I’m helping Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation raise funds to find a cure for all childhood cancers – you can too! Please support my efforts!

Thanks for visiting my page.  My 50th birthday goal is to raise awareness for pediatric cancer research and to raise $5,000 for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.  The route for the bicycle ride that I am attempting begins in West Hartford, Connecticut, where Alex held her first lemonade stand, travels west into New York state, south into New Jersey and continues southwest to Pennsylvania. With minimal directional issues, the ride should cover between 260 and 280 miles and end in Alex's resting place, Valley Forge.

The ride will start the morning of September 5th.  The only comment that I have on the finish is that the ride will end when I reach Valley Forge.

You have the ability to track this event live.  Please email me if you would like the link to track the event.

The official t-shirts are available!  https://www.booster.com/hammertotheforge

Ride Notes

8/24/14 - ALSF board members Jay Scott and Stephen Cohn have volunteered to man the support vehicle for the ride.  I couldn't ask for two better partners for this excursion.

8/25/14 - I'm pleased to announce that ultramarathoner and avid ALSF supporter Craig Silverman has joined the support team.

8/26/14 - Hammer -- 1) v. to ride strongly in a big gear; 2) v. to ride fast and hard; 3) n. one who hammers.  I am constantly reminded that hammering with a 50 year old body should be done much differently than hammering with a 25 year old body.

Post Ride Notes

I can’t thank everyone enough for the support of my charity bike ride from West Hartford, CT to Valley Forge, PA.  We departed West Hartford at 5:00am on Friday morning and arrived in Valley Forge Saturday at 2:45pm.  Obviously the ride demonstrated a certain amount of success from the arrival in the Valley Forge, but even more than that we continued to raise awareness for pediatric cancer research along the way.  There were several local media outlets in both Hartford and Philadelphia that covered the ride.

A few highlights of the trip:
- Having the confidence that one of my favorite people in the world (my brother Jay) and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Chairman, Steve Cohn were driving the support vehicle and would be watching out for me.

- A selfie on the final hundred yards of a 5 mile climb into Sharon, CT…maybe not my smartest idea to pull out the phone, unlock it, focus and snap a shot while continuing to spin up the hill, however I was trying to capture the moment.

- A chance to say hello to the Rita’s Ice (Alex’s Lemonade sponsors) franchise owners in Poughkeepsie, NY and thank them for their work with the foundation.

- Text threads between many of my friends and text messages from many of them also, that I didn’t have time to respond to during the ride but was able to read and they definitely kept me in good spirits…thanks!

- An unfortunate GPS glitch that sent me 5 miles in the wrong direction to the top of a mountain pass on Route 52 in NY.  Making lemonade from lemons…the turnaround and subsequent 3 mile descent down the mountain was a blast!

- An absolutely amazing night ride (with helmet light, bike light and RV lights and flashers) through the traffic-less countryside of NJ on beautiful road conditions…simply the most fantastic and invigorating 20 miles I have ever ridden.

- Miles 240-260, which were uphill and into a headwind with a hot sun beating down on me…definitely one of the more challenging segments, both mentally and physically.  A classic “so close, yet so far” scenario.

- Seeing the day begin from my saddle two days in a row, and actually riding into the sunset as the sun went down on Friday…a trifecta of great 50th birthday presents for me.

- Cresting the final climb into Valley Forge with my two sons and nephew on the side of the road.  They were going absolutely ballistic with yellow flags and a photographer captured the moment…this is my new all time favorite photo (see photo on photo page).

- A chance to lay my good luck travel rock at Alex’s graveside.  It’s the size of a quarter and I found it while traveling in rough conditions in 1988.  I’ve carried it with me while traveling for all these years and I know that it brought me good luck on this trip.

I consider myself a very small ambassador to the legacy that my niece started fourteen years ago in her front yard and I consider myself fortunate to have such charitable and giving friends and strangers who helped us reach our goal.  Thank you to everyone for helping to make this a great event for me and for the foundation.