PCFMA Pledges $750.00 to Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund

I have been staffing a dietitian's booth at our Pleasanton Farmers Market for the last 7 years...I have always been proud to be a part of our market because of the caliber of people I meet there and because of the market managers and director who take such good care of me.

I'll be at the Pleasanton Farmers Market on 9/11 

More reasons the market is special to me....some of our Road Warriors have signed up there and other visitors to the market have stopped to write "thank you" cards to our active military men and women.

2 grateful guys writing thank you cards to our soldiers

...Something Incredible Happened Last Week...

Last week, I got an email from John Silveira, director of the Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association (PCFMA). Both of John's sons enlisted as Marines and served in Iraq, one serving 3 tours of duty. After reading Jim Ott's newspaper article about Road Warriors 2010, John wanted to help us. He let me know that PCFMA will match up to $750.00 of public donations for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Program.  A total donation of $1,500.00 to the scholarship fund will be a tremendous encouragement to the college aged student whose father or mother gave all in service to America.

Donating $9.11 on 9/11

Shoppers can make a donation at the Pleasanton Farmers Market by writing a check to Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. I'll be at my booth to accept donations on 9/11. What if 82 people make a donation of $9.11 on 9/11? We will have our $750.00 to be matched by $750.00 from PCFMA.

Click here to meet some of the students who have received scholarships from Freedom Alliance.

"The Road" Comes To Life as Watercolor

Every time our Road Warriors 2010 window opens up on someone's computer, the viewer is greeted with a fairy tale-like photo of a trail in Del Valle Park. Gotta say, I never get tired of looking at that trail and picturing myself smack in the middle of it. Yup, I'm right there putting in my road warrior miles on that dirt path snaking around oaks and through honey colored hills...taking the time to check out billowing clouds that look like the icing on a cake....looking for critters and listening for red tailed hawks.

Who wouldn't want to be out there, on the trail...in the hills...and away from traffic and jack hammered city streets? It's a joy to huff and puff in beautiful places and I am constantly grateful for the opportunity to use my legs, heart and mind to take me through this version of God's country. I have a hunch most of our road warriors feel the same way and are equally grateful to be able to turn their miles into something bigger than themselves.

To everyone logging miles for our vets...

You are all doing a great thing out there!

And we want to thank you in this way....

We are incredibly honored that local watercolor artist Marie Pascal has accepted our request to create her interpretation of Gene Frieders beautiful photographs of our valley's open road. When she is finished, her original artwork will be presented to a Road Warrior to say "thank you so much" for putting yourself out there to make a difference.

"I'm Hooked on Biking"

A friend and fellow Road Warrior posted this to my facebook wall. It's fantastic news and I wanted to share it with everyone. Way to go Gill!

"Hi Candayce!  Hope all is well with you and Dave.  Just wanted to let you know I have put in over 400 miles on my bike for the Wounded Warriors.  I've collected my initial goal of $400; but I will keep increasing it when I reach it. My goal is $700 right now.  So, I will continue to ride and collect until Veteran's Day.  The bike rides are not only helping the W.W. Project; but is helping me in getting back into shape.  I have gotten hooked on biking now and have bought a new bike to continue my riding even after this benefit. Thought you might have been at the Pleasanton Farmer's Market the other weekend, based upon an article I read in the papers.  But, I didn't see you.  Take care!"


About the Farmers Market...I WILL be at the Pleasanton Farmers' Market with Road Warriors 2010 info packets and sign up sheets on Saturday Sept 11th from 9:00-1:00pm. Please stop by if you are logging miles for our vets or would like to start.

Look For Our Road Warriors Banner at
The Pleasanton Farmers' Market on Angela Street

NEWS...Local Wounded Warrior to Receive Quilt of Valor!

Another cool reason to stop by our booth at the Farmers' Market? I've found a home for my quilt of valor! I am so excited! I would like to accompany the quilt with cards of encouragement from the community of military supporters. So stop by the Farmers' Market and write your own words of thanks, appreciation and support for a local wounded warrior. I'll be presenting the cards and quilt for Veterans Day.

