Category Archives: Bike the Drive

My 7th year of helping terminally ill children and their families

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biking
Chai Cyclist
Hey,
It’s Neil and I need your help.
 
Sometimes, we are privileged to see when we can make a difference in the world and in the lives of those you need help. As I write this, I humbly and gratefully thank those of you that have committed to sponsor me for the past 6 years as I have raised money for Chai Lifeline by Biking the Drive (Lake Shore Drive). In edition to be the top fundraiser for Chai Lifeline’s Bike the Drive for multiple years, by sponsoring me we have raised over $12,000.00. I am extremely proud to say that I will be hitting the pavement again on May 25, 2014.
 
Chai Lifeline is a unique and amazing organization. They help children and their families cope with the diagnosis, treatment and aftermath of serious pediatric illness. They provide year-round emotional, social, and financial support to families every day. Families in the Midwest turn to Chai Lifeline for access to more than two-dozen, year-round, programs and services, all free of charge and delivered with love and respect.
 
Since my father, of blessed memory, lost his quick battle with Leukemia in 2009 I have always dedicated my bike ride and funds raised in his memory. It is always bittersweet when the ride is over, since I have such great memories of calling him after my my first event telling him that I had biked a total of 30 miles (I had planned on biking only 15) and how proud he was that I was able to help such a worthy cause.
 
Not only do I bike in memory of my dad, but I bike in memory of my in-laws, Dan and Rita Huth, of blessed memory. I bike in merit for a speedy recovery for children who are sick in our community. I bike in honor of friends who are going through difficult times. I bike because Joanie, Eli Meir, Rena Sara, and Mimi believe in me. I bike because I want my family to know that when something is important to you and you can help others, then you give 101% and don’t give up.
 
I have increased the miles I have biked every year, even in the rain. What started out as 30 miles has now become 55 miles. I have also set the sponsorship bar higher every year. This year my objective is to raise at least $3,000.00 by May 25th. I know that sounds like a lot, but really it can happen, with your help. I hope you will help me reach this goal. All donations are 100% tax deductible. If your company has a matching gift program, your gift may be doubled or tripled.
So, if you have ever enjoyed a post of mine in the past 8 years, then please think about sponsoring me (for any amount). Also, for what it’s worth, when training and on the day of the ride I listen to about 3 hours of shiurim. I am happy to so in zechus of a refuah shelayma of in memory of someone. Just give me the name.

I am grateful to all of my previous sponsors and I know that you will, once again, help me reach my goal. All you need to do is to make any donation that you can! If interested, please feel free to forward email to anyone you feel might be open to this opportunity to help. Feel free to spread the word via social media, as well (don’t worry, I will also be using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to get the word out). To sponsor me all you need to do is to go to:
 
 
Warmly,
Neil

An inspiring evening

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Art found here

Monday evening I attended an informal dinner meeting hosted by Chai Lifeline to hear about a proposal for bike riders from Chicago to join in the amazing BIKE4CHAI 150 mile ride in NJ that ends at Camp Simcha. It’s an interesting idea that I’m really considering, since this year’s Bike the Drive event is on Shavuos.

That night I met two very inspiring people.  The first person was also attending our meeting.  He’s a 75 year old businessman who has joined the ALYN ride six years in a row.  ALYN’s ride is an intense 5 day ride in Eretz Yisrael along some serious routes. His biking chevrusa (and gemara chevrusa) also was at the meeting and related that this 75 year old man doesn’t get off his bike to walk up any of the inclines on the ALYN ride…amazing!  To be 75 years old and have that much koach is something to admire.

After our meeting, a man at the next table in the restaurant came over and asked the Chai Lifeline representatives, Rabbi Sruli Fried (director of Chai Lifeline NJ) and Rabbi Shlomo Crandall (director of Chai Lifeline Midwest) about their program.  As introductions were being made, it turns out that this fellow (a medical doctor visiting Chicago for a meeting) is, in fact, the founder of www.dafyomi.org.  He started the website in the mid 1990’s and doesn’t solicit donations or have advertisements on the site to help offset the maintenace costs.  He is one of the most l’shaim shamayim people I’ve ever met.

5 hours, 52.5 miles, and $2,448

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Photo taken by me at 6:30AM on 5/29/11
Sunday at 5:40AM I biked Lake Shore Drive as part of Chai Lifeline’s Chai Cyclists. It was misty and foggy for most of the ride, not exactly picture perfect weather like previous years, but still amazing.  I had hoped to bike 45 miles in just over 4 hours, but in the end I spent 5 hours biking 52.5 miles, the last hour in the rain. 

