I Need Your Help
I cycled ten miles
this morning and my left knee hurts. I am clearly much more unfit than I
realised. So if I’m going to complete this century – the longest bike ride I
have ever undertaken – I am going to need your help. If I know that each mile
raises more money, then I’ll push myself a little bit further and I’ll be more
likely to complete the ride.
Why am I doing
this? I’m doing it because I truly believe in Temple Beth Shalom as a
world-changing community. I know that some people criticise religion and say it
isn’t relevant or necessary in today’s society, but such people obviously haven’t
seen Temple Beth Shalom at work. This community helped found the Interfaith
Shelter for the homeless who were being turned away from other shelters. These
people were dying on the streets but once the Shelter was set up, the deaths
from hypothermia at winter stopped. We continue to support the shelter and save
lives – last month we worked with other communities and together raised $54,000
to keep the Shelter open over the summer.
Temple Beth Shalom is a community that ensures that anyone of any faith
and from any family, even those with little finances, can get a 5-star accredited
Preschool education, even if that costs us money. We fight in the local
legislature for equal rights, we fight against discrimination and we fight for
social justice. We are a key voice for positive social change in Santa Fe. We
work with local schools and with local schoolchildren who are struggling at
school. We support the bereaved, we befriend the lonely, we bring people
together. That’s the most relevant work possible but if that work is to
continue as it does now, we need your support.
I believe in this
community. I believe in the work that we’re doing. I know that it is good work,
that we help change lives…. that we literally save lives. You can help save
lives by making a pledge.
This 100-mile bike
ride is going to be my biggest physical challenge yet. I did a 70-mile bike
ride four years ago but much has changed since then. I weigh much more – about
15lbs more. I’m cycling at altitude, which means the air is thinner and that
doesn’t help my asthma. And talking of asthma and health – at the same time as
training I’m having allergy injections three times a week which are exhausting
me – yesterday I slept from 4pm to 10pm – and all of that fatigue affects my
training. And the challenges aren’t just about me not being overweight, unable
to get enough oxygen or being totally fatigued. It’s also hot. Really, really
hot. The bike ride four years ago was on a typical grey English day and there
was even rain to help cool me down. Not so here – we’re expecting it to be
around 75°. I’m going to have to train not just for distance but also for heat
exhaustion. Moreover, it’s further than I’ve ever cycled before. And then look at this profile of the race – the
race starts going downhill and then starts climbing for a long time before….see
that around 25 miles? That’s a steep grade 4 climb. And then there’s a descent
before a long, long climb for a very significant part of the race before an
extended grade 3 climb, shortly followed by another grade 4 climb. And even
when heading downhill afterwards, there are more climbs. That’s some serious cycling.
But don’t just take
my word for it – here’s what a friend who has completed The Tour of Acoma says…
“As someone who rides at altitude in Taos and
had completed a 98 mile ride from Philadelphia to Brooklyn only 3 weeks
earlier, I found the Tour De Acoma to be among the most challenging I've
attempted. The combination of heat, gradient of the climbs (plural) and
the road surface make this a hard but beautiful and rewarding day's work.”
Appreciating the
enormity of this challenge, then, and the importance of this work, please click
on the link below and pledge generously. I need your help … the people whom
Temple Beth Shalom supports need your help.
Thank you.
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