This week quite a few things have come my way that consistently make me think, "I'm pretty lucky and have a pretty good life." After yesterday's reminders at every turn, I decided to write about a few ways that we can all give back that cost us NOTHING except a few clicks of a mouse - maybe 30 seconds in total (unless you get addicted to one, but we'll get there in a minute). Costs you nothing...and gives you a warm fuzzy....try one or more of these things daily....
The week kicked off with a reminder email that this is MS Awareness Week. There were seven calls to action - one each day. I think I will hit 2, although I tried to hit 3 and am still working on that. One is to tell your friends to visit their site and grow awareness - so, I'm telling you....and ask that you tell people, too, on your blog or by having a conversation with your friends. Sign up for a walk - they are usually 6 miles and so much fun to do if you have friends with you. How do I know? I've done one the last 2 years. Can't walk that far? Volunteer. Or, like I said, just tell your friends and help grow awareness. Why is this important to me? Three fantastic people that I hold very near and dear to my heart are living with this disease - one, my cousin, has lived with it for over 30 years and he's one of the most amazing people I've ever met. And, yes, I'd think that even if we weren't related!
The week continued with a great email from Women's Adventure Magazine. Fabulous publication, by the way, founded by a dynamic woman who happens to live with MS, too. Nasty disease gets around, doesn't it? Anywhoooo....the email newsletter had a link to Free Rice. I was curious so I clicked...and became slightly addicted. It's an educational way to give free grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. There's a word on the screen and you need to choose from the list what it means. For every correct answer, 20 grains of rice will be donated. You can keep playing for as long as you want and it keeps your total. If you get one wrong, nothing is deleted and you get another chance. Go on and try it out...it's slightly addicting...and educational...and good for the world. And Free!
Jody forwarded information to me yesterday about "Paws for a Cause", which is a fundraiser for the Just a Touch Rescue organization here in New England. If you are an animal lover, please check them out. Read the stories and find ways to help. There are many ways to help on their site that are free - you can volunteer your time, adopt a pet (ok, so that will ultimately cost some money, but the love you get back outweighs the cost!), donate an auction item or shop at one of their supporters. When you shop for things that you might normally purchase anyway, the rescue gets a portion of the sale.
And, last, but not least, by any means. Every day, I visit the Animal Rescue Site and click on the big purple "Give it's Free" button. No signing up. No follow up email. Just click and food is given to animal shelters. Seriously, it can't be easier. Just add this to your favorites and visit every day - one click per day, per computer. You can also purchase fun things from the site and by doing so, you give additional food to rescued animals.
While you are feeling so good about your free food for the animals, check out the other sites that are associated with this one where you can click on a button and give towards free mammograms, protect the Rain Forest, give free child healthcare and give free books to children. This is a no-brainer. When you fire up your computer each morning, go to this site and click through the tabs. It will take you all of 30 seconds. Warning, though, you might actually feel good and get a smile on your face by helping so many in such a short amount of time.
So, if you think you have a good life, or are luckier than most, think about doing one or more, or all, of these things. You'll feel good about yourself and be doing good in this world, too. Just my thoughts for a Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone.
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, September 06, 2007
A Family Ride
by Don Warren, Kryptonite Category Manager
We had planned on doing a ride on the holiday weekend and my wife came up with the idea of going on the Minuteman Bikeway trail that goes from Bedford to Cambridge MA. So we gathered the 4 bikes, made sure we filled the tires with Air, wiped the cobwebs off my wife’s and mine frame. We didn’t have a rack for the 4 bikes, but its amazing what these minivans can hold and so all fit in the back with room to spare. Then we needed to find our helmets – it’s been awhile. Kids were no problem to find as we always have them ride with one no matter, but ours took a little more searching. Now we were ready. We loaded the kids into the mini-van and we were on our way. It was about a 25 minute drive to get there from our house.
We all got out our stuff and made sure we had water bottle filled because it was a warmer day. The kids had fanny packs to put their water in because their bikes are too small for water bottle brackets. My youngest daughter, Erin (5), has a 16” bike she got from Big Sis, but we added training wheels with some “bling”. My oldest, Katie, is 10 and has a 20” bike. Since the last time I watched her ride, I found I needed to raise the seat an inch! The kids do a lot of riding around our neighborhood but were on a busy street so they don’t get to do longer rides. This summer we just didn’t get a chance to do a lot of trekking out together because we are usually so busy as a family, going in different directions, like most families. Where did this summer go??
