support Camp AmeriKids via my ride across IOWA

Update: We made it across Iowa (mostly) intact; spirits rose and fell over the course of the week and we are proud of our efforts! Iowa is not as flat as you may think it is (we saw shirts that aptly claimed "Iowa: flat as a waffle") but we were glad to spend a week seeing quite a bit of it.

Highs included the watermelon, slip n'slides, and town residents standing alongside the route to spray us down with their hoses and Super Soakers.

Lows included the relentless heat, packed campgrounds, and bike bib chafing.

Big thanks and love to Ian, Sarah, Sonya, Logan, Lyds & David, and our friends in Coralville for making this week one to remember.

I'm riding RAGBRAI this summer in support of Camp Amerikids and the ELM Project!

For those of you that I haven't gushed to about my love of Camp AmeriKids , a quick intro: it's a place where NYC kids infected/affected by HIV/AIDS and sickle-cell anemia come for a week each summer to have a week of camp fun and sunshine and time in the pool, on the tower, making sandcastles and more. I've long since called it "the best place I know", and have likely at some point tried to recruit many of you to join me there for a week (with some success!)

I've been volunteering at AmeriKids for over a decade now and it continues to be an important and rewarding part of my life. It's where I go to recommit to a mission that's larger than myself and a group of people that put in the work and the time to show up for a community that we've been working with for over 25 years now. I continue to count myself as lucky to be a part of the AmeriKids community and I come home from camp each summer physically exhausted and emotionally restored.

Camp is offered free of charge to all of the campers that attend and provides all campers and volunteers with a fully immersive week, including meals, lodging, swim goggles, marshmallows, and all the beads the Chipmunks can string. As I'm preparing to ride my bike across Iowa this summer I'm hoping that you'll support me and camp at the same time.

RAGBRAI is a 500 mile ride this summer (more info here) and I would appreciate any donation that you're able to make on my behalf. But I'll suggest a $0.10/mile contribution if you're able (or more!) and I'll match all donations up to $1500. AND, for the first $800 raised, my employer will match them as well, so you're getting a 2:1 match!

Lastly, if this is the summer you finally want to join me up at camp, let's talk! It runs from August 13-20th this summer, so just enough time to recover after I roll into Davenport, IA!

More information about The ELM Project: The mission of The ELM Project (formerly named Camp AmeriKids) is to enhance the lives of youth living with the challenges of HIV/AIDS and sickle cell disease by providing an enriching summer camp experience, year-round skill building and a supported transition to adulthood.