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LIVESTRONG Challenge 2011

July 8th, 2011

For the past two years I have participated in the Philadelphia LIVESTRONG Challenge in an effort to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and more importantly, to support my friend Gerald in his continued fight against cancer. After completing the 70-mile course in 2009, our team (Team Wannabe Riders Against Cancer) set our sights last year on completing the 100-mile course. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with intermittent torrential downpours forcing ride officials to close off the 100-mile course for safety precautions. Nearly all riders, including all of our team, were forced onto the 70-mile course.

In just over six weeks, on August 20th, our team will meet again in Philadelphia to participate in the LIVESTRONG Challenge run/walk and riding events. On Sunday the 21st, I will make my 2nd attempt at conquering the grueling 100-mile course. While a bit behind where I would like to be, my personal training is well underway with two 50+ mile rides under my belt and a 75-miler scheduled for this coming weekend.

I have once again set a goal of raising $1000 for the LAF and would love your support in helping me reach this goal. To read more about LAF, my participation and to contribute to the cause, please check out my personal fundraising website: http://philly2011.livestrong.org/dascentral.

While Gerald inspired me to accept this challenge, and I ride in support of his continued fight against cancer, he is not the only one in my life who has been affected by the disease. I will continue to ride in support of long time family friend, Carole F, and fellow Team Wannabe Riders Against Cancer teammate, Natalie O. I will also be riding in memory of my Uncle Harry, Aunt Denny, and close friend Judy O.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I do appreciate the support.

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Off to Cancun

January 5th, 2011

Over the past two years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit many beautiful and exciting places throughout the world. I’ve come to realize how much I enjoy traveling and how important it is for me to experience a culture different from the daily life I live in DC. These experiences provide perspective for how the rest of the world lives and give me an appreciation for the comforts that I experience on a day-to-day basis.

Initially upon returning from my South American adventure, I talked with my buddy Jeff about a trip to Australia and New Zealand. However early in 2010, those plans changed when a friend of mine got engaged and invited me to attend his wedding in Mexico in early January 2011. Never having experienced a destination wedding, the Australia and New Zealand plans were shelved and my first international adventure with a larger group of friends was put on the books.

My previous trips with Jeff have been held at a breakneck pace as we try to experience as much adventure as possible in our time available. I already know this trip will bring a much more relaxed pace. I will trade the rigor and excitement of the fast pace for lazy days on the white sands of Tulum, Mexico. This will be a 5-day adventure that will involve a catamaran tour off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, tours of the ruins and underwater caves of Tulum, and of course, a wedding ceremony.

As an added wrinkle, this will be my first trip traveling with a significant other. I am hopeful she and I will have the same travel chemistry I have come to enjoy with Jeff.

Given the much shorter duration of this trip compared to my previous three-week journeys, I’ll probably be able to record the events in one additional summary post but I’m looking forward to the time away just the same.

Much more to come.

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LIVESTRONG Challenge 2010 – 100 Miles

August 2nd, 2010

Those who have been reading this blog for more than a year most likely remember that last Summer I participated in the Philadelphia LIVESTRONG Challenge and tackled the 70 mile course in an effort raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and, more importantly, support my friend Gerald in his continued fight against cancer. It was an incredible physical and mental challenge that I still to this day remember quite vividly and fondly. (You can read my race recap from last year for the details.)

In just under three weeks, on August 22nd, I will once again be traveling to Philadelphia to accept the challenge for the 2nd year, however this year, I’ve somehow allowed Gerald to talk me into riding the 100 mile course. So far training has been tough given all of the recent heat in DC this summer as I’ve struggled to complete training rides of 60, 65, and 75 miles over the past couple of weeks.

The LIVESTRONG Challenge is an event wherein people from all over gather to participate in either a 5K run/walk or one of several different bike rides, a 10-, 45-, 70-, or 100-mile ride all to raise money and awareness for the fight against cancer. The LAF strives to inspire and empower those who have been affected by the disease and hopes to make cancer a national priority. The money the LAF generates is used to help close the gap between what we know and what we do in the cancer fight by providing everyone with better access to early screening and care, funding research related to survivorship. My goal this year is to raise $2000 for the LAF and to somehow complete the 100 mile course.

If you have a moment, and the means, please take a moment to learn more about my participation and contribute to the cause: http://philly2010.livestrong.org/dascentral.

While Gerald is the one who inspired me to accept this challenge, he is not the only one in my life who has been affected by cancer. In addition to supporting Gerald, I will also be riding in support of a
long time family friend, Carole F, and fellow Team Wannabe Riders Against Cancer teammate, Natalie O. I will riding be memory of my Uncle Harry, Aunt Denny, and close friend Judy O.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I do appreciate the support.

Posted in Livestrong | 2 Comments »

South America Ramblings

January 18th, 2010

A few odds and ends that didn’t deserve their own post…

No sooner do we touch down in Rio does the guy in the seat across the aisle poke me and say… “You staying in Rio?”. Me: “Yeah”. Him: “Be careful where you go with the camera.” Referring to Jeff taking photos out of the window on the plane. We’d heard it was a dangerous place. Great way to start the trip.