The trail is an old railway line that has been converted with very smooth pavement. Yellow stripe in the middle separated the path. It was busy that day – we met up with other cyclists and some inline skaters along the way. During the ride, we taught the kids to stay to the right and when you are passing someone you pass to the left and tell people your doing so no one gets jolted. My youngest decided at one point to just stop – but didn’t let anyone know she was going to stop. X&*#$, boy there were some fast stops behind her.
As the trail winds down there would be a few traffic lights or stop signs where the trail crosses roads, we used those as stopping points for water bottle breaks and getting our bearings. Our goal was to search for the ice cream place that used to be along the trail. This is what drove the kids, so we went through Lexington – the historic town green area where the British battle occurred so many years ago – and watched a lot of other bikers taking a break on the green with us. We thought the ice cream place was there….but it wasn’t. After a short rest we continued on towards Cambridge in search for soft serve gold.
We kept at our pace which to my surprise had seen Erin keeping up with riders that were older. Fun to see her spinning the cranks so fast while being kept upright by the outriggers – One incident to report was when Erin ran off the road one time while riding too close to the dirt edge (tricky training wheels) kinda like a Paris-Roubaix hazzard, and scraped her knee a little bit, but she got back on after a little touch-up. As we continued along Katie and I decided we were getting a little sore from our hard saddles – about 5 miles down. Mom had the nice Sport Gel seat and was doing fine. Erin still was keeping up the whole way – no need to pull her along thank goodness and not sure she would care if your saddle was to firm! Alas we got to a point in the ride that we decided that ice cream wasn’t looking like it was very close so we decided to turn around and start our journey backwards since we had to go the same distance back to the car.
Along the way we met other kids, bikes and trailers and a couple of people who had small dogs in their backpacks as they were riding. The kids enjoyed that and it made their ride a little more enjoyable when they got to pet the dogs. Back through Lexington…I realized I needed to stand up off the saddle a little bit more and crank the peddles this way so the insuing pain didn’t hurt quite as much. I know I looked forward to the ‘finish line’ aka the car but the kids didn’t seem to mind as much. They had a bit of the energizer bunny in them. We still told them we going for the gold.
Some enterprising kids had a stand along the trail where we stopped paid a buck and had 2 cups of lemonade for the kids. It was interesting to see that the entrepreneurs were even recycling the cups!
Got back to the car and the car seat never felt so comfortable; I didn’t remember the van seat being that comfy before.
On our journey back I took the opportunity from there to take the kids on a magical mystery tour and show them areas of Concord and Lincoln that were also a big part of the American revolution. We even went by Walden Pond, too.
As our prize, we found a place called Dairy Joy in Weston that gave us what we were really looking forward to – ice cream! When we got home we realized it was a lot of fun and we should do it a more often, but with saddles that are more comfortable. We’ll be doing that soon so we can get out on the trail again very soon!
We had planned on doing a ride on the holiday weekend and my wife came up with the idea of going on the Minuteman Bikeway trail that goes from Bedford to Cambridge MA. So we gathered the 4 bikes, made sure we filled the tires with Air, wiped the cobwebs off my wife’s and mine frame. We didn’t have a rack for the 4 bikes, but its amazing what these minivans can hold and so all fit in the back with room to spare. Then we needed to find our helmets – it’s been awhile. Kids were no problem to find as we always have them ride with one no matter, but ours took a little more searching. Now we were ready. We loaded the kids into the mini-van and we were on our way. It was about a 25 minute drive to get there from our house.
We all got out our stuff and made sure we had water bottle filled because it was a warmer day. The kids had fanny packs to put their water in because their bikes are too small for water bottle brackets. My youngest daughter, Erin (5), has a 16” bike she got from Big Sis, but we added training wheels with some “bling”. My oldest, Katie, is 10 and has a 20” bike. Since the last time I watched her ride, I found I needed to raise the seat an inch! The kids do a lot of riding around our neighborhood but were on a busy street so they don’t get to do longer rides. This summer we just didn’t get a chance to do a lot of trekking out together because we are usually so busy as a family, going in different directions, like most families. Where did this summer go??
The trail is an old railway line that has been converted with very smooth pavement. Yellow stripe in the middle separated the path. It was busy that day – we met up with other cyclists and some inline skaters along the way. During the ride, we taught the kids to stay to the right and when you are passing someone you pass to the left and tell people your doing so no one gets jolted. My youngest decided at one point to just stop – but didn’t let anyone know she was going to stop. X&*#$, boy there were some fast stops behind her.
