Slacker

Hey Folks,

I have been a slacker lately with the blog, so let me try to play catch-up.

Things have been really crazy since my article came out in the Sacramento bee. I have been receiving non-stop emails of support, thanks so much, it means a lot to me. I have been hearing from many fellow Ataxians or relatives of Ataxians in my area, it is very nice to share experiences and struggles.

I have also been a slacker on the cycling side of life...The knee injury during my ride to San Francisco slowed me down for a bit, however hopefully I have fixed the problem with a trip to a Physical Therapist at a place called Kinetctions here in town, and a visit to the Tour of Nevada City bike shop where they fitted me to my trike and changed quite a few things that could have been contributing to my knee pain. Thank you so much to the Tour of Nevada City bike shop, they are true experts who spend the time to get everything right.

Another thing that distracted me from riding was a trip to Philadelphia where I visited my good friend Dynah who I met at the NAF conference last year in Boston. We had a great time at a couple of museums and a Sixers game and a night out in Philly...


On the awareness and fundraising front, there is a lot going on as well. After the article came out in the Bee, there was about $800 contributed on my website in a single day. Also after the article I got a random call from a guy named Neil who is part of a group of cyclists called Team Donate Life. I ended up going to one of their meetings, they asked me to tell my story and they were very supportive, they offered to post my story on their website and to raise a few dollars for me as well. On top of that, I met some really great people and I will definitely be back to see what is in the future for Team Donate Life. Please visit their website here.
Another project that is brewing is a benefit concert at a local venue with a local singer...details to come.
Yet another great awareness promotion was a visit with the Rotary Club in Nevada City. Once again I told my story and received nothing but support, thank you Rotary!

As you can see there are quite a few things distracting me from riding. Tomorrow I am filming a short video for the promotion of my ride with a very talented producer from my work, Matt Pegler and his lovely assistant Diane Nascimento. After that I am heading to the bay area for the All California Ataxia Research Meeting. These meetings are great because it is an opportunity to meet lots of rad people and to hear about the latest advancements in Ataxia research!

Starting next week I am going to ramp up the training once again being careful not to aggrivate that knee or any other joints...See you on the road!