Fundraising is actually becoming fun!!

This weekend was jam-packed with fundraising and race training. And, I ended up having a great time in the midst of all of the hard work.

On Saturday Tere, Kelly (another teammate), Doug (our coach), Jerry (our fundraising mentor) and I headed down to Busch Stadium for our first canister drive. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the general public is. Many people donated and it was so appreciated. I walked over to T.G.I. Friday's by Kiener Plaza and they happily filled up my soda free of charge while I used the bathroom -- I didn't even have to ask. I will be heading down there a lot this season and I'm looking forward to it. I had a great time.

On Sunday the team did an organized ride, which I wasn't sure I was quite ready for with all of the bike traffic. Instead I went to Grant's Trail again and did 16 miles. It was gorgeous outside and a great ride. It feels good to push myself.

Please don't forget the Good Tymes Karaoke Night, coming up Thursday, June 17. More items are coming in to be raffled off ...

Updated raffle list:

• A FREE Zoom Whitening from my friends at Parkview Dental
• $20 gift certificate to Texas Roadhouse
• A one-day pass at The Watering Bowl for your dog to run and play! (Maddux goes here and he loves it!)
• A gift certificate to Tequila's Mexican Restaurant (value pending)
  

We are giving away 6 free appetizers or desserts from T.G.I. Friday's and a free small sub sandwich from Quizno's as door prizes.

AND JUST ANNOUNCED! The St. Louis Blues have given me 4 certificates for tickets to a game next year! I will be raffling them off throughout the summer for a drawing to happen in August. Please contact me for details!

There also will be some fine items/tickets from Saint Louis University available later this summer. Stay tuned for details!!

Karaoke Night Raffle List Update!

If there's one thing I learned about fundraising, it's really really difficult, especially in this economy! Tere and I are no where near our goals, but we have some exciting events coming up and hopefully we'll be a lot closer so we can concentrate on our mileage.

We rode Grant's Trail yesterday -- the entire 16 miles. Remember me talking about wanting to find the feeling of my youth, feeling free again and having no fear of the bike? I finally felt that yesterday. After putting my wheel on with a little help from Tere, we were off. And it was so nice to have a trail with minimal traffic and hills, just to coast down. Along the way I could smell the freshly cut grass and the wildflowers, and we saw a ton of bunnies and Clydesdales. What a combination! It was nice to feel the breeze in my face and the wind in my hair. (I don't wear a helmet unless I have to folks, I mean, seriously, if I can survive a fall off a platform in Florence I think I'll be OK.)

We are headed down to Busch Stadium on Sunday to hand out beads for our first canister drive. If I have to shake a can every day this summer to make my goal, I will. I really want to succeed at this -- to see it through to the end. You can help with that by coming to Good Tymes Karaoke Night Thursday, June 17. It's always a blast there on Thursdays and this night will be even more special. Thank you all in advance for your support!

Updated raffle list:

• A FREE Zoom Whitening from my friends at Parkview Dental
• $20 gift certificate to Texas Roadhouse
• A one-day pass at The Watering Bowl for your dog to run and play! (Maddux goes here and he loves it!)
• A gift certificate to Tequila's Mexican Restaurant (value pending)

And we are giving away 6 free appetizers or desserts from T.G.I. Friday's as door prizes.

I am working on securing more, so stay tuned!

Good Tymes Karaoke Night!

Hello Readers,

As I'm sure you've all seen, Mike, the owner of Good Tymes, has generously accepted my offer to host a karaoke fundraising night June 17. I am very excited and I hope to raise a lot of money for cancer research. I have a few great prizes lined up so far:

• a $20 gift certificate to Texas Roadhouse
• free appetizers and desserts from T.G.I. Friday's
• a free ZOOM Whitening from my awesome dentist over at Parkview Dental in Columbia, Ill.

I'm working on securing some other great things for door prizes or to raffle off, so please come out and support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Good Tymes.

Along the fundraising lines, I'm nervous I won't raise enough money to go. It's a lot of work and there are a lot of companies out there saying no. It seems like everyone has a cause ... so hopefully I'll raise enough by the July mid-way point to keep going.

