Viva Bike Vegas!

I know it seems like a typical Megan-thing to do to so cleverly and humorously name a ride or post, but not so. It is now official: I am a proud mentor of the 2012 Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo team for TNT. This is a new event added to our repetoire, and knowing the support staff and coaches, it will be a great event as well. That's right, I get to ride all over, from the Vegas Strip to the Hoover dam. It's another dam bike ride, and I couldn't be more excited.

But, that means I broke a tacit promise I made to you, my friends and supporters, which was to only fundraise once a year. I am asking you to continue stepping up so admirably by giving me your money. And, by "me" I mean the 100,000+ people in the United States who will be diagnosed with a blood cancer this year. My goal for the summer is to raise $2,500 by 22 September.

Let me break it down for you:

• $100 will pay for 1 round trip per day for 5 days for a patient living in rural Georgia to drive to treatment in Atlanta

• $42 will pay for 1 anti-nausea pill for a person in treatment

• $30 allows 1 patient to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

• $20 will help pay for 1 round trip per day for 5 days of treatment at a facility for an urban patient.

• $5 will cover the costs to send a packet to a newly diagnosed patient, which includes information on support and their specific disease.

All of these items are important aspects of LLS' mission to eradicate blood cancers and to support and educate patients and their families. I highlight the second one, however, because Holy Crap, cancer is expensive. Some perspective is useful here: your donation makes a difference in a big way.

So, how can you help? Any number of ways, the biggest being the following:

1. Share this webpage with your friends, family, and co-workers. Everyone (and I do mean everyone) has been impacted by cancer, either personally or via family and friends. Join the fight.

2. Click the green "donate now" button over there on the right. It can be any amount. Do it for yourself or in the name of a friend. Do it as a birthday gift (ahem - mine is fast approaching) or a wedding gift, or in memory of someone.

3. Order cookies or other baked goods from yours truly (price list coming soon, some special requests honored), or otherwise pay attention here for incentives and, calling a spade a spade, gimmicks to get you to help me help others.

Capice?

Let the giving begin, and thank you!