I mentioned a while ago that I had some more crazy ideas up my sleeve to maintain my fundraising momentum and keep raising awareness for MS. I am almost half way to my $93,000.00 fundraising goal.

Last weekend I participated in the Valley First ‘Axel Merckx’ Gran Fondo in Penticton BC.
The Penticton area is one of the most beautiful places I have visited, and one of the most amazing cycling areas also.The race was 160 km through the Okanagan valley including, Summerland, Penticton and Oliver, the event was very well organized and went off without a hitch. This was my first Gran-Fondo and I didn’t finish quite where I had hoped but I learned a lot and had a blast so I will be participating again next year for sure.

So what’s next for endms93? Like I said its time to kick it up a notch!!

How about the most extreme endurance Mountain Bike race in North America, the 24 Hours of Adrenaline Solo World Championships in Canmore Alberta. Why not??

Crazy!

OK so with some encouragement from Wendy and Chris at Freewheel Cycle and some amazing support, sponsorship (and more encouragement) from the organizers of the 24 Hours of Adrenaline I am competing in the solo category next weekend. This means that I could potentially be pedaling my bike up and down hills, over creeks around bears and rocks and roots for up to 24 hours non-stop. Most people wouldn’t even attempt to stay awake for up to 24 hours so imagine pushing and pounding yourself to the outer limit of your physical capacity, 20 km lap after lap for 24 hours, night and day, rain or shine.

Crazy!

Yes maybe crazy; but I need to get the attention of the everyone out there and direct that attention to the extreme plight of all those living and dealing with Multiple Sclerosis. I will have the support of the Calgary office of the MS Society of Canada and they will even be participating in the event Expo with an information booth!

This next adventure will be much more difficult then my 3 week bike ride from Arizona, I will be driving myself to the limit and will likely experience, more pain and suffering then I have ever imagined, hopefully my bike doesn’t break and my body and mind don’t snap, crack or pop and I can last the 24 hours, I don’t really know how many laps I can accomplish just that I finish the race under my own steam and move on to the next adventure. Having said that I would really like to complete a minimum of 6 laps and hope for about 8, but I need your help to do it. I need to get the word out that I am seeking sponsorship ‘per lap’, anyone can pledge any amount per lap that I complete.

All I ask for is a commitment of an identified pledge amount per lap before the race starts. The more laps I can finish the more money I can raise for the MS Society. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to commit to a pledge amount on my Facebook page (endms93) or on this web site or my email gvantighem@gmail.com, when the race is finished and my official laps are recorded I will invoice for the full pledge amount.

Easy!! And you get a tax receipt for your donation if so desired.

So please help me by spreading the word amongst your many friends, family and email contacts I need lots of pledges, we can do this and together we can all help END MS once and for all.

Thank you!
/gvt