Our Double Irish Chain Quilt of Valor Is Nearly Finished

Keep Peddling, Keep Peddling!

I was riding my mountain bike on Foothill road, doing a shady 17 miler when a guy on a road bike passed me saying, "Sounds like you have a loose cable". I agreed and thanked him for noticing my creeky cranky bike sound. 
Then he stopped and waited for me.
"Would you like some help with that?"
"OK" I said, "but it just kind of comes and goes. I need to take it in."
He played with the cable and then wanted to see if he had "fixed" my problem--he lifted the back tire off the ground and moved through the gears while I turned the peddle. 
"Keep peddling," he said.


 "Hey!" I said, "That's what my mom told me when she was teaching me how to ride a bike." I could see it all--all over again...she ran along side of me, with her hand on the seat and then with enough momentum built up, she pushed me forward and I wabbled away from her on my first ever road trip..."Keep peddling, keep peddling!" she shouted after me.


I remember I wore a nervous, excited smile and a pounding heart. Bet she did too. 


I remember I fell more than once. But when you want to ride a bike like the other kids, you gotta get back on. 

I got an email this week reminding me that "getting up and out and back on" is exactly what our wounded veterans are working so hard to do. The email came from Doug Miller.

I met Doug Miller at the July 4th Celebration in Pleasanton

Doug is Pleasanton's VFW Post 6298 Commander and works for the US Army Wounded Warrior Program. Click here--it's the link to the news stories Doug sent me which are posted on the Wounded Warrior Project website. The stories give us a picture of the progress that is being made in the way we medically treat  catastrophic brain injuries and in the development of new prosthetic devices to increase ambulation and mobility.

Most of all, these stories paint a picture of the combat trained warriors, who now wounded, have hurdles to over come that they could not foresee and who, along with their loved ones, fight a new fight...to get their lives back.

Physical therapist Barbara Darkangelo works with Army Staff Sgt. Cory Remsburg at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. Remsburg sufffered a brain injury in an IED blast in Afghanistan in fall. photo from USA Today

Doug also sent  this link to the Army's Wounded Warrior Program http://www.aw2.army.mil/ which is different from The Wounded Warrior Project, but both are striving to meet the needs of severely injured service men and women. Doug has been assigned a case load of 58 soldiers in northern California and the Reno area. His program is under the direction of the Army and is very much like programs for the other branches of the service--they proactively look after the most severely wounded Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Army veterans.

An incredible amount of hard hard, work is going on "behind the scenes" in the lives of the soldiers and their families in order to get them back to a semblance of normal life. It's clear from these articles that they are working so hard because they WANT to get their lives back. We are fortunate--because as Road Warriors--we can we can help make that goal happen...by lending time, energy, and encouragement to keep going, just like my Mom helped me go from wobbly to sure and steady.

Road Warrior 2010 "Recruiting" table

We are grateful to each and every runner, walker, hiker and cyclist out there who has answered the call to become a money-raising member of Road Warriors 2010...and thereby encourage our wounded veterans to "keep peddling" that hard path to regaining health, independence and freedom.

So, a Big shout out to the new Road Warriors who stopped by our recruiting table to join our mission this week at the Farmers Market and Livermore Cyclery...Roz, Frank, Mario, Leslie and an unnamed Mom who wanted to join in because she felt it would be a good thing for her kids to "do something" for our veterans wounded in action. 


God Bless You! Our vets need our support and prayers.

Road Warriors 2010 Gears Up For A Stint @ Livermore Cyclery

YES! Steve Howard, owner of Livermore Cyclery has welcomed us with open arms and given us a perfect venue to spread the word to cyclists about a new reason to do a century...Road Warriors 2010! Whether those 100 miles are cranked out in a day or over the months leading up to Veterans Day, all riders will be turning sweat equity and road time into tangible help for wounded veterans via Wounded Warrior Project and Freedom Alliance. (Check out our Launch Day Page or the FAQ Page for more details.)

As far as I can tell, putting in 100 miles looks like a piece of cake for the riders I see sporting Livermore Cyclery jerseys so we're aiming for more than a few new recruits. You guys are very very impressive.

