LIFE ACROSS AMERICA 2010

Good morning,

Guess what? It’s almost time for the “Epic Big Pedal” to start in SF.

Adella and I are down to 10 days left before our check-in date of 5Jun10 with America by Bicycle’s “Cross Country Challenge 2010″  and our start date of  the “Epic Big Pedal” on 6Jun10 in San Francisco.

This will be the same day as the start of the incredible ALC ride from SF to LA … so there should be lots of incredible, compassionate “cyclists” in SF,  on or near Ocean Beach.

ALC will head south down the coast highway and we will cycle past the Cliff House, through the Presidio, across the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and then continue on to Vallejo, Ca.

The next day we will continue eastbound through Fairfield, Vacaville, and onward to Sacramento for a “thank you” stop at the BloodSource blood center on Q st to meet their donors.

The last couple of weeks have been amazing, lots of training (in between rain storms), packing and re-packing, last minute preparations for the Bikes. (A special thanks to Rand at Aria Velo and the incredible crew at The Trek Store” Brett, John, Andrew, Ben, Justin, Chrissy, and others.  Oops … I almost forget Jeff at NorCal for the exceptional customer service he provided to all of their customers.

Wow!  The “Epic Big Pedal” could not have happened without the support and friendship of our cycling friends who usually train us on the “Friendly Fridays” rides sponsored by SRCC (Santa Rosa Cycling Club)  You are an amazing group of men and women who are dedicated to cycling and to having fun while being “friendly” at the same time.  Thank you to Charlie, George, Jackie, John, Carole, Robin, Ken, David, Mike and Janice, and Michael S. for being there in the beginning to encourage me to do this and for reaching out to Adella when she joined us.

Since I’m stuck in my “attitude of gratitude” mode … I want to thank our local blood center, Blood Bank of the Redwoods, and their crew (Cathy, Kent, Ryan, Tammy, Liz, and Ilde), for hosting a very successful community event/bike ride/blood drive, “Cycle 4 Life“, you and your donors were awesome.

If you get a chance … check out our new and updated LAA 2010 website, try to leave us an encouraging note on the comments form and then jump over to Adella’s account on Facebook … just sign in, go to the search box and type in … Give Blood.

Adella will be updating it daily with pictures, notes, and exciting “thoughts of the day”, inspirational thoughts, and amazing people and donors she has met along the way.

A special thank you to F.A.B.C., ABC, ABC member blood centers, your local blood center, and our friends in D.C. who are working tirelessly to provide us with a safe and available blood supply and specifically helping us get the word out about Life Across America 2010 … a hats-off to: Jim, Tom, Matt, Abbey, Mack, Lolita and Lauren.

To my friends who make up the  In the Telling film crew, Jeff and his gang of incredible group of talented young men and women … thank you for bringing this Blood Miracle story to its 2nd life … and for spotlighting the many other blood recipient miracle stories that are out there!  I hope you know there are many special blood stories out there just like mine … because during our lifetimes … 1 out of 3 people will need blood!

Don’t forget … “Blood Donors Save Lives … Believe It!”

Our goal this year for Life Across America 2010  is to replicate our 1996 goal of raising 75,000 units of blood and if for some medical reason you personally can’t donate … please encourage your best friend who is healthy and can donate … to donate at least 3 times this year.

If fear of needles or any other reason is stopping you for donating whole blood, platelets, or plasma … then feel free to make a financial donation to F.A.B.C. in the name of “Life Across America 2010″.

Our financial goal this year for FABC is to raise $110,000 … $1,ooo  for each unit of blood that I used … so your donation is important to us.

If you can’t do any of the above and would just like to participate in LAA 2010 by sending Adella and I a word of encouragement or just say a prayer for us…  please use the comment form on our website … you can help us climb the Sierras, the Rockies, and keep going in the Kansas wind … rain or shine!  We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your support and help.

Larry F. (Giving Blood is the one GIFT that truly comes from your heart!)