User Profile

I'm a 39 year old attorney and aspiring novelist in New York City, and my mother was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in 2001. She remains relatively healthy, and an inspiration to us all, but not everybody is so lucky. My former roommate's father died at the age of 63 only a few weeks after his leukemia diagnosis; my friend Chris's father has had several rounds of chemo to fight his own CLL; my law school friend Lindsey went through several rounds of chemo for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia before she had to have a stem cell transplant. Everywhere I turn, people are affected by blood cancers. The survival rate for children with blood cancers has climbed from the single digits just twenty years ago to 85% today, but the outlook is not as good for adults. There remains much work to be done, and there are good people doing that work this very minute who need our help.

On November 17, 2007, I rode my bike in "El Tour de Tucson" - 109 miles in and around Tucson, Arizona - to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which will use the funds for the fight against blood cancers, and for patient services for those already diagnosed. Training began on May 12, and I finished the ride successfully, though not without some difficulties. Friends, family, and colleagues donated $15,395 through my ride, far beyond my expectations.

Only weeks later, Team in Training asked me to consider becoming Fundraising Captain for the spring team, 100-120 bicyclists who'd be riding either the Montauk Century on May 18, 2008 or "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" around Lake Tahoe on June 1, 2008. In addition to helping those bicyclists raise nearly $700,000, I also biked the Tahoe century, and it was a grueling but beautiful experience. Coach Matt once again led the team; Kat, my mentor for Tucson, was Mentor Captain; and a few of my friends from the Tucson team were mentors.

Last fall, I was once again "just" a rider - training and fundraising for my second go-round at El Tour de Tucson, November 22, 2008. I raised over $16,000 the second time, and even shaved several minutes off my riding time for the 109 miles.

This year, I have once again served as Fundraising Captain for the New York City team, and in September, 2009 I rode the 100-mile Seacoast Century. Now I am once again fundraising and training for El Tour de Tucson, November 21, 2009. Follow along, won't you?

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