Livestrong

I love working out. Not only because of it's physical benefits, but also because of the opportunity it presents to do some good in my community. Over the past year and a half, this opportunity presented itself through spinning.

Spinning is something I've always liked but it took getting involved in a local fundraiser for Livestrong get me hooked. The Ultimate Cycling Challenge (started by a fantastic group in Grand Rapids) is a 12 or 24 hour event (depending upon your team's stamina and availability) with live entertainment, food, music and dozens of spinning bikes that annually come together to raise money for the Livestrong Foundation.

It's a truly inspiring event, I met both cycling enthusiasts, cancer survivors, cancer patients and families of those fighting cancer. These people share their stories and help put a face to a cause. My team included 3 other women (my sister and two friends Amanda and Cat) who have all been affected by cancer in our lives at some point and had been looking for a way to become more active in our communities - needless to say, we couldn't say no when our friend Katy emailed us about this event.

Team Old School was born. To date, we've participated in 3 events and plan to keep it going. This past year was our first pass at the 24 hour challenge and it was great motivation to get into shape to compete with other teams. I'm hooked.

So now I'm challenging you - how are you getting involved in your community and using your passions to make a difference?

More to come,

Nicole