As the trail winds down there would be a few traffic lights or stop signs where the trail crosses roads, we used those as stopping points for water bottle breaks and getting our bearings. Our goal was to search for the ice cream place that used to be along the trail. This is what drove the kids, so we went through Lexington – the historic town green area where the British battle occurred so many years ago – and watched a lot of other bikers taking a break on the green with us. We thought the ice cream place was there….but it wasn’t. After a short rest we continued on towards Cambridge in search for soft serve gold.
We kept at our pace which to my surprise had seen Erin keeping up with riders that were older. Fun to see her spinning the cranks so fast while being kept upright by the outriggers – One incident to report was when Erin ran off the road one time while riding too close to the dirt edge (tricky training wheels) kinda like a Paris-Roubaix hazzard, and scraped her knee a little bit, but she got back on after a little touch-up. As we continued along Katie and I decided we were getting a little sore from our hard saddles – about 5 miles down. Mom had the nice Sport Gel seat and was doing fine. Erin still was keeping up the whole way – no need to pull her along thank goodness and not sure she would care if your saddle was to firm! Alas we got to a point in the ride that we decided that ice cream wasn’t looking like it was very close so we decided to turn around and start our journey backwards since we had to go the same distance back to the car.
Along the way we met other kids, bikes and trailers and a couple of people who had small dogs in their backpacks as they were riding. The kids enjoyed that and it made their ride a little more enjoyable when they got to pet the dogs. Back through Lexington…I realized I needed to stand up off the saddle a little bit more and crank the peddles this way so the insuing pain didn’t hurt quite as much. I know I looked forward to the ‘finish line’ aka the car but the kids didn’t seem to mind as much. They had a bit of the energizer bunny in them. We still told them we going for the gold.
Some enterprising kids had a stand along the trail where we stopped paid a buck and had 2 cups of lemonade for the kids. It was interesting to see that the entrepreneurs were even recycling the cups!
Got back to the car and the car seat never felt so comfortable; I didn’t remember the van seat being that comfy before.
On our journey back I took the opportunity from there to take the kids on a magical mystery tour and show them areas of Concord and Lincoln that were also a big part of the American revolution. We even went by Walden Pond, too.
As our prize, we found a place called Dairy Joy in Weston that gave us what we were really looking forward to – ice cream! When we got home we realized it was a lot of fun and we should do it a more often, but with saddles that are more comfortable. We’ll be doing that soon so we can get out on the trail again very soon!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
8 Random Things
My friend Tim tagged me....he wants to know (and wants all of you to know) 8 things about me that you didn't already know...seriously? 8 things...ok...here we go...
1. I've said before that I have an 'events background'. What does that mean? My first job out of college was working for the Boston Athletic Association. They are the organizers of the Boston Marathon. No, I wasn't a volunteer, I was an actual employee. I was there for 6 races. During that time, I was also a consultant for a company called DMSE. I'm a little biased, but I think they put on the best events anywhere. I learned so, so much from working with Dave McGillivray both at the marathon and at DMSE.
2. For the past 16 years or so, I have been involved with the Falmouth Road Race. It all started when I was at the Boston Marathon. I went down to volunteer in the press area for the lady who has had the biggest impact in my career, Sue Smith. Everyone needs a mentor and she has been mine; she provided the foundation for all of my career successes. Anyway...Falmouth...I went from volunteer to organizing the media efforts, back to volunteer (job change those years) and then back to organizing the media efforts and, in most recent years, working the media credentialing on race weekend and organizing the press tent and athlete escorts. I love every minute of it - hey, who wouldn't like "working" on the beach for a weekend? The Cigna Falmouth Road Race is in less than a week.....I can't wait to see the co-directors and the other dear friends that I don't see often enough!
3. The first person I met in the cycling industry (aside from the triathlon folks) was Rob Vandermark (long before Seven was formed). But, not in the capacity that you'd think. He had just created the first titanium racing wheelchair. It was light, fast and pretty darn cool - won a lot of races and set some world records, too.
4. The first bike race I attended was the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic back in 1991, with some friends. Didn't know a thing about bike racing; just went for the fun of being with friends. Went back to the same race in 1996, with a good friend to watch her new boyfriend compete. I learned a lot that year about tactics, teams and chalking the road (yes we did!). It was a blast - and the new boyfriend, who later became a husband to my friend, won the race.
5. Non-career fact? I don't eat meat. I'd say 'vegetarian' but I do eat fish sometimes so I don't know if that counts in the truest sense of vegetarianism, but no meat for me. Not since 1989.
