Pete's Most Astonishing Adventure
Donation protected
We are reaching out on behalf of our dear friend, Peter Doven.
This upcoming June, Pete is doing something really extraordinary. Indeed it’s so remarkable that, simply by making the decision to do it, he is being an inspiration to everyone around him.
At age 61 he is planning to (as he puts it) “toe the line” and enter the unbelievably grueling “Tour Divide” bike race, which takes place in June 2019. The Tour Divide is a 2,745 mile off-pavement, completely unsupported, mountain bike-packing race from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border. It runs along the spine of the Continental Divide through 5 states plus southern Canada. There is approximately 200,000 feet of climbing and the clock runs continuously with no stages. It is the longest ultra-endurance mountain bike race in the world. 150 to 200 valiant fire-breathers from many countries will start Friday, June 14, 2019 at 8:00am. There is no publicity, no prize money, and more than half of the riders who start will not finish. A satellite spot tracker for each rider allows followers (us!) to ‘watch’ the race online, 24/7, mile after mile. (Blue dot watching can become an obsession!)
Pete has talked about this race (some might say incessantly!) for nearly four years. This summer a group of us finally pinned him down and asked him what was keeping him from signing up. He said,
“Beside the fact that it’s as intimidating as hell . . . and fear of failure? Time and money. I’ve got 3 kids in college and I work full time.”
We asked, “If you had the time and money, if that was not a factor, would you do it?”
He responded with, “Yes! I would! There’s no guarantee that I - or anyone else for that matter - will finish, but that’s part of the challenge. If not now, then when?! I’m 60. Three or four years from now ‘life’ may decide I missed my window. ‘Some day’ is now! Yes, I would!
We decided right there and then to commit to helping him close the gap to make it happen.
Logistically, the only way that Pete (or anyone) can make an undertaking of this scale happen is with a little help from his friends.
As you can imagine the last thing that Pete wanted to do was impose on anyone, least of all his friends, but we were finally able to persuade him to allow us to reach out on his behalf on these conditions:
-Any money raised would pay only for his essential bills covering a bare bones budget and the supplies necessary for the 25 – 30 days on the route. (He’s been assembling the needed bike and gear for 4 years)
- 10 % of all funds raised will be donated to the excellent local non-profit, Save Our Shores. If anything more than the total needed is raised, that too will be donated to Save Our Shores. (Pete insisted on this!)
So, if you find yourself inspired by our dear friend, Peter, we invite you to consider chipping in a contribution of any size to give him the chance to take on this extraordinary challenge and help out our planet along the way. We’ll send you the links and info that will enable you to “watch” his progress online this summer and see any updates and postings he makes from the route.
Anything you throw in will be both a wonderful gift of kindness and a full endorsement of the idea that by encouraging and supporting each other to be bold and passionate, we get to vicariously take part in each other’s adventures, and therefore become more likely to be inspired to get out of our own personal comfort zones and do the things that really call to us.
And that is how the human spirit soars . . . !
Thank you so much for your kindness!
Many cheers!
-Pete’s Pals
P.S. SAVE THE DATE!
You are cordially invited to an evening of merriment at 99 Bottles of Beer on Walnut Street in Downtown Santa Cruz, upstairs, for the official launch of Pete’s final ramp-up to the race . . . Sunday, March 10th from 4.30-7.30pm. Invite to follow.
This upcoming June, Pete is doing something really extraordinary. Indeed it’s so remarkable that, simply by making the decision to do it, he is being an inspiration to everyone around him.
At age 61 he is planning to (as he puts it) “toe the line” and enter the unbelievably grueling “Tour Divide” bike race, which takes place in June 2019. The Tour Divide is a 2,745 mile off-pavement, completely unsupported, mountain bike-packing race from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border. It runs along the spine of the Continental Divide through 5 states plus southern Canada. There is approximately 200,000 feet of climbing and the clock runs continuously with no stages. It is the longest ultra-endurance mountain bike race in the world. 150 to 200 valiant fire-breathers from many countries will start Friday, June 14, 2019 at 8:00am. There is no publicity, no prize money, and more than half of the riders who start will not finish. A satellite spot tracker for each rider allows followers (us!) to ‘watch’ the race online, 24/7, mile after mile. (Blue dot watching can become an obsession!)
Pete has talked about this race (some might say incessantly!) for nearly four years. This summer a group of us finally pinned him down and asked him what was keeping him from signing up. He said,
“Beside the fact that it’s as intimidating as hell . . . and fear of failure? Time and money. I’ve got 3 kids in college and I work full time.”
We asked, “If you had the time and money, if that was not a factor, would you do it?”
He responded with, “Yes! I would! There’s no guarantee that I - or anyone else for that matter - will finish, but that’s part of the challenge. If not now, then when?! I’m 60. Three or four years from now ‘life’ may decide I missed my window. ‘Some day’ is now! Yes, I would!
We decided right there and then to commit to helping him close the gap to make it happen.
Logistically, the only way that Pete (or anyone) can make an undertaking of this scale happen is with a little help from his friends.
As you can imagine the last thing that Pete wanted to do was impose on anyone, least of all his friends, but we were finally able to persuade him to allow us to reach out on his behalf on these conditions:
-Any money raised would pay only for his essential bills covering a bare bones budget and the supplies necessary for the 25 – 30 days on the route. (He’s been assembling the needed bike and gear for 4 years)
- 10 % of all funds raised will be donated to the excellent local non-profit, Save Our Shores. If anything more than the total needed is raised, that too will be donated to Save Our Shores. (Pete insisted on this!)
So, if you find yourself inspired by our dear friend, Peter, we invite you to consider chipping in a contribution of any size to give him the chance to take on this extraordinary challenge and help out our planet along the way. We’ll send you the links and info that will enable you to “watch” his progress online this summer and see any updates and postings he makes from the route.
Anything you throw in will be both a wonderful gift of kindness and a full endorsement of the idea that by encouraging and supporting each other to be bold and passionate, we get to vicariously take part in each other’s adventures, and therefore become more likely to be inspired to get out of our own personal comfort zones and do the things that really call to us.
And that is how the human spirit soars . . . !
Thank you so much for your kindness!
Many cheers!
-Pete’s Pals
P.S. SAVE THE DATE!
You are cordially invited to an evening of merriment at 99 Bottles of Beer on Walnut Street in Downtown Santa Cruz, upstairs, for the official launch of Pete’s final ramp-up to the race . . . Sunday, March 10th from 4.30-7.30pm. Invite to follow.
Organizer
Rod Caborn
Organizer
Santa Cruz, CA