At first the fog wasn’t a big deal to me, even though it seems that less people we on the Drive this year. When it started misting, I found myself stopping and cleaning my glasses. It seemed like my first 45 miles went fairly smoothly. While I was thrilled to be biking when it was overcast and 60 degrees, the fog was intense and landmark sites like Buckingham Fountain, the Field Museum, and Soldier Field seemed to disappear as I biked past them.

Things were going well until the rain came at 9:30, when they start clearing the bikers off of Lake Shore drive (think of it as the Belt, or the Van Wyke).  We were all directed to take the “bike path” along the actual lake. On any other day this would have been quite the scenic route, but then it the light mist turned to rain for those last 60 minute and time moved slowly.  
It wasn’t all that bad.  Prior to the rain, I was able to listen to the first three of Rav Moshe Weinberger’s Pirkei Avos shiurim, which were great.  The music that played after those kept me moving even as rain seemed to find me, despite my wishes.
It was a victory for me and for the children and families that are continuously helped by the efforts of Chai Lifeline. I was greeted with cheers from the staff and my brother, who came in from Brooklyn, for my accomplishment.

After the event I went back home with my brother and a close friend/fellow Chai Lifeline cyclist (since he drove us downtown) to be greeted by wife, kids and my friend’s family for a gala breakfast that Mrs. Uberdox made for us.

For those that sponsored me, thanks!!!  A blog post or a thank you letter doesn’t really do justice to how you have directly helped Chai Lifeline by sponsoring me for this event.  My total raised: $2,448.

Last post before Bike The Drive

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Biked for an hour last night and I’m ready for the big ride.
My brother plans on driving in from Brooklyn to be at the ride and cheer me on, which is awesome.  So far, I’ve raised over $2100 for Chai Lifeline and I’m so thankful that such a wide range of people sponsored me.  From long time friends, to bloggers I’ve become friends with, to relatives, to a non-Jew from high school, and even my shul…it’s a wild group.

My wife and kids have been encouraging me and I’m begining to feel somewhat “more active”.  The sadness of not being able to share this success with my in-laws a”h and my father a”h is somewhat offset by knowing that the money raised is,mamash, going towards children and their families that needed it.

I’m pretty excited to get back on Lake Shore Drive again and hoping for excellent weather.
Training weekly for this has been tough, but worth it.  It’s also given me a fixed time to prepare and think about my “Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh” chabura that I started a few months ago.  Indeed, time well spent.

My first three hours biking will be used for listening to shiurim in zechus of a Refuah Shelayima for Revuen ben Tova Chaya, Zev Meir ben Yael Sarra, Rivkah Zelda bat Sarah and Miriam bas chana Yael; also as a merit for 2 couples who want children. In addition, it will be l’zecher nishmas:
Rivkah bas Chaim Yosef
Dan HaLevi bas Aharon
Avraham ben Zorach
Efraim ben Shlomo
Rebbetzin Zlata Geisinksky
Chaya bas Tuvyeh Leib
Eliezer Baruch Chaim

This year’s playlist is:

Pirkei Avos (1)- Why Begin with Olam Habah? Rav Moshe Weinberger
Pirkey Avos (2) – The Kiss Of Har Sinai – Rav Moshe Weinberger
Pirkei Avos (3) Humility – The Only Prerequisite Rav Moshe Weinberger
Pirkei Avos (4) Patience With Others, With Hahsem And With Ourselves Rav Moshe Weinberger
Hashem Melech- Yosef Karduner
Hallelu- Rockiah
Ki Lo Yitosh- Rockiah
Va-Yivan Uziyah- Piamenta
L’Shana Habaah- Piamenta
Anachnu Maaminim Medley- Piamenta
Dreams of my Redemption- Piamenta
Hafachta- The Diaspora Yeshiva Band
Cracow Nigun- Reb Shlomo Carlebach
V’li Yeruholayim- Yitzhak Halevi Band
Pischu Li- Yitzhak Halevi Band
In the Merit Of…- Pitom
Flash Gordon Theme- Queen
All Those People Know- Bob Mould
Chartered Trips- Husker Du
Sorrow- Bad Religion

Thanks to all of you who have be so kind to sponsor me.

