Get Your Guts in Gear Ride 2009: a ride to finding the cure to Crohn’s

Here we go once again! Dar and I are once again doing the Get Your Guts in Gear (GYGiG) bike ride, June 12 - 14. What exactly is the GYGiG bike ride? It’s a 210-mile bike that starts in midtown NYC and goes all the way up north to Saratoga Springs, NY. The ride averages 70 miles a day with two overnight camping stops.

http://www.ibdride.com/downloads/GYGIG_New_York_Ride_Map.pdf


The days are long, hot and difficult. I never really liked biking and my idea of camping is staying at a hotel near the camping grounds. So when Dar mentioned last year that she was doing this crazy 210-mile bike ride I almost choked on my coffee… then I sat down, put things into perspective and decided to sign up… no bike, no experience, no nothing… just signed up.

The ride was grueling and at multiple times during the ride I asked myself, “Why am I doing this?” “What am I doing here?” “I should’ve trained for this. It’s so hot, I’m so tired. I’m so not ready for this…” But as soon as the registration opened for this year’s ride, I signed up immediately.

So, why on earth am I doing it again? That’s easy. Finding a cure for Crohn’s. Crohn’s disease is an ongoing disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract. It can affect any area of the GI tract, but it most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. 1932 a New Yorker, Dr. Burrill Bernard Crohn, published an important paper describing the features of the then relatively unknown condition, Crohn’s disease. Although Crohn's affects many people (Dar being one of them), there is still no known cure. And considering that we have knows about this disease for over 75 years, I say it’s time we find the cure. So this is why I do the GYGiG bike tour.

This is a fundraising ride and we each need to raise $1,800, so please visit our website and help us raise $3,600. Trust me, every little bit counts!!

http://www.ibdride.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=78&Itemid=97

Little bits of knowledge:

Did you know that the following famous people have Crohn’s?

Beth Orton
Mike McCready, guitarist from Pearl Jam
Chris Conley
Anastacia Kirkland
Marvin Bush, George Dubya Bush’s baby brother
Shannon Doherty
Dwight David Eisenhower (at the time known as ileitis disease)
Rolf Benirschke, former placekicker for San Diego Chargers
David Garrard, quarterback for Jacksonville Jaguars