reputation to raise money.