I DID IT, June 4, 2006


It was a great day. I biked it and I liked it. 100 miles in 7 hours and 1 minute. Average speed was 14.27 mph. Cumulative vertical climb was 3,770 feet, barely worth mentioning. One climb was 844 vertical feet over 8 miles to a mountain pass called Spooner Junction. We call that Jerome Jay in Baltimore County.

There were 3,000 riders on the course, 1,900 were riding for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training from all over the country. TNT riders raised over $8 million for the Leukemia Society's mission. There were 32 riders from Maryland. We raised over $145,000 on our team alone. Four moms from Friends School raised over $45,000. Personally, I broke $17,000 before I left Baltimore and was the 12th highest fundraiser in the country.

I had GREENE TURTLE written on my left arm, QUAKES written on my right, a squeaky crab and a can of Natty Boh zipped tied to my helmet and 16 purple and yellow ribbons pinned to my jersey. I was a sight to behold -- pictures to follow.

It was a great day and every once in a while when I was cruising along the lakeside by myself, I said hello to Annie.

ONE WEEK TO TAHOE, May 27, 2006

This coming Friday morning, I leave for the 100-mile bike ride in Lake Tahoe as part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training from Maryland. The ride is on Sunday, June 4th. I’ve been planning and training for it for five months, it’s hard to believe it is here. Last Sunday was my longest ride yet – 83 miles. Yesterday was my last training ride before the event – 47 miles. I have ridden over 1100 miles since February. My bike is now wrapped in a blanket and packed in a truck heading to Nevada. I’ll be meeting it there at the Horizon Resort and Casino. It’s a good thing the money you have all donated has been sent straight to LLS, otherwise I’d have nearly $17,000 in my pocket at a blackjack table.

Yes, I’ve raised just shy of $17,000 for the Society in memory and honor of my sister-in-law Annie Girard Miller. I have many, many thanks to give. I hope I have already thanked each of my contributors personally. I have been relentless in asking for money and the response and support of my challenge has been overwhelming. My effort has been supported generously by my family, Annie’s mom in Paris, my friends in the US and in Paris, my neighbors, a large variety of Maryland lawyers, my dentist, my landlord, my chiropractor, members of all the lacrosse teams my boys play on and the coaches, the Friends School community, my parents friends, my sisters’ friends, my brothers’ friends, my childhood friends, my bookclub, my in-laws, my step-in-laws, my sister’s in-laws, my cousins (I’ve got lots of them), and my accountant. I have received corporate sponsorships from a bar on the block – Club Chez Joey – and a pharmaceutical company that makes a drug for one type of Leukemia – Sigma Tau. The logos for those two companies have been printed on the back of our racing jerseys and will be riding around Lake Tahoe with the entire Maryland team. The names of the lacrosse teams will be riding around the Lake with me on my arms – GREENE TURTLE RULES VAIL, QUAKERS ROCK, LTRC and a new one RENEGADES.

Many have given very generously because their lives have been touched personally by leukemia, or cancer, in one way or another. Next Sunday, I will have a ribbon with Annie’s name written on it pinned to my jersey and although she is always in my heart, she will also be with me on my ride. I will have other ribbons with names on them pinned to my jersey, as well – for friends who are fighting or who have fought cancer. It would be my privilege to pin another ribbon on my jersey in honor of someone you love who is in the fight. Please send me a name and I will add a ribbon to my collection. I hope to be a flutter of purple and yellow ribbons as I race along the lakeside for my 100 mile victory lap.

When I get back, I’ll let you know how I did.