For Sale

We just completed the Adventure for the Cures and it was a truly incredible experience for us. The team goal was to raise $24,000 for breast and ovarian cancer research and we actually raised over $39,000!! Roy and I volunteered to work with the Women’s Motorcyclist Foundation (WMF) on the ride as Sherpas for “The Dirty Dozen” – the 12 women who were the principal riders. These 12 women had street riding experience, but limited to no dirt/trail experience. Roy rode as sweeper for the group every day, bringing up the rear and assisting the principal riders whenever needed. That consisted mostly of picking up bikes, readjusting mirrors and levers, and making sure the riders were ok after their falls. I was responsible for driving one of the 4-wheel vehicles on the days we changed locations, and was put on rotational kitchen detail. Those who know me well know I’m not great in the kitchen, but I’m happy to report that no one suffered from food poisoning. Luckily, there was an experienced cook on the ride and she provided such expert guidance that even I was able to present truly excellent meals. I was able to ride with the group on the days I didn’t have staff duties.

There were 22 people altogether on the Adventure for the Cures – the 12 who were “The Dirty Dozen”, our 2 organizers (Gin Shear and Sue Slate – phenomenal women who have raised over 2.5 million dollars for breast cancer research through the WMF), 2 riding coaches/trainers (Bonnie and Andrea from Coach2Ride – both experienced riders and motocross racers), a professional photographer (Amy Holland, editor of Friction Zone magazine), several other journalists who will be writing stories on this event for several months, a professional guide from Colorado who had also volunteered his time and skills, and 4 staff members that included us. We started each day by gathering after breakfast and forming what became known as Woody’s Circle. Woody was supposed to come on the ride with us but passed away from ovarian cancer only 3 weeks before the trip. Woody’s friend (and our friend, too) Peg rode in her place. Anyway, we formed the circle every morning and repeated a mantra just as Woody had done, “I’m alive, I’m awake, and I feel great!” It was a wonderful way to start the day, holding hands in a circle and expressing joy in being alive and healthy and ready for adventure.

Then off we’d go. The routes that had been laid out were truly spectacular. We rode over some of the most beautiful passes in central Colorado, Keystone Gulch, Cottonwood Pass, Paradise Divide, LaSalle Pass, and also rode through the Arapaho National Forest, alongside the Slate River and other bodies of water that I cannot name. We rode by fields of wildflowers, through herds of cattle on the open range, down in the sand and up in the mud. It was great! I will be happy to bore you with hundreds of pictures given the least encouragement, so be warned…

At some point each day, we stopped for The Medallion Pass Ceremony. The Medallion is actually made up of 4 parts that are each a medallion or medal that is similar to the medals you see placed around the necks of Olympic champions. The first part is For The Survivors, is horse shoe shaped and is typically worn by a cancer survivor. The second part is a circle, the Ring of Memory, and is typically worn by someone who is riding in memory of a loved one who has passed away. I was honored to be chosen to wear the Ring of Memory and proudly wore it in memory of my aunt who passed away from breast cancer. Roy was chosen to wear it another day, and did so in memory of his grandmother who passed was many years ago. The third part is another horse shoe, For The Future, and represents a future without cancer. And the 4^th part is The Heart – a disk that contains an image of a one-breasted female archer representing the battle that continues to rage. The four people who were chosen to wear one of the medallion parts told the group why they were on the ride and what it meant to them. It was so moving to hear the stories every day. These were strong, incredible women (and men) who freely shared their feelings and emotions and memories of those who didn’t make it, and there were tears and laughs and lots of hugs. The Medallion would be reassembled and then the parts would be passed to the people who were chose to wear it next. Nobody told me that we’d be crying every day, but it brought us so close as a group. We started the week as strangers, only a few people knew anyone else in the group before we started, and we went home in the end as family. It was so beautiful. At the end of the event, we were each presented with a replica of the medallion that we will cherish.

At the end of the day, there was always good food and fellowship. Sometimes there were balloon animals and brownies, other times there were S’mores, fireworks and lassos. There was a song recorded for posterity and posted on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OiiqGQ62g if you want to see and hear it. There was a cat that became our mascot for a while. There was a skunk. OK, the skunk wasn’t real but some people didn’t know that at first and it was fun to hear them screech and see them run. There were bumps and bruises - almost everyone fell down at least once and we all got back up. But always, there was laughter.

We received WAY more back from this event than we ever anticipated. If you’re given the opportunity to volunteer to work for something that you truly care about by participating in something you love, we hope you’ll take advantage of it. Given the chance, we’d do this one again tomorrow. Thank you again for your support.