Join me for the Tour of Sufferlandria!

 Hello friends,

 

Looking for a new adventure during the cold dark days of February? I’ve got just the thing.

 

Join me in riding the Tour of Sufferlandria!

 

What is the Tour of Sufferlandria you ask? Only the most incredible indoor bike riding event of the most glorious mythical nation on earth.  Riders from all over the world gather their courage to not only challenge their physical limitations but to raise money to benefit the Davis Phinney Foundation, dedicated to helping people with Parkinson’s live well today!

 

This year the tour runs from Sunday February 27 through Saturday March 5.

 

So it’s a great experience for a great cause.

 

OK, I know what you’re thinking…

 

“I’m not a bike rider!” The Tour is not a race. You don’t need to be a super powered cyclist to enjoy it and have fun. You just need to make the time.

 

“It sounds painful!” Don’t be put off by the name. Is it challenging? It can be in that you’ll be active for seven days in a row. Will you suffer? That’s entirely up to you. The great thing about riding the tour is you’re in control of how hard you go. The tour even has levels of participation.

 

“I don’t have the time.” Well, this is something we all struggle with. Riding the tour means you’ll need to set aside about an hour a day for seven days. Certainly not easy. But I imagine if you look at your daily schedule and plan ahead, you can reserve this time for yourself and make it work.

 

“Will it really be worth all the effort?” YES! The workouts are fun, entertaining and engaging. You’ll find the time passes by quickly. The Sufferlandrian community is AMAZING! Super supportive, talkative and funny. It’s one of my favorite parts of the tour. You’ll be supporting a great organization in the Davis Phinney Foundation. And when it’s all done, you’ll be able to bask in the GLORY of your amazing accomplishment.

 

“Hmmmm. Maybe.” Whoa, we’re halfway there! Come on! I’m inviting a large group of people to join me and we’ll create our own team to give each other support along the way. So feel free to invite friends!

 

To join the tour, you will need a few things.

1.     A stationary bike of any kind. Peloton, old exercise bike, your regular bike on a trainer, even the stationary bikes at the gym. Any stationary bike will do.

2.     A laptop or tablet with internet access.

3.     The Wahoo SYSTM app – this is how you get the workouts that make up the tour. You can get a FREE 2-week trial subscription, so no cost to you.

 

So what do you think?

 

“Sounds like a blast! I’m in!”

 

“Maybe. But I have some questions”

 

“Eh. I dunno. I’m not so sure.”

 

“No thank you.”

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE TOUR!

Yours in Suffering,

Pete

The Peletonia BBQ Raffle!

 I'm raising funds for The James - the comprehensive cancer center at The Ohio State University - and one of the ways I'm doing so is with a BBQ raffle. For $10 you can buy a ticket in the raffle. The winner gets a BBQ of ribs or beer can chicken prepared by yours truly at their home. Enough to feed 10-12 people. Plus sides.

So, if that sounds good to you, then lemme know and I'll add you to the raffle. You can donate HERE.

Thanks!

Pete

Why LIVESTRONG?

My senior year in high school I took physics.  My teacher's name was Mr. Sanchez.  I remember that it started out easy enough - "An object in motion tends to stay in motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest." - but it quickly became much more difficult.  Mr. Sanchez had told us that our final exam would be an essay format and that we should bring a blue book (Well, I might have that blue book thing mixed up with college, I'm not sure.  But it was definitely essay format).

Our class had spent the days before talking over what might the essay exam be for physics, with many different suggestions and opinions.  But I think it's probably fair to say, none of us were totally prepared for what Mr. Sanchez had prepared.  The essay exam consisted of a single question - "Why physics?"  I'm pretty sure I rambled on for several pages about how physics was the foundation for understanding all things in the universe.  I think one kid may have answered "Why not?"  I don't remember what I got on that exam - but I remember that moment when I was faced with that question.  "Why?" is probably the first question we ask as a kid.  With answers that never seem entirely satisfying.  And, it seems, the answers never get any easier.  "Why?" is a tough question.

