Hi all! Today was a great day! I successfully completed the 40-mile West Palm Beach loop of the Dolphins Cycling Challenge - my 4th ride ever on this road bike, and my longest ride so far! It was a beautiful day and a wonderful event. I successfully raised, with the help of many of you reading this, just under $1,250 towards the Miami Dolphins Foundation where the funds from this two-day, tri-county event will be donated to the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In its inaugural year, DCC raised $533,106 for Sylvester, setting the bar high for future rides. This year the Dolphins Cycling Challenge will honor Dolphins legend Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich who led the team on and off the field for over 40 years and lost his courageous battle with cancer this spring.
DCC Cyclists will be honored by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, December 4th, 2011 as the team takes on the Oakland Raiders. All of the funds raised through the ride will be presented to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in a pregame on-field ceremony on that day.
I chose to ride in the fastest group they offered, the 18-20MPH group. After doing my longest ride to-date just two days ago, my legs were still a little sore, but the pace was attainable enough for me to really enjoy the ride. I met a bunch of extremely nice people who were all experienced riders, and learned a few tips here and there to help me out regarding group rides and energy conservation on the bike. We had a little head-wind on the way back North which made it more challenging and definitely more of a workout, but we ran in a single-file line and rotated the order so we all had a chance to lead the group - which was fun for me!
The event was really well run and a lot of fun. I will definitely plan for this event next year, but I want to do the entire two-day ride - which is 170 miles! We'll see how my cycling progresses in a year's time... :)
MANY THANKS to all of you who helped me participate in this wonderful event by making donations to the charity. If you are reading this, haven't made a donation and would still like to, fundraising will continue until December 1st (days before the Miami Dolphins Foundation will present the big check to the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center), and you can still make a donation here:
http://www.ridedcc.com/dcc/page/Guy-Cosmo.htm
Thanks for reading, and for all of your support! Can't wait for the next big ride! Here's a few pics from today!
Guy