Up To Speed 4.11.10
Message from Lynn McCarthy
Hello AngelRiders.
When the Young AngelRiders cycle past the finish line at the Mystic YMCA, they are all smiling ear-to-ear. Not only do they love to ride, especially with family and friends, many of them also have a special appreciation for helping children with serious illnesses. Take young Robert A; he has raised over $4500 by himself to help the HOP kids. He talked with his school principal, and now gets on the intercom at school to talk about what he's doing to raise the money. That's inspiring!
Smiles and inspiration define HOP too. I love this quote about the HOP specialist that visits with children at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital: "Sarah Jane has a unique ability to connect to kids and teens of all ages. Her kind nature mixed with her silliness are truly an asset. Kids are always smiling whenever they are around Sarah Jane." HOP specialists visit approximately 8 kids a day in the hospitals. And one of the most useful items they carry is...you guessed it...DUCT TAPE! That's where all those duct tape purses, wallets, and flowers come from.
Thank you AngelRiders. Keep smiling. Keep inspiring.
Shine on!
Lynn McCarthy
AngelRide Event Coordinator
Lynn@angelride.org
P.S. Tip of the week: Don't forget to make your hotel reservation if you are taking the bus from Mystic on Friday night! You have until April 24th for the discounted rate: http://www.angelride.org/faq.php#ride
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Volunteer Spotlight
We have wonderful volunteers for AngelRide -- people who make the event work so that 100% of the donations you raise go to HOP. If you're a 2-day AngelRider, you'll meet one of our special people on Friday night. MarkD transports your bikes from Mystic to the start every year in his Sterling Moving and Storage 18-wheel truck. Rest assured Mark will take good care of your bike. And after he gets your bikes all set at the start, Mark dons his orange Velo Cycling Club team jersey and joins the AngelRide pack. This will be the seventh year Mark has donated the use of his truck, gas and time. This has made a significant difference in the amount of money that has gone directly to HOP.
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Training
If you ride in CT, you gotta love the hills. And your lungs have to love them too. Here's a tip from our trainer Coach Al on breathing: "When you get out of breath because the intensity is rising and you are out of your aerobic zone, it can be natural to allow your breath to become shallow, which in turn can create a buildup of CO2 in your lungs, which ends up making you feel EVEN MORE out of breath! Not a good feeling. First...remember most of your rides should be AEROBIC primarily, which means you should be able to breathe through your nose, without gasping for air. Once the road turns up or the intensity rises, and you feel your breath become shallower....FOCUS ON EXHALING harder....more forcefully...and breath deeper, from your belly. I think of this as almost like Rhinoceros or 'RHINO' breathing....forcing air OUT, in order to get rid of CO2...so that you get a good exchange...of air. you'll be more relaxed, for sure....and you'll see your HR come down....of course, if you're riding harder than you should be, for very long, you'll run out of energy and won't feel good. Ride at your present fitness level, most of the time... :)"
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Fundraising
DaveG says "Get your kids involved in AngelRide". Dave is our ambassador who is also the coordinator of our Young AngelRider program; we started the Young AngelRider program because so many kids were having fun riding their bikes around the finish line as they waited for their parents to arrive. But it's turned into so much more than that. The kids register, and they raise the money on their own. Like RobertA that I mentioned above, many of them have a special affinity for helping kids with serious illnesses. Last year we had 20 young riders -- ages 7-10, and 15 young adults -- ages 11-15. And this wonderful group collectively raised over $8000 last year alone.
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Event Logistics
All Young AngelRiders have a registered volunteer escort with them for the route. The Young Adult AngelRiders meet their escort, a registered AngelRider at the lunch stop for Day 2. The duos then ride the final 25 miles of the route into Mystic together.
Our youngest riders have a 6-mile course that also finishes at the Mystic YMCA. Each of these riders also has an escort who is a registered AngelRider or volunteer. And in keeping with our safety mantra, the escorts and kids all wear helmets, and the route is guided by our wonderful MotoCrew and police escorts.
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