Aina Aloysius: Pedaling For A Purpose Update

Response to my May 13th post (HERE) really blew me away. This is my first attempt at fundraising, so I didn't really know what to expect. Thank you so very much to those who donated and helped me achieve my goal. The response was so quick I was nearly at my goal by the end of May. Honestly, my whole riding season felt different, in such a positive way, because of this. It truly felt like I was pedaling for a purpose. Thanks to your support, more than $31,000 (Main Fundraiser Page) has been raised for this amazing organization: Vermont Adaptive

Another extremely enjoyable element of my purposeful riding this year is that I am honored to be an ambassador and team member for Rescue Project. This is a national organization mainly comprised of competitive athletes with the mission of raising awareness for animals in need of rescue and support. We raise funds through donations and through sales of their VERY COOL clothing and accessories. I'm not kidding, this stuff is really cool, check out their online shop: Rescue Project Store. If you do make a purchase, please select "Leo Rescue Pals" from the drop down menu so that proceeds will be sent to Leonberger Rescue. For those of you who may not know, Dace and I have had two amazing Leonberger rescue experiences and still have Rosie who is now 8.5 years old. Dace is a New England representative with Leo Rescue Pals volunteering time helping dogs get placed in the forever homes.

Now, for the update: It has been a very fun filled year of mountain biking, my most enjoyable year I can think of. Largely because of what I have mentioned above, but also because my spring and summer have hit all the points of why I LOVE to ride: exploration, adventure, traveling and community. Please enjoy the photos and descriptions below that provide a flavor of what I've been up to. All that fun and adventure aside, this entire blog post is being typed one handed. Last weekend I crashed fairly hard resulting in a severely broken left wrist. I will have reconstructive surgery next week. The main point being, and largest source of my pain, is that Vermont 50 is very doubtful for me. That breaks my heart not only because I truly love this event and this would have been my 6th consecutive year, but also because this event was the basis for my fundraising. Funds were donated on the basis that I was making an extreme effort to warrant a charitable donation, and now I will not. The only compromise I can consider at this time is to at least make the effort to get to the starting line, start, and then immediately drop out. It has always been my philosophy that it's better to have the status "did not finish" (DNF), than "did not start" (DNS). I know you all agree with me. One way or another, I plan to be there. I CAN NOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOU KIND AND THOUGHTFUL SUPPORT.

This is what I've been up to since May:
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I 💚 Vermont. This was the first trip of many in 2018, to my very happy place: Ascutney. The camping is great, the trails are spectacular. This was in May 2018.

I 💖 Northern California! End of May 2018, work trip and tacked on a couple extra days to enjoy the amazing (road) riding. Day 1: Marin Headlands, Day 2: San Francisco Peninsula

I 💚 the Pacific Northwest! 4 days of riding with my good friends Rob and Mark, including some BIG adventures such as Northwest Epic Series - Mission Ridge GranDuro (45 miles, 10k climbing)
and Kachess Ridge in the High Alpine

Then back to Vermont (💚!!!!) for a full one week vacation. This was an amazing vacation with home base at an a Very Cozy Cabin where I got to explore some hidden gems as well as some super well developed networks. Not to mention some serious quality time with Dace and the dogs. The final full day there I linked together several the rides I had done to create this massive epic Cady's Falls to Stowe.

Then to Southern California for some after work rides with my good friend Jason and on the absolute worse rental bike I have ever ridden (not sure what I was expecting for $20/day):