1/14/10
Dear Rounders, Bounders and Sundowners,
A belated but nonetheless heartfelt Happy New Year to all. We had our white Christmas and our Blue Moon New Year’s, now we have to get about the business of actualizing all those auspicious signs.
The Christmas Eve blizzard hampered parish celebrations of Christmas. There has been a great deal of snow, wind, cold, and ice. We are still digging out as there are still several inches of snow on the ground with plenty of snowpacked side streets. Yesterday was the first day of the year we went above the freezing mark.
Yet, this is the very year we’ll be riding 5,ooo miles from Cape Flattery to Key West. I am hearing about brutal indoor training sessions from Deb, Bethany, and Lis. I myself am on the trainer for fifty minutes a day at noon, followed by weight work one day and core work the next. When the ice melts off the streets, it’s been there 19 days now, I’ll be back outside walking in the mornings. I refuse to walk in malls as I don’t want some buff octogenarian mall walker snickering at me.
Aside from getting in shape, we are all trying to raise money. I have no idea what we have raised so far all together, but I’d like to see a million bucks raised in Kansas City, and we are a long way from that. BEATLES parties, Chili-cook-offs, Comedy Nights, are just a few of the ways the team has been trying to raise money. So far we have not had to resort to extortion.
We are up to 12 riders now. For the record they are: Jason Christensen, Deb Hellinger, John Mocella, Bethany Paul, Jeremy Ruzich, Karl Schafer, Pete Schloss, John Stigers, Sara Terhune, Lissa and Tom Whittaker, and me. Special mention needs to be made of the administration and support crew, who are also the team, and without whom this Ride is only a pipe dream: Stephen Belt, Kathie Conwell of Catholic Charities KC, Suzanne Cronkhite of Catholic Charities KC, Sabrina Saldanha (aka Sabu–Indian Web mistress), and Christine Schloss.
Our motto for the next several months leading up to the Ride is very simple: ora et labora. For these indeed will be weeks of work and prayer.
- Fr. Matt Ruhl
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