Friends for Life

After a great night celebrating my brother-in-laws 50 I was a bit slow to rise this morning but did get to the pool.  After the swim I headed off to the GM Headquarters to see my "friends for life" (FFL).  This is the bike rally I have participated in the last three years in support of the Toronto People with Aids Foundation.  Its a six day, 600K+, ride from Toronto to Montreal.  The longest day is 126K and the shortest is 50K.  I did not anticipate how much I would miss this event however for many reasons it is good the universe told me it was a no go this year.

This event really spurred me to become more involved in fundraising and making an effort, although small, to help others where I could.  I have realized that putting yourself on the spot to raise funds for a personal cause is much tougher than participating in an organized event.  In today's world it seems people are more willing to give to organized events than to non-organized events for trust reasons.  I'm also not that great at marketing myself as one needs to be to do this type of thing. It has been tough but every cent earned for Gate 3:16 will help someone in Oshawa.

Besides bringing out my "helping" personality trait the FFL has taught me how important sport is to bring the world together.  It just seems appropriate the FFL are riding the week of the Olympics.  The Olympics, I think,  is about bringing together a diverse group of cultures and allowing them to become friends with people who may not traditionally hang out.  We learn that all people are the same no matter what their beliefs, gender or orientation is.  We have similar goals, feelings and pain and sport seems to bring this out better than anything else that we humans participate in.  The greatest gift the FFL has given me is this is the ability to see beyond common prejudices and see all people are the same. 

Here's hoping it is a week of no rain, cooler days and cooler nights but most off all the tail winds push you all along in the 14th annual Friends for Life Bike Rally.

God Speed Peter, Rodney, Marc, George, Bill, Victor, Sass, Mag, Barry, Dan, Glen, Bruce and all my other friends.  Be safe, have fun and hopefully the universe will allow us all to ride together again in 2013.

A thought for my fellow Durham Regional Triathletes.  How much good could we do if we join our efforts and use our love for sport to help others? 

Remember your heart will love you even more if you feed it right and give it a bit of exercise each day.

Liz