The Giretto d'Italia (The Little Giro)

Riding the Giro d'Italia, or any part of it, is a big thing. Daunting. Potentially even cold in the Dolomites in the month of May.

A little over month ago I committed to train for and participate in an event called The Giretto. It's the brainchild of a friend, Gene Nacey, who I know through Indoor Cycling. (He has an indoor cycle DVD company called Global Ride - check out his videos). Gene and I share a similar passion to bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor cycling. That is the premise of my ebook Keep it Real, and it is his idea behind his "cycling fusion manifesto". We want to show the world that indoor cycling could, and should, be used to train for outdoor riding if done properly, and to inspire indoor cyclists to get outside and ride a bike.

What is The Giretto (the "Little Giro")? We plan on riding the first 5 days of the Giro d'Italia prior to the pro racers on each day of the stage. The first stage is a Team Time Trial of only 20km, but after that, the distances range from 125 to 200km. So essentially, we will be doing four centuries in a row, with the last two days going into the Dolomite mountain range with some serious climbs.

Ouch! What the heck was I thinking?? I haven't even done a century in 4 years!

Gene wanted an "epic" event to highlight the fact that you can use Spinning/IDC classes to prepare. But he also wanted to attach it to a cause, so he contacted Livestrong and they happily agreed to have it be an official Livestrong event. So, we are raising money for Lance Armstrong's foundation, Livestrong,  whose goal is to find a cure for cancer and support cancer patients. I've always supported Livestrong and am a passionate Lance supporter, especially with his comeback goal of increasing worldwide awareness of finding a cure for cancer. 

From the Livestrong.org website: 8 million people will die from cancer each year!

To combine this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to ride in Italy and really challenge ourselves, with raising money for one of my favorite causes, well, that is really exciting to me!

Will you support me??

You knew that was coming, didn't you?! You thought, "uh oh, Jennifer's doing another fundraiser on a bike/Spin bike and she's going to ask me to sponsor her. Let me click on that 'X' at the top of this page before she knows I was even here!"

Too late, I know it! We just surpassed 40,000 views, remember?! ;-)

I know that things are tough right now, I know that there are hundreds of worthy causes, I know that you've already given* to your favorite cause. So I'm not asking for much - really! In this case believe in the quantity theory over quality. If just half of my daily visitors (varies from 200-350 people/day) were to donate just $.01 - $0.03 per mile (yes, you read that correctly), then I'd surpass my goal (of raising $2,000) in a very short time!

That's just one or two grande Chai Lattés or Mochacinos!

Yes, that's all I'm asking for - $0.01 - $0.03 per mile (unless of course you want to give more). And you know what? I will relish every dollar donated, and it will empower me to get up those hills in the Dolomites. I am just as grateful for a $5 donation as I am the higher ones, because I know that in these times, it means reaching inside yourself and giving from within. Mother Theresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

At the very least, please go to my donation page just to read why I am doing this event; what is my "WHY" behind doing this crazy ride? This is not a vacation, and it's not a for profit endeavor for my bike tour company, Viva Travels, which is a sponsor. I hesitate to say it will even be fun (but it should be an enjoyable challenge). 

It is going to be very, very challenging.

The fun (well, sort of) part is the training, and I can honestly say, since the very moment I committed to this event, a little switch went off in my head and my priorities reorganized themselves. I'll tell you more about that in a later post, because it's pretty cool when you have a BIG WHY behind your goals.

I am blogging about my training at my Cycling in Europe blog. Mother Nature has not been very cooperative here, so 99% of my training has been indoors, on a Spin bike (so I am taking the Giretto manifesto to the hilt)! I even Spun for 3 1/2 hours last weekend as it snowed outside. Check out my blog, then go to my donation page and send a little sunshine my way if you can - even if it's just the cost of a fancy Starbucks drink! If you have received any help from this blog, from my profiles and coaching tips, if you have felt that you are a better instructor as a result of reading this blog, I am hoping you can see your way to helping me in my goal.

Oh, and by the way, if this sounds at all exciting to you, or you know a cyclist who might be interested in doing The Giretto, this is our inaugural event, and we hope to grow this into a regular yearly event, all the while raising money for Livestrong! So send me an email and I'll put you on my mailing list for future Giretto information. jennifer@vivatravels.com

Tomorrow: my profile and playlist for my pyramid ride I did this morning in my 6 am class. It was one of my more satisfying classes in a while, and I look forward to sharing it with you.

* you have, haven't you? Because we are all blessed, and have so much to give, even if we don't have much. The more you give, the more you will attract into your life. that's the way the Law of Attraction works!