Summer riding, had me a blast; summer riding, happened so fast. Around some very interesting challenges, the team has ridden every Saturday and continued to raise donations in spite of postponed and cancelled events, and with over half of the team dropping out. We’ve completed the Team Survivor Copper Triangle so now it’s time to put a big bow around the 2020 season and look forward to 2021. Thanks for sticking with the team and continuing to ride and fundraise – and thanks for signing up with Team Survivor to Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Meet Stacie Kulp!

As I have mentioned over the past few months, LLS has been impacted by the pandemic like so many companies and has had to make some organizational changes to ensure long term viability for the mission. Stacie Kulp is the new Executive Director for the Denver market which is part of the new Mountain Region based in Utah. Please join me in giving Stacie a big Team Survivor welcome! We are all looking forward to working with Stacie and she has left a message for Team Survivor below:

Hello Team Survivor! My name is Stacie Kulp and I am the Executive Director for the newly formed Mountain Region. I was first introduced to LLS when I made my husband attend a TNT info meeting with me 16 years ago while living in the Bay Area. No surprise, by the end of the meeting we were both signed up for our first marathon (Nike’s Woman’s Marathon in San Francisco). I went on to participate with TNT in a number of triathlons and have enjoyed riding in AMBBR four times. I have been with LLS for just over 10 years, initially managing campaigns (Team In Training and Students Series) and then moved into the ED role for the Utah Chapter over five years ago. As you can imagine, LLS (like many nonprofits) is not immune to the significant financial impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. With the mission in mind, we recently made necessary changes to the organization, one of which was consolidating 56 Chapters into 27 Regions. The Mountain Region is now made up of Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming. While we’re in the midst of navigating and building our new OneLLS structure, one thing remains unchanged, our unwavering focus to cure blood cancers. Thank you all for your incredible support and I hope at some point I can join you for a ride!

Team Survivor – 2021

With the 2020 season in the rear view, our focus is now on fundraising and recruiting for 2021. Unfortunately, LLS isn’t officially transferring/dropping participants in their database until later in the year so we don’t have an official count of Team Survivor members or donations raised. We were at $72,000 when Tahoe cancelled, on the way to our 3rd consecutive year raising $100,000. Our total will be less since many transferred to other events. Here are a few things you can do now. If you haven’t already, please transfer your registration to 2021 at https://na.eventscloud.com/website/15456/event-change-form/. And, if you have people in your circle that might be interested in joining us next year, here is the link to share with them for registration – https://www.teamintraining.org/americas-most-beautiful-bike-ride-21 If you have questions or are having any issues with transferring or registering, please let me know.

Welcome Steven Martinez!

Please join me in welcoming Steven Martinez to the team. Steven has been riding with us this summer and has joined Team Survivor for 2021! He’s a great rider so always make sure you say hello to Steven before the ride because that’s the last time you’ll see him. Remember to ABR – always be recruiting – even in the middle of a pandemic with cancelled events we can add more members to the team! Here’s a note from Steven:

Hello everyone! I’m Steven and I’m excited to join Team Survivor. I’m 67 years young, recently retired from a career in accounting and auditing and hope my retirement includes riding for many more years. I took up cycling about 45 years ago to fight a weight problem caused by quitting cigarettes. I found riding a great escape and it’s been a very important part of my life since. I rode every day for many years, trying ulta-marathon cycling, a few time trials, riding across the country and participating in Paris-Brest-Paris. I’m much more relaxed about it now and just enjoy the camaraderie and, of course, staying in shape. Cycling has helped me enjoy one of my other passions, cooking, as it allows me to eat so much more than if I were just sitting on the couch. I also enjoy hiking and backpacking and I have two looms that keep me busy weaving when I can’t get out on the bike.

Team Survivor Copper Triangle

Twenty-two brave soldiers showed up to ride 79 miles with 6000 feet of climbing at the Team Survivor Copper Triangle on August 8th. Every other biking event had been cancelled so we created our own and had a great time! The team had trained in the mountains for months leading up to the big event and were up to the challenge. Great job everyone who joined us – such a tough course but what beautiful scenery and what an amazing experience with the team!

Team Survivor – August Rides

August 1st – Boulder

August 15th – Rance’s Fancy Loop

August 21st – Trail Ridge Road

Trail Ridge Road is a paved highway that crosses the Rocky Mountain National Park. Elevations range from 7,800–12,183 feet, with 11 miles above treeline. Road shoulders are narrow, guardrails are few, and some drop-offs are steep but the scenery is like nothing else. Even with the recent fires and smoke every turn was more breath taking than the last. It is also a good challenge with 4500 feet of climbing and high winds. Congrats to all who joined for this epic ride!