It's been a long time...

The last time I wrote I made up a silly excuse about it being a long time since I had posted. Well, now I have a real silly excuse for not posting in two months: I have been busy.

Actually, I have been busy, which is a good thing when you're trying to train and fundraise for a cross-country bike ride. In the past two months I have ...

1) Brought my fundraising tally to hover around $3000
2) Suffered from a lot of pain in my left knee
3) Sought treatment for the pain in my left knee
4) Discovered that the pain in my left knee stems from a partial chronic tear of my left ACL (who knew?).
5) Started physical therapy
6) Joined the New York Cycling Club
7) Joined the NYCC C-SIG group to ride every Saturday from March 24 to May 19. This past Saturday I rode to New Jersey.
8) Lost 5 lbs (whohoo!)

I'm exhausted.

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to getting my spanking new Cannondale bicycle next Sunday afternoon, and teaching myself how to ride with clipless pedals! Any tips?

I promise I'll be writing more frequently from now on. I'm sure things should get interesting with the pedals.

Thank you!

Well, the February 1st deadline came and went, and with it came an influx of donations. Thank you to all those who donated! I have not totaled my contributions for the past month as of yet, however I can estimate that they are over $2225 with the matching grant. I will have to get back to you with the official tally.

However, another stroke of luck befell my fundraising campaign. Traveler's Insurance of Hartford, CT matched my parents' contribution! My father works for Traveler's where apparently there is an employee matching contribution program. As you can imagine, they really had to twist my arm to take the unsolicited donation numbering in the three-digits. Tempted as I was turn it down, they just insisted, so I did what any soul cornered like a wounded dog would do - I took the money and ran.

25% There!

Today I took stock of my contributions, and I have successfully raised $1005 dollars (that I know of, HBC doesn't notify us immediately of new donations). I am officially one quarter of the way towards my goal. If every dollar was a mile on my bicycle, I'd be over halfway through the great state of Kentucky. ** Tangent: Did you know that George Clooney is from Kentucky? He was on the cover of Kentucky Monthly in December 2006 to celebrate "Kentuckians of the year." It strikes me as curious that one of Hollywood's most liberal devotees is Kentucky's chosen son, but perhaps the times they are a changin'.**

Also, please tell anyone that is looking to part with a few dollars, that I could use as many donations as possible this month. My matching grant ends Feb 1st!

Hooray for bicycles!

As of yesterday, I had my first trip to the bicycle repair to store to accomplish two things: a) to repair the front break of my training bike that seized up on me while riding along Riverside Drive (it screeched like one million fingernails scraped simultaneously on an industrial-sized chalkboard); and b) to get measured for my summer touring bike. For those interested, I should ride a 52 or 53cm frame, and apparently I have a 78cm inseam - long legs according to Leo at Metro Bicycle Stores. Considering that I always thought I had a freakishly long torso and short little legs, this new development is encouraging for my self-esteem.

Tomorrow is also supposed to be my first real training ride outdoors. Heretofore I practiced in spinning class or I rode my little folding bike around my neighborhood. But one does not move very quickly on 16" wheels, and it's time to get practice in the great outdoors. However! Here is the big however, weather.com predicts with 80% accuracy that it will be raining at 8:00am tomorrow morning -- the perfect time for riding my bicycle before work. AND, I am a big wimp when it come to riding in the rain. My inner monologue on riding in the rain: "Well, I don't want to risk rusting my frame, and I don't have any fenders so I'll get mud splattered up my back. Plus, it will be very cold and I could get the flu or some horrible disease." Right, I'm a wimp. As my dear roommate Beth said, "girlfriend, if you're going to be riding across the country, you're going to experience a little rain."

Here's hoping I can face the 48 degree drizzle.

Or, maybe, I should reschedule for Tuesday.

Matching Grant!

Thank you to my anonymous donor who has bequethed me with a wonderful opportunity to turn my piddling fundraising efforts into a full-scale operation. As of December 26, 2006 I received an offer to match any donations collected through February 1, 2007. This is a huge gift to my fundraising campaign and I can not say thank you enough to the wonderful people who are making that possible! Also, my next fundraising goal is $1500 by February 1, so this gift is (to say the least) very convenient.

Let the fundraising begin!

Please help me accomplish this challenge. Go to the Donate page at habitatbike.org. Please make sure to indicate that the donation is for "Sara Barz" on the donation page or check.

If you do donate, please drop me a line here or via email: skbarz@gmail.com. I will be posting a running tally of current donations.