10 kilometers : 6,000 dollars : 1,440 miles

The past week was all about charity events.  Time to give back.

First up was the Tricities 10k which is a benefit race for our local charter school that is just finishing up its first year in existence.  My wife teaches art at the school, my son will be entering kindergarden there next year, and our community desperately needs a quality school.  So of course I signed up and ran and even volunteered the night before to set out the course signs.  I defended my win and course record (at the inaugural event..ha ha!) with another win in 38:19.  Not shabby considering my lack of any real running over the previous week.  The 10k was a good event for a good cause.  We finished off the day with my sons t-ball game, a low country boil/party in the back yard with friends, and the Fleet Foxes show at the Tabernacle....phewww!

On to last week which was a much larger effort but also for charity.  A few months ago we put together a bike gang to ride to Athens, GA and back for MS, a disease near and dear to my family.   Nine sturdy riders made up Team Allison.   We ended up raising over $6,000 (truly amazing) and by Saturday morning there was nothing left to do but jump on the saddle and start peddling.  We rode 100 miles to Athens and 80 miles back on Sunday.  All told, our gang put in over 1,440 miles for the weekend.

The ride started nice and easy with Allicat and Kickstand.  We rolled through the streets of ATL with a motorcade and intersections held for us bringing impossible dreams where bikes someday rule the streets.  Once we got to the 80/100 mile option split I picked up the rest of the crew and the hammer started to drop....slightly.  We picked up the pace on the rolling roads towards Athens.  Riding in line with the tandem was pretty fun since it was like hooking up to a tractor trailer on the descents with all of its momentum.  Wayne and Jennifer powered through the ups though and hung in nicely.  We finally arrived in Athens to a crowd of supporters consisting of friends and family, had a few beers, dinner at the GRIT, a night cap at the Globe, and were back in bed to get ready for Sunday's ride back home.

Early Sunday, Dan got up early a solo unsupported ride back to catch an afternoon flight for Germany....pretty impressive.  The rest of us, however, slogged through the heat and welcomed the pampering at every rest stop.  By the end, temperatures registered 93 degrees.  Pretty much beat, we all went our separate ways once we got back.  As an endurance endeavor, it was a good multi-day event to see how the body would react.  Everything held up well and there seemed to be juice left in the tank, however the bike induced chaffing and soreness was rough.  

Our bike gang, Team Allison....

Dan "Solo" Raudebaugh ready for the task at hand

Carrie "Kickstand" Zook making it look easy

"Myself"

Paul "Cipolinni" Lawler

Allison "MS Destroyer" Hanlin

Ed "Legs" Frey

Marlin "Hydrate & Lubricate" Hicks

Wayne "Captain" Whitesides and Jennifer "Stoker" Fine all over the nice CoMotion Tandem

In the end it was lots of hot miles and lots of money for MS.   I was proud of our team and especially proud of my wife, who suffers from MS and dominated the bike ride on Saturday!   Finally I can't thank all of our donors and supporters enough....check 'em out here.