May 4, 2001
Sittin� by the dock of the Bay!
I think I�m
going to begin every update with WOW! When I start to brainstorm about
what has happened in the last week, I�m overwhelmed with where to begin
my journal entries. You would think it would just be the same old stories
of waking up, riding all day, and then going to sleep. But, somehow, a
bunch of other stuff happens in between. I guess we won�t go in chronological
order this time.
I was on the CBS Morning News in San Francisco this morning! Waking
up at 4:30 to get to the studio for a 6:20 spot was a little tough. It
paid off with an unbelievable sunrise over the Bay Bridge. I didn�t know
San Francisco could have such clear skies. After a couple cups of coffee
and a six pack of powdered donuts from the vending machine, I was half
awake and ready for my two minutes of fame. 
OK, You know
when you hear your voice on an answering machine and you think it sounds
a little weird? Well, TV is much worse. I sound like a prepubescent hippie
with a mumbling southern drawl. You can�t win �em all.
After the interview
I headed uptown to visit the
UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. WOW, what a setup they
have. Their brand new building houses everything needed to care for, treat,
and educate patients. Meridithe Mendelsohn, the Administrator, showed
me around and informed me of new techniques and trials they were working
on. 
With the new
center they are now able to help a thousand patients a month. The picture
on the right is Meridithe and I in front of a wall of tiles that breast
cancer survivors painted. For information on sending a donation to the
UCSF Breast Care Center click
here.
Oh yeah, better not forget the biking part. It�s going great. After
dragging all my gear north on Highway 1 through Big Sur, I got some relieve
in Santa Cruz. 
My mom, Patti,
drove up her van with a trailer to use as a support vehicle. My friend
Brooke will drive it north to Eugene. She is also helping coordinate press
and fundraising along the way. The next group we will be visiting is the
Mendicino Cancer Resource Center. By having the support vehicle,
I will be able to do more miles in a day which will then give me more
time to visit local breast cancer organizations along the way. The picture
on the right is our Santa Cruz gang: Alex (pup), Victoria, me, ma, Andrew,
and Brooke. 
While in Santa Cruz we went to visit the Easy
Racers factory. They make the bike I�m riding cross country. The owner,
Gardner Martin, helped with a tune up and adjustments and gave us a tour
of the plant. Now I have a better understanding of how much work goes
into making custom bikes. 
All the touring
bikes are hand made in that building. While there, my mom tried out a
new inexpensive model called the EZ-1 Super Cruzer. She loved it and Gardner
offered us a great deal so we threw one on the trailer for the journey.
Free test rides will be given along the way and upon my return to Long
Beach.
Thank you to everyone whose help has been much needed on the most recent
leg of this journey. My mom, Gardner and Easy
Racers, Brooke, Greig Todd and everyone at KPIX, Aimee, Victoria and
Andrew, Costanoa Campground, Ryan and Kirsten, Dino, all the supporters,
and everyone I forgot. 
To join the RideforCancer email list, send and email to me at matt@rideforcancer.com. If you would like to be removed from the list, have comments/suggestions about this email, or wanna just say Hi, send an email as well. Also, if you are having troubles viewing this email, the web site will have the journal update posted usually within 24 hours. Check it out at RideforCancer.com. Also, on the journal page you can enlarge the pictures to get a better view!
Until we meet again,
Matt Allen
RideforCancer.com