Fundraising for Children with Congenital Heart Disease
My mission was to bike 200 miles in Spring and Summer of my Sophomore year, to generate awareness about CHD and raise funds for A Giving Heart Foundation. See below for a blog of all my rides.
Each year 1 in 100 babies is born with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). 30% will require invasive surgery. Your donation today will help make it possible to end the need for open heart surgery in children.
Welcome to New York!
July 24th, 2023 — Over the whole summer I have been traveling for lacrosse, so I haven’t had the chance to do many bike rides. However, while I was in New York, I had 2 days off from playing lacrosse, so my dad and I decided to rent bikes and do a 7.82 mile bike ride. We biked through central park, along the Hudson River, and my favorite part, biking through Columbia University in Manhattan. I had seen the campus before, but it was my dad’s first time, and we both absolutely loved it. It was amazing how there is a feel of an actual college campus in the middle of New York City. Columbia had a great lacrosse program, so I was there to attend a camp, it was my second time, and a really enjoyed it. The academics at Columbia are also amazing, they have a great Computer Science and Engineering program which are areas that I am very interested in studying in college.
Biking South
June 10th, 2023 — As you know already, my favorite ride to do is biking south along the lakefront trail. I saw all the same landmarks that I have seen on previous rides. I biked 11.15 miles all the way to 41st street beach. The lakefront is always extremely pretty, no matter how many times I go on the same trail, I still love it.
Morning Ride
May 13th, 2023 — I woke up early this morning to go for tutoring, and I decided to bike back from my tutoring class. I started at North Avenue beach, and biked north all the way to Montrose beach, and then I turned around and biked south back home, for a total of 13.34 miles. I rode with my dad, and I wasn’t very excited to start biking because it was really cold and windy, however, once I started biking, I had completely forgotten about the weather
My Longest Ride Ever
April 15th, 2023 — My finish date is coming soon, and I still have many miles left to ride. So I decided to do an incredibly long ride with my dad. We rode 59.45 miles all the way to Hammond Indiana. We started on the lakefront, and biked 30 miles south. At the beginning we were on the lakefront, and then we rode on some streets, and finally we reached the Erie Lackawanna Trail. On the way, we stopped at a golf course and a park, and me and my dad decided to get some ice cream. After 30 miles of riding with the wind against us, we were soar and needed something delicious. We indulged in some ice cream, and then got back on the trail. Thankfully the wind was behind us, so we rode back faster. Once we were only 2 miles away from home, something unfortunate happened. I had a pinched flat. After biking for so long, in the final stretch, I pinched my tire, of course! I still rode back slowly being careful, but eventually after 5 and a half hours of riding, me and my dad made it home, and we took a super nice long nap.
Repeat Ride
April 9th, 2023 — You probably have noticed what my favorite ride it now. When I am on my own, I love to ride south along the lakefront. Today I started at Northerly Island, and biked 12.06 miles south. While I was riding, my dad went for a run on the same trail, so while I was biking back, I passed him on the way which was cool. There is this mural on the side of a house that I have seen before on a ride, but this time I noticed a different side of the house that looked really cool. There are birds, a wolf, and a fish.
Ride to Portage Park
April 7th, 2023 — I realized that I have a lot more miles to bike, and not a lot of time. With school I have less time to go biking, so today I decided to do my longest bike ride yet. Me and my dad woke up at 7am today and went on a 18.3 mile bike ride to Portage Park. This was a typical park with a playground, a pool, a soccer field, a baseball diamond, and a pool. My favorite thing to see in the park was the arch way at the entrance. It was so beautiful and symmetrical, which I loved.
Last Ride Before School Starts
April 2nd, 2023 — I have been on Spring Break for 2 weeks, and I am going back to school tomorrow. I wanted to get one last ride in before I go back to school. I know that school will take up a lot of my time during the week, so I did a long 15.97 mile bike ride. I rode with my dad, my cousin, and my uncle. We had a lot of fun biking south along the lake front. We planned on going to see University of Chicago, but we couldn’t make it all the way. Maybe our next ride. On our ride, we saw a mural on the side of a house. We also saw a sculpture that I think represented the killing of many animals, and how they are going extinct. Some of the animals that I saw were boars and alligators or crocodiles .
Riding Home After Lacrosse Practice
March 28th, 2023 — I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather today. It was a bit windy and cold, but the sun really helped me stay warm and enjoy my bike ride. I had Lacrosse practice at the Montrose turf fields, so I decided to bike home 8.51 miles. I biked along the lake front for most of the time, and through some of the streets of Chicago. I passed by some cool sculptures that I haven’t seen before, so it was nice to find something new.
Early Morning Ride With Dad
March 26th, 2023 — Today I woke up early and rode 13.37 miles with my dad through the streets of Chicago. We started at our house, and biked to Humboldt park, and then rode the 606 trail back home. We passed some decorative murals that were very colorful and had very intricate designs.
Humboldt Park, named after naturalist and Geographer Alexander Von Humboldt in 1869, stands out as the center of Puerto Rican culture in Chicago. The annual Fiestas Puertorriqueñas, will be held at the park on June 8th this year. Mark your calendars and go check it out.
Windy Friday Night Ride
March 24th, 2023 — I again biked along the lakefront today, but I rode North from Ohio Street Beach, 7.37 miles, to Diversey Harbor. Even though it was very windy and cold, I pushed through and enjoyed every minute of my bike ride. The Lake front is super pretty, and every time I go on the path, I love to hear the sound of the waves crashing, as a ride by. During my ride, I saw this amazing sculpture, The Chevron Sculpture. It was about 50 feet tall, and I its abstract shape really caught my eye.
My First Ride
March 19th, 2023 — Today I decided to bike along the beautiful Chicago lake front path. I started at Ohio Street Beach, and rode 12.05 miles south towards McCormick Place and turned back at 41st street beach. Although it was cold and windy, I felt energized because this ride starts my journey of fundraising. On my ride I saw a new sculpture, The Letter to Bessie Coleman which celebrates the first African American woman to hold a pilot license.
