April 29, 2008

Mark Ballock and Terry Cunningham from the San Ramon Arts Foundation are the riders for this year’s Adventure Ride for the Arts supporting the arts in San Ramon and the San Ramon Valley. Mark started the Adventure Ride for the Arts in 2007 with a ride from Seattle to San Francisco, 1100 miles, covering 13 days. Mark was the only rider from San Ramon; however, he was accompanied to San Francisco with five riders from the Seattle area. In the end, only three riders crossed the Golden Gate together. Shortly after arriving home, Mark felt there was going to be another Adventure Ride for the Arts; hence, Adventure Ride for the Arts II was born.

Last years ride inspired Terry Cunningham to take up the challenge with Mark, and Terry bought his bike in February. Together Mark and Terry have trained over 1000 miles to date with some bumps and bruises along the way, and plan to ride another 1000 miles before their departure date June 29, 2008. Our base training started slow and easy gradually kicking up the pace to include hills, and then Mountains (Mt. Diablo). We have conquered Mt Diablo four times and will see the mountain several more times before we leave. Our next phase of training will be for endurance putting in more time in the saddle. The ride will demand 6 to 7 hours each day over the course of 8 to 9 days covering 70 to 80 miles per day on average. This can be grueling and physically taxing on the body and the only way to prepare is to make each training ride longer paying close attention to proper nutrition and listening to our bodies. We will soon be riding 70 to 80 miles on the weekends, and 25 to 30 miles on the weekdays.

The purpose of this ride is to raise funds for the arts in San Ramon and the San Ramon Valley. To reach our goal of $20,000.00 we need your help. Your 100% tax deductible contribution will go directly to the San Ramon Arts Foundations grant program and will be distributed by grant request from local schools, art organizations, artists, and the City of San Ramon for funding of the arts. We have made it easy to make a contribution using our PayPal button at the top left of the menu on our home page or by mailing your contribution to the San Ramon Arts Foundation, 231 Market Pl. #378, San Ramon, CA 94583.

Mark and Terry look forward to telling their story of the ride through a daily blog on our website www.sanramonarts.org

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Thank you for your support, Mark and Terry