Awareness

Occasionally, I feel the need to talk about serious matters and this is one of those times. I promise not to do it often but it seems like there are so many things you have to worry about in life and you never expect sickness or emergencies to happen to your immediate family until it does. My dad was taken to the hospital yesterday b/c he was suffering from dizziness and shortness of breath. As it turned out, he has a clogged artery due to high cholesterol and high blood pressure. My dad doesn't smoke or drink, never has and never will but he does eat very poorly. When i found out my first reaction was anger. I was angry b/c he obviously doesn't take care of himself. He doesn't exercise and has no regard for what he puts in his system. Today I am not as angry but it has made me realize nobody is untouchable and being aware of your health is very important.

Awareness is a key word for this month since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All month long, I have been more informed on Breast Cancer than ever before. Maybe it's because I am getting older or maybe because people around me are Breast Cancer Survivors. One survivor, a real a$$ kicker on the bike, has been on a mission ever since she and her sister were diagnosed. This particular person doesn't want to take credit for all her hard work, all she wants is to make as many women and men aware of how to prevent it or detect as early as possible. There is an event this Friday night, October 27th at the Hickory Museum of Art Gifford Gallery from 6pm - 8pm that will be a huge celebration.

"Through Healing Eyes", the Breast Cancer event, is in it's 3rd year of existence. Last year over $30,000 was raised to benefit the Susan B. Komen Foundation. This year the proceeds could be close to $50,000. The purpose of the event is to celebrate survivorship and kick off the sales campaign of the annual "Survivor Calendar". Three years ago this survivor/bike diva came up with an idea to produce a calendar of survivors to sell as an awareness tool and the proceeds of the calendar would go directly to whichever Breast Cancer foundation was helping spearhead the event. The sales from the past 2 years were incredible. The calendar is moving and inspirational and each survivors' stories are told or their given month.

The calendars will go fast. This year the American Cancer Society only decided to print 1200 calendar which isn't nearly enough. ACS hasn't done a great job of supporting this survivor and her mission. So if you get a chance please go by the event and pick up a calendar. If you decide that you want to get one for the most important female in your life as an awareness reminder, email me and I will put you in touch with the WIC, woman in charge.

October's Adventures

So it has been a while since i have posted and i feel guilty for not being on top of the blogging so i will try to wrap up all of the Interbike, vacation and stroke ride gossip.

September ended with a trip to Interbike. I had never been before so I had no idea what to expect. The moment I walked into the trade show I felt sick to my stomach. It was HUGE and there was no way I was going to see everything in there, not that I even wanted to see every new shiny carbon bike. After the week's end I decided most bike are the same except for small few.

Funny enough, Vegas wasn't exciting and I was ready to head to Boulder, CO for vacation ASAP. The best part of Interbike was the panel discussion between Greg Lemond, Bob Roll and Cippo. Of course just watching Cippo is enough for me to sit for 2 hours with a bad sounds system. I couldn't understand a word he said anyway so as long as he just sat there and looked pretty I was good to go!

We arrived at the Dahl's house in Boulder on Sat night. They are an awesome family with a 2 little darling kids. The Dahls took us in for the week and let us have full reign on their entire basement. Here is a pic of them. Aren't they cute!! Big Thanks to them for being such fantastic hosts!


After a several days of hiking, eating and drinking Amante's coffee, it was time to get down to business. A few months back I was introduced to this amazing company, Skirt Sports, based out of Boulder, CO. I contacted the owner of the company, Nicole DeBoom, about athlete sponsorship. She and I swapped some emails and I asked if she would meet me while I was in Boulder. She accepted and we hit it off immediately. Skirts Sports is taking the women's athletic apparel market by storm. After meeting Nicole and witnessing her enthusiasm I knew i wanted to be involved in her company in some form or fashion, fashion definitely being the key word here. Before the meetings end, we were already talking about me coming on as a sales rep. I have never been a sales rep before but her company impressed me so much that I wanted to help spread her product in the Southeast. So now I am the new rep for Skirt Sports for the Southeast. It is exciting and challenging. The market is wide open for this product and my goal is to see every female runner, triathlete and cyclist in the southeast wearing this line while competing and running around town. See for yourself. They are awesome and so comfortable. I swear I have been wearing them everyday since I started with the company. Visit Skirts!

Skirts was a great part of the trip but the trip to Rocky Mtn National Park wasn't bad either. We spent an entire day driving and hiking through the park. It is a beautiful place and views are outstanding. In the pic I have included you will see this huge bull elk. Apparently, during our visit it was elk mating season and the bull elk bugle for his mate during this time. They basically sit around in some valley waiting for 5pm to roll around so they can start mating. It seems like Disney Land with all the tourists coming to watch them mate. Look how freaking close I go to this monster, like 10 feet away.


Another coool person I met in Boulder was Mary. She is starting BIKEJANE, www.bikejane.com. Check her site out. She is really trying to do a great thing for cycling and the more people that visit her site the more exposure it will create for the good of cycling everywhere!


Stay tuned for more details on the trip and a wrap up of the stroke ride. By the way, don't forget that October is Breast Cancer month. Breast Cancer affects everyone is some form or fashion and the more aware we are the better chances we have to fight it. Here is a very informative Breast Cancer Site.


It's prime leaf season up here in the mtns and it seems the population has quadrupled. Every Floridian is up here for at least another week and then this place will be deserted. I need people to ride with so if you want to move up to the mtns please feel free! Check out my website, www.robinfarina.com, for some new updates and pics.