Which brings me to my point (and yes I do have one).  I've done fundraisers in the past - three in fact - for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through their Team In Training program.  You could say this is how I got bit by the fundraising bug.  I did that first event to honor my friend and mentor John Sloan.  That first experience with TNT was so overwhelmingly positive that I wanted to do it again.  And then add to that, more people I know kept getting cancer, and so I did two more fundraisers - both with TNT.

This time I'm doing an event for LIVESTRONG.  And here comes the question: "Why LIVESTRONG?" Well, the answer to this "Why?" is actually fairly easy.  My Mom was diagnosed and treated for a rather rare form of cancer - anal cancer.  It's the same cancer that Farrah Fawcett had.  It has a rather aggressive and difficult treatment program.  But it in my Mom's case it was successful.  There's no official cancer organization affiliated with anal cancer.  So my Mom adopted LIVESTRONG as her organization.  So the answer to "Why LIVESTRONG?" is because it's the organization that represents my Mom.

LIVESTRONG actually represents many, many cancer patients, families and caregivers.  Now, I know there's been a LOT in the press recently about Lance Armstrong.  I've got my opinions, but I'm going to save them.  Because this isn't about Lance.  It's about LIVESTRONG - an organization that for 15 years has been funding programs, helping patients get access to care, and maybe most importantly, raising the collective consciousness of cancer.  I think it's fair to say that LIVESTRONG has elevated the conversation and drawn more attention to this crummy, awful disease.  And to me, that's a very good thing.

I hope you'll help me, help LIVESTRONG fight cancer.

$5 Follow Fridays

During my last fundraising event, I asked folks to help me out by spreading the word about my efforts to their friends and contacts.  The economy was pretty stinky and I figured if maybe someone felt like they couldn't afford to make a donation - or maybe couldn't donate as much as they'd like - they could still be very helpful by getting the word out to more people.  The result was that I received a number of donations from total strangers - mostly in the range of about $5.

In addition to helping me meet my fundraising goal, this was incredibly cool!  When you're doing a fundraiser, each time someone makes a donation you get an email notification.  That's pretty cool and rewarding in itself seeing these emails pop up in your inbox saying "A donation was made on your behalf!"  But imagine how it feels when that donation comes from someone you don't even know!  Are you imagining it?  How's that going?  Well, just in case, I'll tell you.  It's great!  You're out there fundraising, kind of on your own, and every donation is a vote of support which in itself is important and rewarding.  And then to get a vote of support from a total stranger - well it's like the universe is looking out for you or something.

So I got to thinking - maybe I could replicate that idea for other people so they could have the same feeling.  So I'm doing it! (I start a lot of sentences with So (a needle pulling thread!)).  And I call it:  $5 Follow Fridays!  How does it work you ask?  On to the facks!

Q: What's the big idea?
A: To help other people who are fundraising for worthy causes, I'm gonna try and drum up a little extra support by promoting their efforts to my friends and encouraging those friends to make a $5 donation to a random stranger's fundraising program. To make it easy, I'll do it every Friday.

Q: How do you find these people?
A: Most fundraising organizations have a search function on their websites.  I just sort of randomly search through various participants and pick people.

Q: Well, then how do you decide who to pick?
A: I'm glad you asked that question.  I look for two things basically.  One, that the person is an active fundraiser.  Lots of people sign up with good intentions, but then for whatever reason are unable to really commit to the fundraising process.  So I look to make sure that the person's event is concluding within a reasonable time-frame and that they actually have donations made to their effort. And two, I look for folks who look like they might need a little help.  Basically people who are below their goal - maybe way below, or just on the cusp of making their goal.

Q: What organizations are you promoting?
A: Ah, another good question (you're good at this!).  Well, I'm starting with the ones I know which is basically TNT, LIVESTRONG, SGK3D, MJF and DFP.  But I'm open to suggestions.  They just need to be reputable organizations.  So if you've got one in mind, please let me know.

Q: Didn't you sort of steal this idea from Subway and Twitter?
A: I prefer to think of it as a mashup.  I'm taking the $5 foot long, and putting it in the atom smasher with the #followfriday and voila!  #$5FF

Q: Isn't this just a desperate attempt for attention/self-promotion/self-aggrandizing/borrowed interest?
A: Have you seen Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? I'm trying to work my way up to Self-Actualization.  I don't have any desire to be famous.  Well, ok, maybe I like being on stage a little bit.  (OK, maybe a lot.  um, this is getting uncomfortable).  I'm just trying to help other people receive a little unexpected surprise during their fundraising efforts.