If you haven’t sponsored me, there’s till time:

IF YOU HAVE EVER ENJOYED READING THIS BLOG…

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Hi.  My name is Neil and I have a blog, which you are now reading.  If you have read any of my posts over the last five years and they have made you think, laugh, smile, give up using the web, look up something, or try to be a better person, then please consider helping me as I bike 45 miles on May 29th.

I will, for the fourth year in a row, be joining dozens of Chai Cyclists in Chicago´s Bike the Drive, a thirty-mile rally on Lake Shore Drive, to raise money for Chai Lifeline, a wonderful organization dedicated to helping very sick children and their families.

Chai Lifeline provides year-round emotional, social, and financial support to more than 3,000 children and their families every year. In our area, Chai Lifeline Midwest offers access to two-dozen free programs and services that touch each member of the family, helping them to live full and happy lives despite the presence of illness.

Last year, with your help, I was able to raise a record amount of money for Chai Lifeline.  I biked a total of 45 miles on Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago within 4 hours, which was personal record for me. I dedicated my biking to my father, Al Harris, of blessed memory, who had died that year of Leukemia. While it was great being able to celebrate with my wife, children, and by brother (who came to town to join us), the real victory was for those helped by Chai Lifeline by your donations.  I cannot tell you how much it meant to me and my entire family from across the country.

I have been training during the past few months indoors and I am currently training on the streets of Chicago and Skokie biking in the evenings and getting ready for the big ride. I will admit, this year, I have another goal besides raising funds to help Chai Lifeline. This year I am hoping that my bike training will not only get me in ready for the ride, but will also help me get into better physical shape for life.

Chai, mean “life”, and I have seen that that the work, love, care, and support that Chai Lifeline gives is truly a lifeline for many people. They provide so much for so many people. And now, together, we can both help them. The word “mitzvah” is derived from the Hebrew word meaning “to connect”. By sponsoring me for Bike the Drive, you are making an unbreakable connection by directly helping so many children and their families.

I have the best trainers in the world working with me…my wife and three kids. I know in the past I’ve had your support and I’m hoping you will sponsor me once again.
My objective is to raise $3,500.00 by race day and I hope you will help me reach this goal. All donations are 100% tax deductible. If your company has a matching gift program, your gift may be doubled or tripled.

Thank you for supporting me, and in doing so, helping children and their families cope with the diagnosis, treatment and aftermath of serious pediatric illness. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested in supporting Chai Lifeline.

To find out how you can help sponsor me (in any amount, no matter how small or how big), please click here:
http://tiny.cc/chailifeline

Thank you for reading,
Neil

If you have ever read this blog and gotten something out of it…

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… then please read this.  I need your help.

In a few weeks, I will join dozens of Chai Cyclists in Chicago´s Bike the Drive, a thirty-mile rally on Lake Shore Drive, to raise money for Chai Lifeline, a wonderful organization dedicated to helping very sick children and their families.
Chai Lifeline provides year-round emotional, social, and financial support to more than 3,000 children and their families every year. In our area, Chai Lifeline Midwest offers access to two-dozen free programs and services that touch each member of the family, helping them to live full and happy lives despite the presence of illness.
My objective is to raise $3,500.00 by race day and I hope you will help me reach this goal. All donations are 100% tax deductible. If your company has a matching gift program, your gift may be doubled or tripled.
Thank you for supporting me, and in doing so, helping children and their families cope with the diagnosis, treatment and aftermath of serious pediatric illness. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested in supporting Chai Lifeline.

To contribute, please click here.
Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

Please help me raise money for Chai Lifeline

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Hi,

Years ago, we purchased a car and got a “gift certificate” for a sporting goods store. I ended up buying a bike (and one for my wife). I have, thankfully, for the past three years to have participated in Chai Lifeline’s Bike the Drive program. To use my bike and get sponsors that can help Chai Lifeline is an amazing mitzvah opportunity.

Last year, with your help, I was able to raise an unprecedented amount of money for Chai Lifeline, an organization that helps terminally ill children and their parents. I biked a total of 45 miles on Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago within 4 hours, which was personal record for me. I dedicated my biking to my father, Al Harris, of blessed memory, who had past away that year of Leukemia. While it was great being able to celebrate with my wife, children, and by brother (who came to town to join us), the real victory was the people helped by Chai Lifeline by your donations, especially in honor of my father a”h. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me and my entire family from across the country.

This will be my fourth year Biking the Drive for Chai Lifeline. I am currently training (indoors), but soon I’ll be hitting the streets of Chicago and Skokie biking and getting ready for the big ride. I will admit, this year, I have another goal besides raising funds to help Chai Lifeline. This year I am hoping that my bike training will not only get me in ready for the ride, but will also help me get into better physical shape for life.

