Pelotonia 2013 | ONE GOAL

This was Pelotoina's Opening Ceremony video!  Please watch it...we are all looking forward to the day of a cancer free world.[embed width="900" height="600"] http://vimeo.com/72044173 [/embed]How will you celebrate when they find the cure for cancer?  I cannot even imagine the party, but I will be there...dancing!  But to get to this celebration we need to do something about it; we cannot just expect someone else to take care of it for us.  We will only get there in our lifetime if we all work together.This is why I became interested in Pelotonia so many months ago.  It always amazes me to look back after reaching a big accomplishment and see where it all began.  I met with Morgan Dominique all the way back in December because I wanted to know more.  She grew up in the same town as me and now works for Pelotonia.  At the time, I had more questions than answers, and the whole Pelotonia community seemed foreign to me.  But, I was interested for three main reasons.

1. 100% of Pelotonia's donations go straight to cancer research.
2. All the cool kids are doing it...Pelotonia does a great job making ending cancer feel like the "in" thing.
3. I was ready and mad enough to finally do something myself to end cancer and Pelotonia made me feel as if I could make a difference.

I went home that day after three short hours over coffee with lots of answers, information, more questions, and a challenge from Morgan to create a Peloton in our very first year.  A Peloton is a group of 5 or more riders, and the task seemed daunting at the time.  I was so excited about it all but overwhelmed at the same time.  Neither Trevor or I had ever even attended Pelotonia, so how would we create a Peloton is our very first year?It took one step at a time.  We signed Trevor up, committing to raise $1250 and ride 50 miles.  Then every chance we got we told people about it because we were excited.  We wanted to share Pelotonia because we have all been affected by cancer, and it finally felt like we could do something about it.  We wanted to give everyone the feeling of having some power over this horrible disease too.In all those months since coffee in December, we not only raised $1250 and Trevor rode 50 miles, but we created the A-Town Riders Peloton with 4 Riders and 2 Virtual Riders and raised $6,056 to date with 52 more days to continue to raise more (Donate Here).  I am amazed at what we can come together to accomplish.Here are the A-Town Riders!  Randi (50 Miles), Trevor (50 Miles), Kelly Short (Virtual Rider), Tom Short (50 Miles), Jessie Rosebrook (50 Miles), and Me (Virtual Rider).I didn't quite understand it until I was actually at Pelotonia, but Pelotonia is truly a community.  It is not just a weekend event it is a way of life, a movement, where we are truly all coming together with ONE GOAL in mind and that is to end cancer for good.  It is not a bike race, but a casual ride with friends and new friends that you have made along the way.  And everyone is working together, hoping to not only reach the finish line but committed to continuing to be a part of Pelotonia until we reach the true finish line of finding a cure.Each of us were already thinking about next year as soon as the finish line was crossed, and we know we can make our Peloton even bigger.  Archbold and the surrounding area has such an amazing way of coming together.  We hope many of you will be interested in riding with us next year, becoming a virtual rider, or donating.  We thank all of you who supported us our very first year!Now onto the weekend of festivities... Friday night was the opening ceremony.  Amazing food, band, opening video, and speakers!  It was a great way to kick off the event!

Me, Trevor, and my sister, Randi who also rode 50 miles.

Trevor, my brothers Gabe and Sam, and Randi along with her husband, Adam.

There was a large wall to write who you were riding for.  And as much as me and my family were there for my mom, if I am completely honest I was more there for myself, Trevor, my Dad, my siblings, Jasper, Baby #2, and future children.  Because some day when we hear the words cancer again, I don't want it to carry the same weight as it does now.  I don't want to lose someone again to cancer, and I don't want my kids to have to experience what I have.

We were up before the sun on Saturday morning!  Finally running into Morgan the morning of the race was definitely a highlight!  I definitely wanted to see her since she was the one who got us started in the first place.

Pre-Ride we took a lot of pictures.  I just think everyone was a little nervous and anxious not knowing what to expect.

Archbold Container donates all the trash bins for Pelotonia.  It was awesome to see our small community be a part of the event!

The Riders!

There they go!

Jasper thought it was funny to look through the little hole, and I also snapped a pic of Morgan working hard.It was exciting to get pictures and texts from them all as they were riding.  This was at one of their water stations.We had a large group of family and friends from Archbold attending the event, and we all arrived in plenty of time at the finish so that we didn't miss them. Jasper was so excited to see Daddy "win the race"!  :)The cheering section...And here they came, crossing the finish line as a team!So proud of them all!  Hope you will join us next year at Pelotonia 2014!