Somehow, I got talked into it.  Again.  On June 12, I'll be riding The Triple Bypass -- for the 11th time!  Last year was supposed to be my last Triple, but Tim Aurand, a friend from Wisconsin who is now retired and travels the country with his wife Beth visiting National Parks, apparently didn't get enough when we rode it together in 2024.  So when he proposed that we do the Triple this summer there was no way I could say no.  Together, we are part of Team Transplant, and we'll be raising money for the American Transplant Foundation (ATF), which no doubt will make our 118-mile ride and 11,000 feet of climbing much easier, because who wants to quit when you're riding for charity?  Thankfully, Tim and I will join up with my wife Amy in Georgetown, as she'll be riding the Double Bypass, a 75-mile jaunt from Georgetown to Avon in Vail Valley, CO.  We hope that Amy, who will have fresh legs, can let us ride her wheel and draft behind her, because both Tim and I will no doubt be a little tired after climbing from Evergreen to Juniper Pass, the toughest of the three mountain passes we'll be riding that day, then from Idaho Springs to Georgetown, which averages a 4%-5% grade for more than 20 miles.  Loveland Pass and Vail Pass are miniscule by comparison.

In years past, my kidney-brother Jim Eastman, kidney donor Steve Crider, Amy and I have participated in cycling events to raise much-needed funds for ATF, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year as the only 503(c)3 nonprofit organization in the nation that provides educational, emotional, and financial support to living organ donors and transplant recipients as well as their families.  To learn more, go to: https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/ and https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/team-transplant/ 

For the uninformed, the Triple Bypass has been in existence since 1988, when a group of avid cyclists decided that it would be fun and challenging to ride from Evergreen to the Vail Valley.  And so it was.  Thirty-five years later (no rides in Wildfire 2017 and COVID 2020) and thousands of more friends beside them, the Triple Bypass is an epic bucket-list ride that has donated millions to charitable non-profits.

Formerly part of Team Evergreen/Evergreen Ride Club, Shift Events produces the Triple Bypass and many other cycling events.  A non-profit organization, it has donated nearly $4 million to Colorado charities and advocacy organizations.  For more, check out: https://www.shiftevents.org/

I hope you'll consider supporting Tim and me by making a donation to ATF.  Just click on the Donate tab above.  THANKS!!