Despite Jeff’s reports to the contrary, I did NOT wear my underwear for four days straight while waiting for American Airlines to find our luggage. A trip to buy new underwear did take place

If you ever travel internationally, strongly consider buying credits on Skype. $0.05 per min to US. $0.02 min on toll free calls. This was a life saver when we were trying to track down our bags in Rio.

Beer is readily available in most places in Rio. There is seemingly no open container law but there is a no tolerance policy when it comes to drinking & driving… any alcohol & you lose your license.

If you get a chance to visit Brazil, make sure you try a Caipirinha. It’s the national drink of Brazil. Sugar, Lime, Cachaça (liquor from fermented sugar cane). A lot like a mojito.

While waiting in line at Sugarloaf Mountain in the oppressive heat and sun, Jeff, a gentlemen from South Africa and I tried to huddle under a small piece of shade. The guy’s girlfriend (from Rio) laughed when she saw this and dubbed us the “Three White Men”.

Jeff and I are both fairly competitive. On the list of “Dumb Things Tourists Do”, add “seeing who can toss a half-full bottle of water the furthest in the air without dropping it”. We did this in the mostly deserted Pelourinho Square in Salvador at around midnight.

One of the funniest moments of the trip… As Jeff and I are waiting to check-in at the Salvador airport, we hear a guy behind us scream as loud as he possibly can. The relatively small terminal goes dead quiet. We turn to see the guy arguing with an airline employee in Portuguese over what I assume is some flight dispute. He kicks his suitcase before grabbing his girlfriend’s hand and heading to the exit. Before he leaves the building, he turns and gives the entire airport the middle finger. Jeff and I got a kick out of re-enacting this throughout the rest of the trip.

Most music we heard in cabs in Buenos Aires was American. But it was random, older stuff like Gloria Estefan.

Everyone in Buenos Aires smokes.

In Buenos Aires, traffic lights turn yellow AND red right before a red light is about to turn green. This basically signals to cab drivers that they don’t have to slow down since the light is about to turn green. Makes for some exciting cab rides.

Jeff does a great impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Get to the chopper now!” “C’mon Cohagen. You got what you want. Give these people air!”

American Sports Team Jerseys Seen: Lakers, Yankees, Cowboys

You learn a lot about yourself while traveling internationally for 3 weeks.  I learned that I am not good at skipping stones.

The only thing besides friends and family that I truly missed during the trip was working out and playing soccer.

16,622 miles traveled, 1800 photos taken, 23 days of vacation, 13 flights, 5 countries seen (Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile in addition to Brazil & Argentina), 2 new FB friends, 1 crush

Great times.

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The Last Hurrah in Buenos Aires

January 17th, 2010

Our time in Patagonia complete, Jeff and I made our way back to Buenos Aires to enjoy one last day in South America before boarding our return flight home. Our buddy Warren had secured an apartment in the city since we’d last seen him and was kind enough to let us crash, saving us the cost of another night in a hotel.

Our Aerolineas Argentina flight, my first ever in business class, arrived at 12:30am and after a short cab ride to Warren’s building, we found ourselves on the 21st floor which amazingly, was all Warren’s. The entire 21st floor. 4 bedrooms, 4 baths and an outdoor deck that provided a 360 degree view of the city. Jeff and I just looked at each other in stunned disbelief during our tour of the place. And not only had Warren scored seemingly one of the best apartments in all of Buenos Aires but he had also made some friends. Sitting on the deck enjoying a bottle of wine (or three) were three very attractive women from the US who happened to be staying in BA. Shortly thereafter, a Buenos Aires native named Diego showed up with another friend of his own.

Having our own bedroom and bathroom for the night, Jeff and I put our bags away and cleaned up before rejoining the crew. After relaxing on the deck for a bit, the group made it’s way out on the town at around 3:30am. Just another normal night in Buenos Aires. As we learned in Rio with Tati, having a native resident with us seemed to make all the difference in the world with regards to night life. Diego took the group to a trendy club unlike anything Jeff and I found on our own during our prior time in the city. Still no real English speakers to meet but having a group to hang out with and good music to dance to made all of the difference. After dancing the night away in the dark, laser light filled club, we were greeted by bright sunshine as we rolled home around 6:30am.

Morning Sun in Buenos Aires

After getting in a good amount of sleep, Jeff, Warren and I woke up around 1pm. Our flight was at 9:30pm so we had plenty of time for a lazy lunch and afternoon before heading to the airport. A return to La Cabrera, site of our best meal on the trip, was the unanimous decision for lunch and it did not disappoint. We headed back to Warren’s to pack and made time to record an MTV Cribs-style video of his place. Again, incredible.

La Cabrera Return Visit

All set to go, we said our good-byes to Warren and hopped a cab to the airport. Before we walked in the terminal doors, I stopped to turn around and take in the final sights, sounds and warmth of South America. As we stood in line at security, I snapped a photo of a Tiger Woods Accenture ad that loosely translated said “What counts is what you do from here”. Ironic for Tiger but, while clichéd, also oddly fitting for Jeff and I as well. My second, big international adventure was over and I was already thinking about the third.

Can’t wait.

Accenture Ad

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