In May, it occurred to me that I should do something big for
my birthday this year. I am going to be
60 on September 15, which is a Big Milestone.
It is also my 25th anniversary as a cancer survivor, so it
deserves a REALLY big celebration.
After having the Board of Directors (the real one that has
only one member, my wife, not the NHS Board) reject several suggestions about
jumping out of planes and such, I decided on a bicycle ride. It might be a nice
ride through the neighborhoods that NHS serves; it might be a historic bike
trail or something else entirely. By
telling my story in this blog, I can maybe even help other folks my age take on
a challenge.
Since I work for a non-profit, I also decided this would be
a great fund raiser. I decided to call
it Marks First Annual Birthday Bicycle Bash, or Zero-60 I have ridden 0 miles since 1968, and I will
be 60 on 9/15/12.
I
decided that we will launch the fundraiser and we would ask people to pledge
for each mile I ride and invite other riders to get folks to make pledges for
the miles they rode. I decided that we would finish it up with a barbecue and
beverage in our parking lot. Everything was planned. Goal set.
Mission accomplished!
There were only two problems; 1) I didn’t own a bicycle, and
2) I hadn’t ridden a bike since I got my drivers license at age 16.
The first problem was easy; the Revolve Bicycle shop at 5100
Troost is one of a growing number of Community Bike Shops across the country.
Revolve and NHS are both partners in the Green Impact Zone, so getting a gently
used and refurbished bicycle made a lot of environmental sense to me. They also
have a fantastic program called Earn A Bike.
I just went to their website (www.revolvekc.org) and took a bicycle
safety test. I passed with a score of
87.5% (minimum 70% to get the bike,) and went down the street to see Elizabeth
Bejan at Revolve. They had a nice selection of good used bikes that were free.
I decided to upgrade just a little and bought a good used Specialized
bike for a great price. I also bought a
helmet for just $10.
The second problem will take a little longer, and will be
the subject of this blog between now and September 15th. I started with a 1 or 2 mile ride, and will work
my way up to a yet-to be-determined distance by the time September 15th
gets here. I hope you will stop in and
read my blog each week.
(PLANNING on 60k,
but we will see)
Mark Stalsworth
President/CEO NHS of KC
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