Saturday's ride in Forest Park was much better. I didn't hit any children or concrete barricades (I avoided one altogether by going around in the grass). I was still very nervous and am looking forward to the day that I can let go of the fear and just enjoy riding. I need to enjoy it more because we did 12 miles on Saturday, and once we really start raising the mileage bar, there needs to be some fun involved!

Thanks again everyone for reading and I hope you can come out to karaoke night at Good Tymes on June 17. I'll be taking requests :)

Christ I'm Old

Saturday, May 15, 2010, was the first day I had been on a bicycle since May of 1994. It was around that time I got my learner's permit to drive a car and I never looked back.

I was a speed demon on my bike back in the day, riding as fast as I could go around the wild streets of Perryville. It was one of the greatest joys of my childhood. So, I was quite excited when my BFF Tere (who has since joined me on the century ride, very exciting) and her husband Jim accompanied me to Crystal City Cyclery to pick out my new wheels.

I will skip all of the logistics #1 because they are boring, and #2 because I was only half paying attention. I got on the first bike and found that I couldn't turn corners anymore. Hey folks, it had been a while. By the time I got done figuring out I needed a helmet, and a bag thing to keep stuff in, and the stuff to put in it, and gloves, and a cage thing to put water in, I was overwhelmed.

Jim showed me how to take off the front wheel to get the bike in my trunk, something I'm sure will take me a few tries to do on my own, and someone had better double check it every time because I'm also sure that my wheel is going to fall off at some point, causing me to face plant into the concrete.

On Sunday I was up bright and early and headed to Forest Park. The Team in Training, led by our coach, Doug, and our mentor, Jerry, was in full effect, rain or shine. We did 6 miles, which is one lap around the park, and it wasn't bad. The highlights:

1. I stopped at the first corner and had to physically turn the bike while standing because I freaked out.
2. When we passed the first child on his left, I didn't veer around him far enough and ran into him. Awesome.
3. I ran into a concrete barrier head first after crossing the street.

At least I was at the back of the pack and Jerry was the only one to see my mishaps. Even after this nervewracking weekend of out-of-my-comfort-zone-ness, I felt a great sense of accomplishment when it was done.

Stay tuned for a BIG announcement for my first TNT Leukemia and Lymphoma fundraising night!

Kicking Off the Biggest Race of My Life ... Actually the ONLY Race of My Life So Far!

Hey everyone,

As many of you know, I have been instructed by my wonderful counselor, the all-knowing Denny, to fill my life with as many hobbies/distractions/positive, healthy things that I can.

I had been familiar with Team in Training/The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society over the years, and I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of. Not only is one raising money for a great cause, but I would be forced to get in shape because I would be working with a team and going to a beautiful location somewhere. However, A: I don't run anywhere but from the cops and B: I can't swim, so a triathlon would be out. Then I saw the Honolulu Century Ride pop up on their site.

Yes, it is 100 miles that I'm going to be training for in the St. Louis summer. Yes, it is in Hawaii. Pros and cons folks. I signed up last week and yesterday was kick-off, where we received our training schedule and met most members of our team.

Our team of 13 or so looks like a great group of people. We had our leis, tacky Hawaiian shirts and Hawaiian Punch ready to go, and we clearly were gonna work hard and have the most fun.

I have no idea what to expect. I don't even own a bike yet, and haven't been on one since I got my driver's license. I never had to wear a helmet when I was a kid. And, I've never had to raise money of any sort. I've never been a girl scout or been a band member.

So, these next 5 months will be a journey outside of my comfort zone. Denny is thrilled, of course. Hopefully you all will keep reading and will donate. You aren't donating to me, you are donating through me to the cause. Our honored teammate is Josie, and she is the daughter of one of our team riders. I am looking forward to getting to know them personally, because to me putting a personal spin on things makes all of the difference.

Below is a link to where you can donate to help kick off my fundraising. Thanks so much for reading.

Alyssa

To donate:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/gat/honoride10/astahr