It's raining again....

Okay, it's passed time that this stupid rain will finally stop. I mean, it's been like this pretty much all summer. We had about 2 weeks of warmer weather in June and could actually get our t-shirts and shorts out of the closet, but since then it's been rainy and cold, so I'm back to wearing jeans and sweaters, if you can believe it.

Since I'm still recovering from the flu, although it's getting much better, I can't do any cycling outside. With the rain and the cold weather, it's just way too risky with the Austin Challenge coming up in about 3 weeks. I'm not even taking a chance on getting soaked to my undies again!

Everything else is finally falling into place. I already booked my flight (pretty expensive but it'll be worth it), I finally got the information that I will be able to borrow a bike for the actual challenge ride, and I'm beginning to get all the information I need about where to stay during the week.

The only negative aspect is my fundraising that came to a complete stop. Actually, I had 3 people lined up who promised me to either support my fundraising or even sponsor me, but I haven't heard from them ever since. I mean, why offer something like that and then not follow up on it? It got my hopes up to actually accomplish my goal of raising $5000 and now it's a pretty disappointing situation.

Oh well, I did organize some online-auctions, but most of the people who won the items are very slow in sending the money, so that money will probably arrive in time for next year's fundraising season.

But, I won't complain, it's been a new fundraising record for me, anyway. A few months ago, I wasn't even sure if I'd get passed the $500 mark with all those negative news and attitudes about cycling in general and more specifically in Germany and Europe, so I'm happy with the way it turned out!

Just in case you know someone who'd be willing to support me in any way or who has the opportunity to donate to my fundraising page, let me know. I tried to get more information about the LAF across to people from my hometown by doing an interview in a local paper, but that didn't recruit any further donations or support. People are always telling me that they admire me for volunteering my time and some of my money (that's pretty tight with me being a college student who has to pay for tuition) for a good cause, but when it comes to donating even a small sum, they always shy away. Oh well, I guess it's the fact that donations to the LAF are not tax-deductible in Germany, so if they donate some money, they'll choose a German foundation. It's a little disappointing, but I just can't help it.

That won't stop my involvement with the LAF and the fight against cancer, though, so I'll keep going, even if it's a difficult endeavor.