Q: Wait, aren't you fundraising right now?  Won't this cut into your fundraising?
A: I dunno.  Maybe.  I don't think of it that way.  I'm just trying to help more people do more good. If someone is thinking of donating to my campaign, they can just deduct $5 and give it to one of the strangers.  What goes around comes around after all.

Q: OK, you've convinced me.  What do I need to do?
A: Just be on the lookout for a Facebook or Twitter post with the relevant info.

Good Gravy Peace is Hard!

So about two weeks ago, I embarked on a journey – a journey of soulful exploration, learning, and enlightenment.  A journey destined to change the course of my personal history forever, setting me on the path to self-actualization.

Well, not really.  I had been thinking a lot about the concept of Peace, and I thought I’d try an experiment – 30 days of Peace.  That being, 30 days where I personally try to make my world, and the world around me, more peaceful.  My strategy was as follows:

·         Remain calm in times of stress

·         Don’t over-react to external conditions, or actions or behaviors of others

·         Be nice – spread happiness (some people might say “share love” here, but that feels kind of hippy-dippy to me.  I guess I’m not totally emotionally secure yet.  But that’s the general concept I was going for).

So at the mid-point, here’s what I’ve learned – Peace is freaking hard!

It takes a lot of discipline and restraint because nearly every day there’s something that can disrupt peace. Frustrating news of the world, problems at work, sassy children, family squabbles (some of which I even initiate – shocking right?).  And that’s just me trying to maintain peace in my own little world.  I can understand why world leaders are so easily drawn into conflict.  It’s much easier – and in some ways more immediately emotionally gratifying – to engage in a dispute, argue, yell, rage and fight back, then it is trying to seek a calm, peaceful outcome.

But therein lies the dilemma.  At least for me anyway.  It’s that word – immediate.  Yes, in the moment of stress and/or conflict, it can be a natural and impulsive instinct to respond in kind – to fight fire with fire.  But inevitably, there’s remorse knowing that was the wrong reaction.  That it’s not in alignment* with my personal goals and values.

So, peace is hard. Being peaceful is hard.  You’d think a concept that is in some ways about tranquility and harmony would be easy.  Well, not for me it ain’t.**  It requires discipline, concentration, and most of all, commitment.

So, lesson learned.  I’ll keep working at it.  Like I said at the outset – it’s a journey.

*(ha, I worked a business buzz-word into my blog!)

**(intentionally reckless use of improper grammar alert)

Follow along on facebook or twitter

My Peace Reminder

A while ago I came up with this acronym to help remind me how I want to behave as a dad (and as part of my continuing efforts to find peace - ooommmmmm).  I used the first letter of each of my daughter's names...P.C.E.

Patient
Caring
Encouraging

I'm far from a perfect parent - I'd say I'm about average.  So I use this little trick to remind me of how I want to behave - especially when I'm getting a little stressed, or unsure of what to do.  This can be particularly helpful with my oldest daughter - who I tell frequently - "Every mistake I make as a parent, I make on you first."  And unfortunately, in those instances, sometimes my acronym turns out to be:

Petty
Churlish*
Erratic

Well, it's a good thing I've got that little reminder, huh?

*Look at me using vocabulary! OK. I confess, I found it on thesaurus.com

Ooh.  I just realized that if I rearrange the letters like this - PEC - it kinda looks like peace! Sweet.

follow on twitter or on facebook.

Thoughts on Peace

This being the season of peace, I thought I'd share a personal thought/theory on the subject.  It stems from my personal experience with the Catholic church.  No, this is not a post to bash or even critique the Catholic church.  There are plenty of other places you can go for that.  Neither is this a post intended to defend or heap praise on the church, or to try and get you to convert (I haven't).  It is mostly positive, but in my own (hopefully) unique way.

