Why I Ride: One mom's quest to conquer the Wish100

The Make A Wish Foundation of Utah asked me to write a weekly blog about, "Why I Ride?"  One every week leading up to the event.  I am going to post the blogs I write for them on here also.  So here is the first one that I wrote......

Our family has a very special place in our hearts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They put a smile not only on our son's face who was in a really harsh time in his chemo treatments, but on each of the faces of our whole family. Cancer doesn't just hit an individual, it affects the whole family. 

 The smiles that were on my kids' faces when they were told that they got to go to Disney World (Chase's wish was to see Buzz Lightyear) were absolutely priceless. 

The Make-A-Wish Foundation brought a light into our family when we were dealing with things that no family should have to watch a 2 yr old (or any child) go through.

Chase's life was doctors, hospitals, and medicine and even though it was only for a week, we got to escape all of that and spend quality time together as a family.

It gave Chase, and the rest of us, the energy we needed to keep fighting this battle Chase has been given.

CHASE is my motivation for this ride. I want many more kids to be able to experience the happiness that Chase and our family did. This is why I have decided to ride in the 1st Annual Wish100 Women's Only Cycling Event. At first I thought I would just volunteer. Anyone can help right? To help, you don't have to have any special talents and you don't have to be in shape - that is me!!! A few weeks went by and I decided that was not enough. I needed to ride and I needed to raise money to help. I don't own a bike, helmet, or any such thing. This was going to be big for me. I didn't even know how far I could ride. When registering, it asks you how far you want to ride, so I needed to find out. I took a friends bike out for a little ride. With very little effort (and remember I am not in shape, and I do not go to the gym) I was able to ride 12 miles in about 40 min. This gave me even more motivation. I could pull off 30 miles in about 2 hours. It was something that I thought was impossible and once I put my mind to it, I found I really could do it. I would love to be a die hard and do the full 100 miles, but someone would be scraping my body off the pavement. 30 miles is possible. Anyone can do it.

I went to a local bike shop here, Bicycles Unlimited. They were so good to me, and did everything they could to get me a nice bike to use for the day of the event. All it takes is a phone call to them to let them know you will be here in St. George on Oct. 22nd and they will save you a bike. Like I said, anyone can do it!!! I live in St. George and I will tell you that this course is fairly easy (not a lot of hills) and such a pretty ride in October. The more I talk about it the more excited I get. I registered and put together my personal page, and within a few hours I had donations...WHAT??? There are people out there that actually think I can do this? If you don't think you can do it, stop thinking....YOU can do it. Honestly if I can do it, anyone can. After all that the Make-A-Wish Foundation has done for our family, this is the least I can do (give up my life for them??? J/K hopefully I will live through it!)

-Dani P., Chase's Mom and Wish100 Rider

Stay tuned to our blog for weekly updates from Dani as she continues to prep for her adventure at the Wish100. To learn more about the ride, and to register, visit www.wish100utah.org. 

I would LuluLOVE all the encouragement I can get.  I have written another blog since this one that has not been posted on their blog yet (link is on my sidebar).  However, I am hoping that being this encouraging voice to get others involved doesn't end up killing me in the end.  I have to do this ride, and I am hoping my out of shape body can pull it off.  Show me some love by sending a small donation to Make A Wish by going to my personal donation page

30 Days 30 Ways Go To Cold Stone TONIGHT!

September is all about making wishes come true! Along with Ice Cream Lovers like you, Cold Stone Creamery^® has been helping the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® make wishes come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions. All month long Cold Stone stores will be accepting donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Visit any Cold Stone Creamery store and show your support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation by purchasing a Make-A-Wish paper star for just a dollar!

And we’re hosting the World’s Largest Ice Cream Social to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Tuesday, September 27th between 5 and 8 p.m. where customers will get a free taste of our Sprinkled with Wishes™ Creation™ - Sweet Cream Ice Cream, Brownie, Rainbow Sprinkles and Fudge!