I got an email from Cecil Ledesma yesterday that said:
I just stumbled upon your blog and like you am registered to ride on October 9th in DC. I am a huge supporter of Lance and the LiveStrong program. There aren’t enough yellow t-shirts I can wear in a week. I plan on riding the Tour of Hope by myself although it sure would be
nice to hook up with a fellow rider on that day. I’ve never done this before but am so committed to riding in honor of the many names I have in my pocket that have lost the fight to Cancer. I liked your site a lot. Keep that going and I’ll chat with you soon.
Cecil is the first fellow rider of the Tour of Hope Fund-raising Ride with whom I have communicated. It’s great that we are able to use the Internet to find each other. I’m definitely going to find a way to meet up with him on October 9.
Tour of Hope Website for Riders:
Click on the screenshot to see what the
backend of the Tour of Hope website looks like.
One of the best things that the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope organizers have done is to create a website that allows Tour of Hope riders to contact people who’ve donated to support them. I have already emailed most of my donors, thanking them for their support.
It would be great if the Tour of Hope site let riders who met the minimum fund-raising requirement access the email addresses of other qualified riders. This would allow for networking in advance of the ride. Maybe people from the same areas could carpool if they live a long distance from Washington. Some might wish to arrange training rides in the weeks leading up to the big event.
I couldn’t wait for this ride to take place, even before Cecil contacted me. If his attitude and mine are indicative of the rest of the riders, we’re going to have a blast.