Bar none, LC is my favorite bike store with the best equipment and the best staff around. It's the place I bought my beautiful red Lemond Zurich road bike. All metal. Hot! Not ultra light, just RED hot.

So...spread the word &
plan to meet us Saturday August 21st 
10:30-1:30 pm 

Livermore Cyclery
2752 First St. Livermore, CA 94550
925.455.8090

Steve set my traveling wheels on fire again by talking about all the great places he and his wife have cycled in Italy. Click here and you'll wanna do RW miles there tomorrow.

Looking for a road trip closer to home? But not too close? My vote is the head up north to Idaho for a ride on the 72 mile long Trail of the Couer d'Alenes. In fact, September is recommended as the best time of year to do the trail. The trail was built on an old railway bed so the grade is never more than 3% and there are small towns to stop at along the way where you can grab a meal and a bed if you want to do the entire out and back route. Last June, Dave and I did 50 miles and saw incredible wild life as well as beautiful scenery. Here are a few pics to pique your wanderlust...

Dave and Candyce stopping to read one of the many descriptive signs on the trail

Eagle holding down her fort, right on the trail

My first ever moose sighting!

5 New Warriors Join the Tribe!

This morning Road Warriors 2010 set up shop on the sidewalk outside Pleasanton's Fleet Feet Running Store on Main Street. The idea was to invite the regulars from the Saturday am running/walking club to join RWs2010 to make their miles count for Wounded Warrior Project and Freedom Alliance.

So how did it go?

Well, when Kay (who likes to run) and Emily (who walks all over Pleasanton) found out they could log 100 miles to support our wounded warriors, they said the words we love to hear..."I want to do this!" "It's such a good cause."

Can't explain how encouraging it is to have such an automatic and positive response to the Road Warriors 2010 purpose. Thank you, Kay and Emily for having such big hearts for our troops and their families. We hope you'll stay in touch.

In order to get in some run time myself this afternoon, I drove to Sunol to do 6 miles along shady Kilkare Road. I was looking forward to seeing this old sign, about 2.25 miles up the road.

Anyway, when I pulled into the Niles Canyon train station parking lot at the bottom of Kilkare, I spied something wonderful....a bunch of cyclists sporting "Tri Valley Triathlon Club" jerseys. Triathletes are PERFECT candidates for Road Warriors 2010, I thought. Absolutely have to talk to them.

So how did it go?

Two of the gals and a guy (a vet himself) proved to be very keen on the opportunity to run and ride for wounded warriors. Yahoo!

I'm sorry I didn't get their names, but want to thank these dedicated triathletes for letting me "butt" into their post-ride conversation to share the RW story--especially as logging both training and race day miles has the potential to make a big big difference in the lives of our military heroes who are still facing many challenges and tackling them with incredible courage.

Wounded Warriors Chris & Hoss, printed with
permission of Wounded Warrior Project

That's how it went today. 

Pretty darned wonderful!

Ride or run up Kilkare Road to see this great stone home

Road Warriors 2010 Tees Off at Las Positas Golf Course

No, we're not holding a golf tournament...yet!  But the gracious staff at Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore CA has invited us to set up our info table outside of Beeb's (great food) Restaurant this Sunday August 1st

We'll be setting up around noon to spread the word in person and hand out RW 2010 info packets and a post game snack..."Serious Golf Nuts"...candied walnuts with cinnamon, brandy and cayenne pepper.

Our goal is to let golfers know that they can support our nation's wounded vets just by WALKING the course....and playing more golf....a lot more golf for a lot more fun!   I've walked Las Positas wearing my Garmin Forerunner and accumulated an unbelievable 6.6 miles and posted an 89. If golfers want to put in all of their 100 Road Warrior miles on the course...they'll be playing about 17 patriotic rounds for Wounded Warrior Project or Freedom Alliance Scholarship fund.

The Las Positas greens are in great shape, every hole offers something challenging, and every once in a while, you spot that bushy tailed fox hunting up dinner along the edges of the fairway. We're looking forward to Sunday, hoping lots of golfers will be trading in their cart to walk instead of ride their next 17 rounds.