By Elizabeth —
When Ralph and I have an opportunity to participate in a run or bike ride that is also a fund-raiser for a favorite charity, we are delighted. And when good friends also join in, it makes it even better.
That was the case this past weekend. Our local Meals on Wheels chapter in Alameda County hosted Wheels for Meals Ride, an annual bike ride fund-raiser through the Livermore vineyards. We’ve done it two years now. It’s a win-win-win: a beautiful bike ride with friends to raise money for this vital meal service for local, homebound seniors.
My favorite riding partner
Meals on Wheels is particularly close to my heart. During the last few years that my late grandmother was able to live independently, she relied on her local Meals on Wheels program for nutritious meals. It was such a huge relief to know that my beloved grandma was regularly receiving nourishing food from a friendly visitor. I believe she was able to stay in her apartment longer because of this great service.
She was in North Dakota and I was in California, so there was little I could do to help provide meals for her when she was no longer cooking for herself. This was in the early 90s, well before the world wide web and myriad online resources and mobile apps that now make it so much easier to provide long-distance help to an elderly family member. I will always be grateful for the vital assistance provided by Meals on Wheels.
My grandma is always in my heart so she was with me this glorious Saturday for a fun ride! We rode 35-miles with friends and were happy to see many bike-riding friends also out supporting this fund-raiser. There were three ride options: 15 miles, 35 miles and 70 miles. Afterward, the ride sponsors hosted a delicious barbecue for all of the riders.
Riding with friends makes long rides fun!
This year, Ralph set up a fund-raising page for Team ClubSport when he signed up and we sent out the link to our friends who ride. (It’s still live if you’d like to contribute!) At the end of the day, our team raised $1,455 and the Wheels for Meals ride raised nearly $106,000 for our local chapter. It is heartwarming and gratifying to know countless seniors in the Bay Area will continue to receive a hot meal and a friendly visitor!
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