One Man, One Bike, One Fight

Today I had the pleasure of meeting a great man of our time. Drew Marinelle, after 2 years in the Peace Corps, set out on a journey. He didn't consider himself an athlete, but set his mind to do something many of us would have thought him crazy for. His goal, to raise money to fight hunger, by biking across the country. And not just straight across the shortest distance. No, he started at the southern most tip of Florida, rode a "scenic" route including up to Washington and back down to San Francisco. You can read more about his journey, see the map of his trip, lots of pictures from across the US and donate to help him reach his goal of $10,000 for WPF, on his website at www.onemanonebikeonefight.com


Now, his journey wasn't all sunshine and roses. Between the bike problems, rain and wind, he had some tough going, but starting at April 1st (go figure, starting on April Fool's Day), and ending a week ago Saturday, he made it to his final destination of San Francisco. You may have seen him on the news since his arrival, shortly after which he had that very bike stolen. What a horrible way to end a journey! But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now to how I got to meet him. It was brought to the attention of the CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, who called all us corporate employees to the executive area this afternoon. Where we met Drew and heard his story. At the end of Drew's story, Carl (that's the CEO) presented him with a goody bag including a biking jersey and jacket, and some other little things. But the best part was when they wheeled out the new Trek bike, to replace his stolen bike. Makes you feel good.


I thought to myself a few times while I heard Drew talking, "Here's a guy, who didn't consider himself an athlete, that accomplished something that many of the professional athletes in this world wouldn't dream of. So what's stopping me? He biked over 6,000 miles. Took under 6 month's to do it. That's more than 1,000 miles a month! And I think twice before going for a 2 mile walk? Well, now I won't think twice about it now. Drew is an inspiration, not only did he accomplish such a feat, but he did it for a good cause too!

Healthy and Happy Living