Welcome to the initial post to the "Pat's Ride Across Iowa" blog site. If you had enough interest to get this far, I hope you will follow me on my journey leading up to and including my ride across Iowa in RAGBRAI XXXV.
Why ride across Iowa? In one respect, just to prove to myself that I can. I've run 13 marathons, so they don't hold the same challenge that they once did. So why not ride across a state!!
But more than proving anything, my participation in RAGBRAI is about my ongoing passion to live an active and healthy life. It is part of who I am and who I want to be. I hope my ride will inspire you to go for a walk, a run or perhaps a ride.
My RAGBRAI ride is also about our ongoing battle against one of America's dealiest killers- cancer. Lance Armstrong and his LIVESTRONG Army will be participating in RAGBRAI. I will be joining them and in doing so I have committed to raising funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) so that we can fight and beat this deadly killer. I hope you will support me and the LAF with both your moral and spirtual support as well as your financial generosity.
Donations can be forwarded to: Dexter Apache Holdings, Inc., 2211 W. Grimes Avenue, Fairfield, Iowa 52556, attention: Pat Albregts. Make checks payable to The Lance Armstrong Foundation. They are a 501-C-3 charitable organization so your contribution is tax deductible. I'll make sure Lance and his Army get them, personally. And I will be matching all personal donations 100%, while Dexter Apache Holdings, Inc will be matching corporate donations 100%.
So why a Blog site? It's a great way for you to follow my efforts. I will post an update every week until RAGBRAI starts and then I will post every day during the ride, complete with the lowdown on my training, my fundraising efforts and other important details (pictures included).
The picture above was taken today before a 50 mile training ride that took me from Fairfield to Birmingham, Stockport, Lockridge and back home. Sunny, cool and with light winds, I covered the distance in about 2 hours and 45 minutes- about 18 MPH! I felt great although I am still a ways from having my backside fully acclimated to the saddle. My training goal is to ride 700-800 miles leading up to RAGBRAI. I'm up to 250 at the moment.
So stay tuned for more updates and thanks in advance for your support. We have all been touched in some way by cancer. Let's continue to work hard to beat this terrible killer.
See you down the road.
Pat
