Good cause

I've been working with a guy named Tom on his project for about 6 months now. He's lining up governors from a half-dozen states, Congressmen, dudes named Rumsfeld and hundreds of cops and firefighters (known in my family as 'farfighters,' it's a Baltimore thing).

So here's the jersey. His site for the Airline Ride is pretty real. It's a testament to the human spirit. He's a hero.

I first met Tom as just another rad customer who liked to drink beer and hang out with us knuckleheads at the shop up in Chevy Chase. He rode all the time and was always talking about 'just getting back from Europe' or something like that. We found out he was a pilot (no drunk pilot jokes here) and he started sharing with us his attachment to what happened here in DC on September 11. We had another woman who rode all the time raising money for the memorial at the Pentagon so we mentioned Betsy to him. 'Oh yeah, that's my sister,' he said. 2+2=4. It turns out that Tom lost his wife on the plane that hit the Pentagon. Betsy lost her sister in law.

So, Tom is talking about how he wants to do something positive for the crewmembers and their families. He wanted to bring attention to the 33 crewmembers who were near and dear to him personally as well as professionally. One day riding across the US for each crewmember. Tom is flying his last flight as a pilot out to LA. He's riding with his buddies back across the flight path of the planes that were supposed to make it to LA. LA to New York, New York to DC. Completing the journey.

I threw City Bikes and myself into the ring to help out. Jamis came on board with a small fleet of bikes for them (Zenith Teams) and I promised to ride at least part of the route. I'm down for NY to DC.

If you live in any of the states they are going through (check out the website) you should put on your Sunday best and show up. Be around at the end of a long day and have a cold beer for Tom and the boys. Meet us at the Chevy Chase City Bikes (park in the lot) and hook up with us as we cruise down Connecticut Ave with full police escort. Or just make a donation on the website.

I hope that if anything this difficult came my way in life that I would have the strength to pull through it. Tom is an inspiration and I am honored to have been a part of this. I can't wait to ride.

On your left...