Chai, mean “life”, and I have seen that that the work, love, care, and support that Chai Lifeline gives is truly a lifeline for many people. They provide so much for so many people. And now, together, we can both help them. The word “mitzvah” is derived from the Hebrew word meaning “to connect”. By sponsoring me for Bike the Drive, you are making an unbreakable connection by directly helping so many children and their families.

I have the best trainers in the world working with me…my wife and three kids. I know in the past I’ve had your support and I’m hoping you will sponsor me once again. So please look for more updates as I journey towards reaching my goal.

To view my YouTube training video, expertly filmed by my 8 yr old daughter, please check this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dchMVWpMwcw

If you are intested in donating to sponsor me, please click here or free free to email me. Of course, it would be great if you’d like to forward this to your friends.

Thank you,
Neil
http://helpchailifeline.blogspot.com/

Biking the Drive

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After weeks of training, a few late nights and the realization that I’m not as young as I use to be, I biked with Chai Cyclists as part of Chicago’s Bike the Drive on Sunday.
I started biking at 5:40 am and finished at 9:15 am.  The weather was perfect.  It was hazy (the sun didn’t really start shining until 9:00 am) and 66 degrees when I started. Unlike last year, there was very little wind, which made things great.  I was, thanks to my hours and miles of training, able to bike at a rather steady pace, stopping every every 15 miles to refill my water bottle with Crystal Light packets.  Things were going well until the  last 7.5 miles, then I began to get a little tired.  OK, really tired.  Of course, others were biking too and I knew that I was almost finished. I kept going, like a man on a mission, and finally made it to the end.
Throughout the ride I was listening to shiurim (all available to download by clicking the links) and was able to get through a shiur on the history of the Slabodka Yeshiva, a biography of  Rav Yitzchak Hutner  and a discussion on Perfection in Human Relations.  What Torah I was able to learn was in memory of:
  • Avraham ben Zorah a”h
  • Rivka bas Chaim Yosef a”h
  • Dan Halevi ben Ovadia a”h
  • Pesha bas Shmuel a”h
  • Yakov ben Rav Avraham Yosef a”h
  • Efraim ben Shlomo a”h

and as a refuah shelaima for:
  • Reuven ben Tova Chaya
  • Esther bas Sara
  • Yenta Tzarna bas Etya
  • Ayelet bas Nurit
At  Grant  Park, where the event ended, we were greeted at the Chai Lifeline tent  by their staff and a nice breakfast of cream cheese sandwiches, pastries and orange juice (I was too exhausted to eat, but the orange juice hit the spot).  Also, at 8:00 am I was greeted at Buckingham Fountain by my brother, who had come from out of town for the event and to cheer me on.
After the ride my friend that I’ve been training with and I (along with my brother) went back out our home where we were given the welcome of a lifetime.   My friend’s had come over and all of our kids had lined up in the front yard and made a paper-link-chain for us to cross.   My daughter in second grade had even made a picture for me of a trophy and written “#1” on it.  My wife, who is my biggest supporter, had made an awesome celebratory breakfast of champions that included: bagels, lox, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, whole wheat pancakes and coffee.  I mostly drank and had a bagel later in the afternoon.

After resting for some of the day, we all drove to Six Flags, since the kids didn’t have school on Memorial Day, and hung out for the evening.  It was a great way to end perfect day.

I biked a total of 45 miles (I tied with only one other person for the the longest distance biked) and my sponsorship totaled over $2,800.00, which was the highest amount raised in Chai Lifeline’s Bike the Drive history…thanks to all of my sponsors.

As I had previously written, I dedicated this year’s ride to the memory of my father, Al Harris a”h, who passed away in early November.  He not only sponsored me, but was always amazed by my commitment to Biking the Drive and was very proud of my efforts both in terms of biking and also in attempting to help an important organization like Chai Lifeline.   I know he would have been very proud of what was accomplished on Sunday.  

For those of you who sponsored and encouraged me, thank you!!!

Follow my training for Bike the Drive

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In the past I’ve posted progress reports on my training for Chai Lifeline’s Bike the Drive on this blog.  This year, I’ve created totally different blog that’s mostly directed towards my very generous sponsors who are interested in my progress.  When that blog is updated, I’ll post links on Modern Uberdox.
This other blog can be found here.