I’m registered and committed! I’m doing my first ever road cycling ride, the 2019 Harbor to the Bay AIDS benefit ride! The ride is 128 miles, from Boston to Provincetown, Massachusetts. For those of you out-of-towners, PTown is a bit of a paradise–it’s the last town on Cape Cod, an old Portuguese fishing community, a former artist colony, and an LGBTQ mecca where all are welcome and free! It’s the perfect place to finish a race like H2B!
I’ve set a goal of raising $3000, 100% of which will go to the AIDS Action Committee. I was truly inspired last year watching Alex commit to the ride, set a fundraising goal, organize amazing fundraisers, train for the ride, and finally when he pulled into PTown after 128 miles. Over the following months, he told me time and again, “you can totally do it! Sign up for next year!” As a person who thrives when I have a goal, I decided he was right! He’s now off hiking 2650 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, which is also an inspiration for me to get on the bike and dive heart-first into this amazing opportunity.
I was really nervous about riding, but as I have started test riding road bikes, I’ve become more and more excited! I haven’t yet settled on which bike to go with, so I’m open to advice! For now, I’ve been riding my Trek hybrid that I use as a commuter bike. I’m a bit of a commuter cyclist wimp, so I’ve been waiting for the Boston weather to start cooperating. Last week Landry’s did an incredible job giving the Trek a tune-up and adding a rear rack, so now I have no excuses to not commute.
As far as training, I have found myself really comfortable with a 10-mile ride, so this is my baseline. There is a training ride mid-May, and I hope to be pretty comfortable with 20 miles by then!
Check back often for updates on my training and fundraising progress, and in the meantime, THANK YOU for your support and donations! I can’t do it without you all!
Much love,
John
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.