It’s almost 4K for Cancer send-off weekend! Team Portland will depart from the Baltimore harbor bright and early on Sunday, May 31st alongside the other three 4K bike teams! I’m ecstatic to meet my teammates and become a chaotic, weird, fun-loving, and sweaty family.
So what’s been going on with me in the past months? Well, I’m incredibly thankful that I was able to gain enough support for my trip to put me well over my fundraising goal of $4,500 by my birthday in January!! I turned 25 on Jan 25th, and I’m blown away by all the friends and family that so generously donated to the cause to give me the best “golden birthday” I could ever ask for. Without you, this journey would not be possible! Thank you all so much! I received a total of $5,025 in donations for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults!
One of my generous donors was Jennifer Caldwell-Billstrom, owner of a bicycle touring company called Velo Girl Rides based out of Black Mountain, NC. Back in December, I wrote Jen an email asking for her support on this ride. I told her how much my mom and I had enjoyed the “Cycle to Farm” ride that Velo Girl had hosted in October in Sandy Mush, NC. Of all the riding I’ve done, the Appalachian Mountains are still one of my favorite places to ride… I call it my “happy place.” This Cycle to Farm ride is one is a series of such events that Velo Girl organizes to support the local farm community in NC as well as promote “agritourism” by bicycle! Jen kindly donated to the 4K for Cancer cause and also sent me some shirts and bumper stickers to bring with me across the country! Thank you, Jen! For more information about the supported cycling tours that are organized by Velo Girl, check out their website: http://velogirlrides.com
Since I reached my fundraising goal so early, I got my bike fairly quickly! It’s a Trek Lexa. I don’t currently have a name for my bike, but despite peer pressure from teammates to do so, I can’t say I’ve ever been one to name inanimate objects. My Bike & Build bike’s name was “Baby Bike,” which is not much of a name, and it’s sort of lazy considering that it was simply based off her extra small size in comparison to the surrounding B&B bikes. Anyway, here’s a photo of No Name:
I’ve started to organize my gear and get myself packed for another awesome summer on the bike!
How has my training been going? Well, admittedly, not as well as I would have liked. This past spring was my second semester of pharmacy school, and it was definitely hard to fit in longer rides alongside school work and study time. I did manage to get in some longer days, but that was earlier in the semester, so I’m fearful that my bike fitness may have declined. My longest ride was 83 miles… not my best, but look how cute the map of it was! There’s a little heart at the top, which was unplanned.
However, I would say that I’ve been running fairly consistently all semester. Back in the fall, I signed up for the Tarheel 10 Miler in Chapel Hill with my great friend, Emily DeNardis. She and I played soccer together “back in the day,” and we decided to take on this notoriously hilly race together. We trained by running most Saturday mornings leading up to the 10 Miler in April, and these early morning runs were always followed by a coffee date to reward ourselves. We completed the race together with a great time, and we later treated ourselves to a seasonal blueberry beer from a local Chapel Hill bar.
Since then, I have completed my finals and can proudly say that I am a PY2 (pharmacy year 2) at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy! I can honestly say this has been the fastest year of my life. I’m living in Morganton, NC for the month of May for my first hospital rotation of the program. I’ve learned so much and I’m thankful to be receiving such great hands-on experience.
The first weekend of May, I celebrated the graduation of some of my favorite people! Jill McMahon, my most thoughtful friend, graduated from UNC. She is the Tina Fey to my Amy Poehler, the Abbi to my Ilana, the Jon Stewart to my Stephen Colbert… we might watch too much TV. She is the first to graduate college in her family, and from UNC, no less!! I could NOT be more proud of her. In the words of the rapper Drake, “I’m so, I’m so, I’m so, I’m so, I’m so prouda you.” I’d include other lyrics but then I might hit my profanity limit too early in this blogging game and quickly lose followers… you understand.
My brother Kevin and his girlfriend Emily also graduated that weekend from NCSU! They’ve both nailed down full time jobs at great companies in Raleigh, which is way more than I could say for myself after I got my degree. I love you both and I’m so proud of you! Also, now you can buy me drinks when we go out since, ya know, I’m over here drowning in debt from pharmacy school – thanks in advance!
So I have just over a week until the big send-off day on Sunday, May 31st from Baltimore! I’ve been occasionally chatting with my 4K team via an app called GroupMe, which is the same one that I used on my Bike & Build trip and still have with my NC2SD family. It’s strange to think that I will become that close with a new group of people again, but I know it will happen in a matter of days, maybe even hours. I’m ready to meet new people who will share their life stories with me and from whom I’m bound to learn so much. Everyone has a story of how they got to where they are now, and it’s by learning this tale that we can learn so much from others.
Anyway, I’m so very excited and I’m thankful for all the support I have received! I hope to write for every day of my journey, and I hope you follow along with me.
Baltimore to Portland with 4K for Cancer 