For starters, I'm not Catholic, but I have been attending Catholic mass services for about 14 years.  You see, about 24* years ago, I fell in love with this girl, who happened to be Catholic, and, well, one thing led to another.

So, I haven't studied the Catholic church, its history or its practices, but I'm a pretty good listener.  Here's one of the things I hear frequently - "Peace."  Some examples:

"May the peace of the Lord be with you."
"Let us offer one another a sign of God's peace."
"Peace be with you."
And my personal favorite: "Grant us your peace."


The word "Peace" shows up a lot in a Catholic mass.  And not only in the rituals - it's a frequent topic of prayers and homilies as well.  I don't know the exact rationale (like I said, I don't study the church, I just listen), but I've come to like it, and here's why.

First off, what's not to like about the concept of peace? I think it's safe to say that most of us could use a bit more in our lives. Whether it's world peace, seeking peace with someone with whome we've had a dispute, or inner-peace.  I think they're all pretty good ideas.

But here's another thought that's gone through my mind, and why I think the Catholic church in particular has the potential to create so much power behind this idea.

So, again, once you set aside any biases - positive or negative - for the Catholic church, the first thing that comes to mind to me is scale.  The church is big - in fact, it's the world's largest religious body.  So, it has incredible reach.  Second, it's centralized and organized, meaning it has a great way to control and direct its message (yes, I know this is probably one of the critiques of the church - let's view it as a positive in this instance).  Next, the church is old - it has seen most of the world's wars, crimes and atrocities (once again, let's set aside any role the Catholic church may have played in these for a moment).  You put all that together, and you've got a group that is highly organized, has a huge, loyal membership, an efficient and effective means of reaching that membership, and a simple, powerful message.  The potential to litterally change the world is huge.  If they can get enough members to truly commit to the concept of peace, they could (and perhaps have/do) drastically reduce violent conflict on the planet.  Imagine if people in decision-making positions (e.g., political leaders who decide whether or not to engage in war) actually committed to the church's adherence to peace.  What if those leaders' constituents were even more fervently committed to the concept?

This, to me, is remarkable.  You have a single organization that can reach over 1 billion people around the world, encouraging them to commit to peace.  Think about that!  That's potentially 15% of the world's population!  Just set aside the various concepts, arguments and interpretations of Christianity and religion for a moment (forgive my sacrilege, but none of us were there).  You can doubt, question, argue, or debate many points of religion.  But you really can't debate the potential power of this message and this network.  Maybe it's the marketer in me, but I find it incredibly impressive.  We marvel at the growth of social networks, and Facebook with over 800 million users.  But here's a network with an incredibly simple, powerful message that has the power to eliminate war, conflict, and violence (ok, probably not eliminate, but severely diminish.  Humans are, after all, flawed and one of the few animals besides our cousins the chimps to go to war.  And we still can't account for the other 85% of the world.  And I readily acknowledge that Catholicism doesn't have a lock on the concept of peace - many of the world's religions including Buddhism and Hinduism seem to profess peace.  Again, I am NOT a scholar.  So if I've misrepresented your particular religion, I apologize).

(Some people who loved, lived and died for peace).

More

More

More

But alas, not everyone goes to church regularly (I don't).  And in the end, the church can tell you anything, but the individual has to make the choice (free will and what not).  So, I'm making the choice to pursue peace in my life.  Remember earlier when I said my favorite was "Grant us your peace"?  It's cuz I'm in pursuit of inner peace - trying to  let go of the things that bother me, or annoy me, or cause me to be unkind to others.  My life is pretty darn good, yet I still find myself giving in to petty grievances and aggravations, and then behaving in a way that simply creates more petty grievances and aggravations.

So, I'm going to try peace.  With this post, I am committing to 30 days of peace, during which I will seek to reduce, if not eliminate, conflicts in my life.  Not by being a pushover, mind you.  But by being more patient, smarter, and considerate of how I respond to a potential conflict.

I'll be sending out some thoughts on my pursuit of peace over the next 30 days.  So, follow along if you'd like to see how it goes.

follow

or here

* Mathematical discrepancy resolved as follows:  24 - 6 years dating - 4 years before birth of first daughter = 14.