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My life-long goal: to ride a bike from San Francisco to Santa Monica. 2013…I told you I was going to own you and, well, I am. 

I have since update this post as of September 1, 2013…….. scroll down for an update!!!

I am EXTREMELY excited to announce that I just registered for the 2013 California Coast Classic – an 8 day bike ride from San Francisco to Santa Monica – 525 miles!

Last year, I completed the two day version of the ride and it was definitely The Ride of a Lifetime. I met some incredible people along the way, and prior to the ride I had connected with Sean Conley, who started the team Playa Pushers a couple years back. They are a FUN group mainly out of LA, so I decided to join their team this year! I’m stoked for the ride because of the relationships you build along the way, the breathtaking scenery on the coast, and the promise that it will be an adventure like no other. But, most importantly, the funds raised by the riders benefit The Arthritis Foundation. Most of you know that I have had JRA since I was two-years-old (now, they called it Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, but in my day (25 years ago!) it was still call Rheumatoid). In the US alone, there are over 300,000 children with some form of Arthritis – yep – kids. I ride so that one day there will be a cure, so we can help raise awareness for the disease, and to give all of the kids that currently have it a sense of HOPE, that if I can do it, 25 years in to my diagnosis, there is hope for them as well.

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” Jimmy V

If you or someone you know rides a bike, I encourage you to join all 300 of us! As I write this, there are room for only 150 more people (or so). If you want to join the group, the Playa Pushers can always use more team members. You must enjoy drinking wine. OK…not really, but there is plenty of it to be had! Contact me at monetdiamante at gmail dot com for more info, and check out the link below for details on the ride OR to make a donation in lieu of joining us! Every donation, no matter how big or how small, makes such an impact!

Check out this video of Caitlin, who has JIA and whose father, Dave, rides for her every year. Brings me to tears every time I watch it, but really drives home why we do this.

What Have I Been Up To?

Updated on September 1, 2013

Hi, everyone! I’m updating this because unfortunately, this ride is not going to happen for me this year. I had some unexpected stomach issues and liver problems earlier this year due to the meds I was taking and had to stop training for the ride. I was extremely disappointed to have to back out, but I knew after weighing the positives and negatives, that I would put myself in a bad position if I tried to continue training, knowing what I was going through.

I appreciate all of your support + thoughts + love!  The ride is still on my bucket list, just not this year 🙂 . Love ya’ll. Stay persistent 🙂