Crappy chamois and crappier weather

After going to the gym last night to log some reps and some interval cardio, I needed to loosen up my legs and get on my bike, Sully, for a ride. I'll get to that in a minute, though.

First thing this morning, I needed to uncover all the things to take on my trip with me that I accidentally packed into boxes from moving out of NJ. Those things included my hammock, my camping pillow, and my towel. I was a mess. I ripped open boxes and retaped them numerous times but finally found a bag with all three things I was looking for!

By the time I found them, it was time for lunch and an afternoon ride. In the words of the great Ron Burgundy, "taco salad was a bad choice". Okay, okay. He said milk, but I tell you taco salad before a ride had me gassed up and not in a good way. Still, I put on a jersey and my worst chamois (padded shorts for biking) that I wasn't planning on bringing with me for my ride. Those chamois shorts were not comfortable, but I didn't need to bike far. I just needed to stretch out the legs and ride a few good climbs to prep my muscles for what's to come next week.

Just when I thought I was pushing through the discomfort and soreness, the rain came. It started immediately before my favorite downhill, too. Nothing was going my way, but then I thought about it...

Sometimes life doesn't help you out, but that's not a time to get upset. Just stop and think about the amazing gifts you have in life. Family, friends, health, money or whatever else you might cherish. There is so much bad in this world, but none of that should affect what I cherish, and that's just simply riding my bike and helping others.

So all I could simply do is stop, smile, take a selfie, and praise God that I'm healthy enough to ride for people living with MS who cannot.

Even with poor weather, the country in NC is still gorgeous

Smile just as the rain started to come down
before I had to put the phone away

For those able, go and donate at www.biketheusforms.org. There are some amazing people who are worthy of your donation. If you need urging to choose who to donate to, go to cyclists -> Atlantic Coast and then check out Jeffrey Brath or Angela Shaw. Among others on my team, Jeff and Angela are both a huge inspiration. Jeff will be riding the entire circumference of the US on his trusty steed. Meanwhile, Angela who currently lives with MS is going to be using her NuStep machine to virtually ride along with us. For every dollar you give, they certainly will be earning it.

As always, thanks for the support and God bless.

Ride begins in a week!

I'm sitting here in probably the worst biking shape I have been in for some time staring out the window at all the rain from the past day and a half. Now I'm not completely a fair weather cyclist, but I just got my bike cleaned and fixed up for the 850 miles up the coast next week. I don't want to ruin all that work by having it get drenched in road water and dirt.

Instead I'm here making sure I pack all that I need and boy is that fun. I've got a weekend in Wilmington, 2 weeks on a bike, and then another week out of my car. It's my last big adventures until I begin school next month and I couldn't be more excited. ☺️

For those checking in, I reached my monetary goal while at the flea market this past weekend, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't raise more. Donations are always welcome and encouraged because all proceeds go towards helping people living with MS. If you want to donate and haven't done so before, you should do it here:
http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=1350

Check back in later as I'll be trying to post every day until I begin my drive back to NC on May 16th. I love y'all and thanks for all the support you've given me over these last few rides. Continue to pray for safety of myself and my teammates as they're currently riding through Georgia right now to meet up with me in Wilmington.

My Time in the Northeast!

I forgot how this whole blog post action works, but I'm bringing it back to briefly talk about my time in NJ. I spent the past 2.5 years living in NJ and working very hard to develop my skills to become successful in a job relating to data analysis. I have so much gratitude and love for my coworkers and friends that I made while I was in NJ, but I'm so grateful to be able to continue my pursuit of knowledge by attending grad school with my dream program at NC State!

Similar to my bike trip before beginning work at Bloomberg, I biked across the country to promote not only change in the country but change in myself. I will be doing this same thing prior to grad school, though it's unfortunately going to be a shorter trip. I'm riding 837 miles up the east coast from the place I called home in undergrad at UNCW to the place I called home at Bloomberg in Princeton. Well, technically I will be biking to Philadelphia, but after I get there I will be going solo to NJ to say one final goodbye to my best friends before I leave for NC and start school literally a day later.

I'm so grateful for all of the support people have shown me in the past for these trips and you might be getting sick of me riding a bike, but just remember that these rides aren't about me. Yes, I'm powering the bicycle, but I'm only doing this to spread hope in the world. Your donation doesn't go to me, it goes to those who need a little bit of hope.

As always, here's the donation link: Donation Link

Thanks for reading and God bless!