Philly Challenge mentioned in Today Show - Update

First of all, I have to say that personally I do not like bull fights in French or Spanish arenas or events like the pamplona running with the bulls. I think it's both dangerous and against animal rights. I did not post this to glorify this event or the participants of the event. The LAF received upset letters following the Today Shows segment, so I felt like I'd have to mention this.

Secondly, what I think is the great part of this story was that one of the brothers celebrated his 1-year remission of testicular cancer and that he will participate in the Philly Challenge to be an active person in the fight against cancer, as well as try to get more people to register or volunteer for the Challenge. If this post or the segment from the Today show was misleading to some of you, I deeply regret it.

We are all working towards a common goal in the fight against cancer, so please consider making a donation- small or large. There's a link included in the Honor Roll, and every donation will be highly appreciated- plus a donation to my fundraising page also gives you one or more raffle tickets (for donations of $5 or more) to win some great prizes (including signed and gameworn basketball shoes from Dirk Nowitzki as well as Livestrong Challenge items), there are also some incentives for different levels of donations mentioned a little lower on this blog.

Thank you for your attention- I hope you'll join our endeavor!
_______________________________________________________

Two brothers that are participating in the Philly Challenge were featured on the Today Show this morning.

They both ran in the Pamplona 'running with the bulls' (a 400 year old tradition that generates both fear and excitement in partipants and bystanders) and were injured (but are doing okay in a hospital in Spain). One of the brothers just celebrated his 1-year remission from testicular cancer. Both were planning to run in the Philly Livestrong Challenge, but will now be walking instead. He and his brother are Team Dos Hermanos, and they encouraged people to sign up to ride, run or volunteer.


click here to watch the video

New eBay items/ training during Tour de France

First of all, I have listed a few more eBay items to get closer to my goal to make it to the Austin Challenge in October. If anyone of you is interested in an item, all you have to do is click on the item's name and you'll be directed to the listing on eBay.


Matthew Modine signed Video: Bye Bye Love

Panini World Cup 2006 Germany Album- complete + Jens Lehmann extra sticker

Starbucks City Edition Coffee Mug- Berlin

Planet Hollywood Coffee Mug- Berlin

Warner Bros. Studio Store Coffee Mug- Berlin

Planet Hollywood Coffee Mug- Paris

Riverdance- The Show Coffee Mug

First day of issue letter - Moon Landing July 20, 1969






During the last years, watching the Tour de France always meant spending the afternoons and weekends in front of the TV, drinking soda and eating icecream. This year is a little different, though.

I carried my stationary bike up to my tiny living room with my mom- the room is now dominated by a bike- but as long as I can still reach my desk and bookshelves, I guess it's all right (with me being a student). So, yesterday I spend 60 minutes on that bike and today I did a 90 minutes session. It's kind of funny, being on your stationary bike while watching pro-cycling athletes climbing hills during the Tour de France. It's definitely less boring than being on that bike in the basement for an hour or more and staring at pictures of houses that my father used to built.

If I can keep up this kind of training, I should be in pretty good shape by October. Tomorrow the Tour takes a day off and so do I. I'll be at a rock concert downtown with one of my best friends that is part of the Oldenburg "cultural summer" weeks.

technical problems-solved

The Livestrong Challenge website is working again. All technical problems should be fixed by now!

Back in the saddle....

Yep, things are looking good again. I had a check-up following my concussion and the doc said it's okay to start cycing again. Finally! I was getting a little restless, I have to say. So, today I went back on my bike and managed to ride a whole 45 minutes until the rain started again. Man, I hate this so-called summer!! But, it's better than nothing, so I'm quite pleased with myself.

Fundraising is going well, too. I'm close to the $1000 mark, which almost doubles my result from last year. However, I'm still hoping to raise a lot more for this great cause and will continue to do so even after this season. The other participants seem to raise a lot of money, too- the 3 challenges passed the $2.000.000 mark.

There's also some exciting news for the Austin Challenge:

Texans have the opportunity to vote on November 6th to provide $300 million a year over 10 years for cancer research and programs in Texas. Because of this historic opportunity, the 5k run/walk has been changed to October 13th with the ride remaining Sunday, October 14th. Plus, the run will now take place on the Texas Capitol grounds and it'll include a rally in support of the vote. So, registered participants for the ride can now also do the 5k run/walk without any additional costs.

I'm not quite sure if I'll do the run, too, but I'll be there cheering everyone on- that is if I'll get the flight details figured out... I'm still hoping for lastminute flights to be a little less expensive.