December 06, 2018 (Toront, ON) – I am writing this with an amazing feeling of fatigue over my entire body. A tired, beat up, slow burning buzz that is so hard to put into words. Don’t worry I am very much sober but I might have to warn you, the coffee is just kicking in.

I did something on Nov. 26 “just because”. It wasn’t the only reason but it was a big one. I did it because I was “able” to and I do not take being able for granted. It is a message that I want to help spread. Please enjoy your health while you have it. Some enjoy it more than others, some let it slip away or never fully appreciate it until it is gone. I try to lead in this area every single day. I do my best to enjoy movement and my ability to travel under my own power to its fullest. The bicycle is a very powerful tool in this regard. Efficient and economical, it allows us to go further and faster. The bike also enables us to draw attention to a good cause and there are no shortage of good causes.

On Sunday (Nov. 25) night prior I decided I wanted to set a new indoor distance record on Zwift. I have done a few big rides recently in preparation for this. I did 5h40 minutes – 205km on Oct 22nd and then 8h25 minutes – 305km again on Oct 25. Next up was another 7h40 minutes – 275km on Nov 16th. These were all “little” test events to practice going for something special.

On Sunday night at 10 pm I committed to doing that something special. I had titled all of these rides the same on Strava. It started with The Great To Be Alive 205, The Great to Be Alive 305 and then The Great To Be Alive 275. The 275 was supposed to be the 405 but I got derailed late in the ride by my beautiful girlfriend Amanda and a large pizza. She has been a big part of this journey the past year and is a big reason why I did this ride on Monday. I was so thankful she saved me from going any further the night of the 275. I got what I needed from the ride, we enjoyed the post ride after party together and I was confident that 405km was very obtainable. The goal of all these practice runs was met.

Now how could I make this next ride mean something more that just setting a new indoor record?

Setting records and pushing the boundaries of what you think is possible on a bike is a wonderful feeling but what if you could do all that and possibly effect someone’s life for the better at the same time. Amanda is a Special Ed teacher and everyday she inspires me with her love and passion for helping children in need. Every night we talk about our day and when she shares what some of these little people have to deal with and work through on a daily basis it breaks my heart. On top of all the learning disabilities and special needs was something else that I couldn’t believe…extreme poverty.

When I heard about the kids in need of breakfast programs or going to school hungry how and how she routinely buys some of the children new shoes and art supplies out of her own pocket, I am always left feeling I am not doing enough. When she told me about the little guy who was in desperate need of new glasses that his parents were unable to provide, I just had this overwhelming feeling I needed to try and do something, anything really just to somehow help in the tiniest way.

We thought if I did a crazy ride that would draw people’s attention maybe, just maybe we could get people to sponsor the distance. A penny, 5 cents or 10 cents per kilometer possibly and so on Sunday night I threw up an Instagram story saying just that and the response was amazing. Right away we had people messaging me and saying they were in for 5 cents or 10 cents. We had a few even give me incentive deals 5 cents before 400km and 10 cents if I pass 400. We had people start with 10 cents and then double their pledge mid-ride because they were so inspired. Then it happened. We had our first dollar per kilometer donation. Then we had another generous person offer to match 10% of the total donations. The power of the bicycle was in full effect.

We are still receiving donations and the total continues to rise but I can confidently say right now this event raised over $2,200 for an amazing cause, children in need. When Amanda called the little boy’s mom last night to tell her that we would be able to get her son the new glasses things got pretty emotional. It was worth every second of that ride and then some. There are so many others just like him, we promise we will make sure this money is put to the best possible use.

I want to do more of this because I am very able and I should be doing more “just because”.

The Great To Be Alive 505 is just the start. We are looking to do way more of this in the future and would love to have a big team of wonderful people to come along for the ride. We don’t have the resources to do everything we want to at the moment but we hope this event shows we are resourceful. We would love to build a charity that is very similar to this ride where we can get pledges for the kilometers we ride over the entire year. Imagine if a kilometer traveled was worth a dollar or two for the entire season?

I would work so hard to up my yearly total from 20,000 to 30,000 if that could somehow become a reality. Picture riding indoors on Zwift at local businesses and special events drawing attention from the general public. We could go anywhere, schools, hospitals, retirement homes and rack up the kilometers and raise awareness.

I would also like to rack up some serious kilometers with this charity concept challenging RAAM (Race Across America). I can do 8 days straight for the right cause, the right support and the right team. If you have ideas and/or would like to be apart of things in any capacity please just say the word. Let’s make this happen.

Thanks for reading, thank you to everyone who rode with me, cheered things on over social media and generously donated!

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