And the count would be 115 days till we leave for Alaska. I'm definitely getting more and more excited. With that comes more and more biking and our eventual final fundraising deadline, so there's a lot of work ahead!

As part of the fitness committee, I have been hosting rides throughout the week, helping everyone else get ready for the trip. We, as a committee host 3 rides a day most days. The past several weeks I've been putting in over 100 miles each week. However, that's only a fifth of what we do in our first week of the trip. By May we will be doing more than 200 miles a week, but it is actually impossible to truly train for a 500 mile week since we are full time students. We also have our Century test April 17th. Every rider must complete the 100 miles in 10 hours to be able to safely make the trip to Alaska. Based on our great team ride last Saturday, everyone is lookin good.

Today I did 40 miles. It was definitely a workout but not too too exhausting. There were several rides I did before the winter break that really killed me. I definitely hit the wall on my first 40 mile ride after not eating correctly before the ride. I had only eaten a bowl of cereal that morning and missed lunch. The ride began at 1 pm and I hit the wall at 40 miles around 5 pm (we had some delays - flat tires and other issues). I also had a tough time on a pretty hilly route I tried to do with some of the more experienced riders. Basically training has gotten intense and will only get more intense, but I think everyone can live up to the challenge!

We've also been busy learning the program which we will present many times throughout the ride. Also, be looking for me outside Whole Foods on 6th and Lamar and other places around town as I work towards the $4500 goal. Overall, we have been extremely busy as the ride approaches, but everything we do is enjoyable and worth it, because it helps us reach our ultimate goal of spreading hope, knowledge, and charity from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska.

It has really been an amazing experience. I've heard some remarkable stories and am proud to be on a team with such strong, enduring individuals. Some have had cancer and others have parents and close relatives who have or have had the disease; the strength that they display in the face of all the things they've been through is really inspirational. I know we will help soooo many individuals, especially with the help of these teammates who will be the a tremendous source of inspiration to those fighting cancer now.

Thank you for reading and for your continued support.