6. I'm an animal lover (gee...you might have guessed by the previous fact). I love all kinds of animals, but I love big dogs the most, probably. Grew up with German Shepherds, but my favorite are Rotties. I had the friendliest doggie you'd ever meet who was a Rottie. Until she passed, she'd come here to the office and made friends with everyone in the company. Not a mean bone in her body.
7. I'm a NASCAR fan. Big. Huge. Grew up at race tracks in New England - racing is in my blood. On a Sunday I'm watchin' the race (or at least have it on while I'm doing other things). Favorite driver? Jeff Gordon. Hands down. But, I am also a Jimmie Johnson fan and a Dale Jr fan - I can't tell you how happy I am that they will all be racing for the same team next year. I've been to races at Loudon and Bristol. Been to Fontana but not for a NASCAR event, saw an IRL race there.
8. My favorite movie of all time is Moonstruck. Hands down. I just love all the nuances of the Italian family depicted in the movie. Perfect.
That's it...8 things you probably didn't know about me before right now. Do you feel better knowing all that? I can't imagine how, but I'll play along....so now I get to tag 5 people...
1. Carlton Reid - Quickrelease.tv
2. Roland Burns - R.E.Load bags
3. Jill Hamilton - Haro Bicycles
4. Jonathan Maus - Bike Portland
5. Chipps Chippendale - Singletrack Magazine
Can't wait to hear what you five have to say!
1. I've said before that I have an 'events background'. What does that mean? My first job out of college was working for the Boston Athletic Association. They are the organizers of the Boston Marathon. No, I wasn't a volunteer, I was an actual employee. I was there for 6 races. During that time, I was also a consultant for a company called DMSE. I'm a little biased, but I think they put on the best events anywhere. I learned so, so much from working with Dave McGillivray both at the marathon and at DMSE.
2. For the past 16 years or so, I have been involved with the Falmouth Road Race. It all started when I was at the Boston Marathon. I went down to volunteer in the press area for the lady who has had the biggest impact in my career, Sue Smith. Everyone needs a mentor and she has been mine; she provided the foundation for all of my career successes. Anyway...Falmouth...I went from volunteer to organizing the media efforts, back to volunteer (job change those years) and then back to organizing the media efforts and, in most recent years, working the media credentialing on race weekend and organizing the press tent and athlete escorts. I love every minute of it - hey, who wouldn't like "working" on the beach for a weekend? The Cigna Falmouth Road Race is in less than a week.....I can't wait to see the co-directors and the other dear friends that I don't see often enough!
3. The first person I met in the cycling industry (aside from the triathlon folks) was Rob Vandermark (long before Seven was formed). But, not in the capacity that you'd think. He had just created the first titanium racing wheelchair. It was light, fast and pretty darn cool - won a lot of races and set some world records, too.
4. The first bike race I attended was the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic back in 1991, with some friends. Didn't know a thing about bike racing; just went for the fun of being with friends. Went back to the same race in 1996, with a good friend to watch her new boyfriend compete. I learned a lot that year about tactics, teams and chalking the road (yes we did!). It was a blast - and the new boyfriend, who later became a husband to my friend, won the race.
5. Non-career fact? I don't eat meat. I'd say 'vegetarian' but I do eat fish sometimes so I don't know if that counts in the truest sense of vegetarianism, but no meat for me. Not since 1989.
6. I'm an animal lover (gee...you might have guessed by the previous fact). I love all kinds of animals, but I love big dogs the most, probably. Grew up with German Shepherds, but my favorite are Rotties. I had the friendliest doggie you'd ever meet who was a Rottie. Until she passed, she'd come here to the office and made friends with everyone in the company. Not a mean bone in her body.
7. I'm a NASCAR fan. Big. Huge. Grew up at race tracks in New England - racing is in my blood. On a Sunday I'm watchin' the race (or at least have it on while I'm doing other things). Favorite driver? Jeff Gordon. Hands down. But, I am also a Jimmie Johnson fan and a Dale Jr fan - I can't tell you how happy I am that they will all be racing for the same team next year. I've been to races at Loudon and Bristol. Been to Fontana but not for a NASCAR event, saw an IRL race there.
8. My favorite movie of all time is Moonstruck. Hands down. I just love all the nuances of the Italian family depicted in the movie. Perfect.
That's it...8 things you probably didn't know about me before right now. Do you feel better knowing all that? I can't imagine how, but I'll play along....so now I get to tag 5 people...
1. Carlton Reid - Quickrelease.tv
2. Roland Burns - R.E.Load bags
3. Jill Hamilton - Haro Bicycles
4. Jonathan Maus - Bike Portland
5. Chipps Chippendale - Singletrack Magazine
Can't wait to hear what you five have to say!
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