Guest blog: Dave writes of "Dave's Ride for Josh"

If this blog were an 80s TV sitcom, this would be "A very special episode of _____."  It is not an 80s show, but this is a very special blog post.  The background to it can be found here.


Last weekend was The Scenic Shore 150 Bike Tour, or "Dave's Ride for Josh."   He texted me both days when he was done, and he made great time considering crowds and conditions, but more importantly, finished safely and strongly.


How did Dave's fundraising efforts go?

As you can see from his pledge page, it exceeded all goals and expectations!  This unbelievably awesome.   I asked Dave to write up a quick summary, and he has, which is here in red:

"On July 24th I participated in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Scenic Shore 150, or as I liked to call it "Dave's Ride for Josh".  Many of you Josh vs. Lymphoma readers donated money for my ride, and thanks to your generosity, I was able to raise $2010 (more than twice my original goal).  Since many of the donations came from readers of this blog, and people I don't even know, Josh was kind enough to let me post a blog entry about the ride. 

First of all a very huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated.  I was overwhelmed by the number of donations from people all over the country.  Since I wasn't able to ride with Josh, I took him (and the bratwurst from Miller Park) with me on my bike in spirit.

The first day started out cloudy and rainy and since Milwaukee was hit with some flooding the day before, it was a little concerning.  I wore the snorting bull jersey that Josh sent me for the first day's ride.  One Fun Thing indeed.  As the day went on the sun and humidity showed up making things a little more difficult.  There was plenty of "scenis shore" to see, along with some farm land.  We finished the first day a little under 5 hours averaging 15 miles an hour, not bad for my first distance ride.

Day two started out with tired legs and sore butts, but once we got going, I was surprised by how much energy I had.  That was until the hills came.  Day two had a lot more hills than the first day, so that slowed down our pace.  I rode in my Scenic Shore Sprinter jersey that I was awarded for raising over $1000.  After riding through some head winds and some hills we finished in about 5 and a half hours.  I took Josh (and the bratwurst) with me all the way to the finish line.  Hopefully next year, I can take the real Josh with me.

Thanks again to everyone who donated, and to everyone who encouraged me through my training and the ride itself.    -Dave"

The whole thing is so touching and impressive, I'm not even sure what to say.  Thank you (both to Dave and to everyone who donated) doesn't seem sufficient, but it is the best I can do.  I can also leave a few other pictures he sent Sarah and I, and say that Sarah is already making plans for us to hopefully join this event next year.