THIS IS IT!!

Make a donation and win a 1 Yr Goodlife Fitness Plus Gym Pass value at $1000.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

134 days ago, I decided to undertake the biggest fundraiser of my life, then follow it up with the longest bike ride of my life.  All in an effort to raise funds and awareness for Cancer research.

In the meantime, I made a true friend, her name is Judy, you may have read some of her posts on here as she battles on to win her fight against cancer.

Today I ask for your help.  I am $1300 shy the goal I set for myself to raise $10,000.  It is incredibly important for me to get there and I cannot do it alone.  I need your help.

If you know someone, or even you have been touched by cancer, please find it in you to open here and make a donation. You will be helping me as I get ready to cycle to texas, but most importantly you will be helping the Judy’s of the world.  Because we all know one, and we all love one dearly.

Please give, any amount helps: http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Thirdpartyevent/IFE_NS_General_?px=3599084&pg=personal&fr_id=8110

My deadline for donations is Oct 1st, I’ve done all I can, now all I can do is hope you can help carry me to the start line of my 4000km + bike ride.

PS… everyone who makes a 25$ donation or more will be entered to win a one year fitness plus membership with Goodlife Fitness value of $1000.00

Thx

A few cool things that are going on!

I’m less than 20 days away from cycling across to AUSTIN TX!

I am so Incredibly close to my fundraising goal with about $1500 to go between now and October 1st. If you have it in you to give a little something please do… I’ve been working so hard that despite meeting the minimum goal of $5000 it is beyond important to me to meet my personal goal of $10,000 please visit http://convio.cancer.ca/goto/spoonsie. Make a difference in someone’s life.

Where to start, I can’t believe that the ride is almost here, May 18th when I decided to take this one seems like a million years away, even though it was less then 135 days away. I am exhausted but happy and so looking forward to the next month of crazyness.

The first thing that comes to mind is my fabulous friend Judy, really at the centre of this whole story. It hasn’t been easy for her as she is fighting her cancer “making it her b!tch and making it tap out” as my partner Geoff would say. Nonetheless she is a fighter and the manner in which she carries herself simply blows my mind day after day. I aspire to be as strong and courageous as she is. I can say that the best thing about this whole bike ride, fundraising etc is that I made a true friend for life that I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten to know. We would have continued to be to colleagues working for the man.

Here is a picture of the two of us taken at my surprise “send-off” last week.

Speaking of this little send off, I really need to thank two of my girls Rose and Johanne for organizing such a wonderful evening. I really had no clue and was caught off guard, so much to the point I showed up unshowered after 4 hours of spin classes thinking I was dropping our dog off to be babysat! I probably smelled like a goat, but they were all nice and didn’t tell me.

Something else cool that happened also as a result of this. I met with a wonderful girl named Kym who is doing a pretty cool project called 100 Strangers. http://lemien.ca/?p=409 We had fun doing a colourful photoshoot for the bike, see it here on her blog which is about to be published in the citizen! Woot! Go Kym!

Lastly what about me now? I am starting a long overdue holiday, seems like it’s been since Summer 2008 since I had more than a few days off. Part 1 of the trip I have the honour of travelling to Oxford UK with Geoff who will be graduating from Oxford University! Such a privilege to attend! I’m off to the land of fish and chips, I’ll be back soon for a final update before hitting the road.

My Goodlife Fitness Rant

Does GoodLife Actually listen? 

My goodlife fitness rant….   Now let me start this rant by saying that although I am somewhat upset with GoodLife fitness, I still have been using them everyday, 2-3 hours a day for almost a year now to train.  I do that by choice, knowing full well that there are other gyms I can use, but for now I am with them because of convenience.  I will also say that this is one of many closed doors I have hit along the way, but so irrational that I need to rant publically about this.

 I have to say that even though ultimately a business is there to make money, as a client you still want to feel like the business is willing to give back to you.  With goodlife, you can get a free towel for selling the soul of 3 of your friends.  Bring them in, they sign a contract and you get a t-shirt, or a towel.  

Let me go on with my rant a little longer…  Other things that annoy me:  

• Hearing that someone (one of many and I never got my lousy towel)  I referred and eventually signed felt bullied by her personal trainer to take out a bank loan to invest in a year of personal training.
• Having the reception hang up on me annoyed while trying to book spin class, sending an email to the club about it and never hearing back.
• Sweating in a spin room where the fans and mic didn’t work for a few weeks, no one bothering to fix anything…

But all that didn’t really bother me enough to think about bringing my business elsewhere at the end of my term and most of all no longer referring GL to everyone who looks at me eh… here is a healthy person, what’s your trick.  

My “regular” goodlife fitness has a spin room that is empty completely on Sundays, I found volunteer instructors (mostly all RPM instructors) , participants (almost all non-members) and sponsors.  A great chance to bring new blood to the gym – Fresh blood for the membership consultants and at the same time help out a member without even needing to give away free towels.  

Submitted a perfectly laid out plan, asking to use an empty space… 

 Their answer?

Thank you for your request – we have a fundraiser set-up through GoodLife, it is the GL Kids Foundation….we do not host other fundraising events within the company.

Carole Woodstock

Regional Group EXercise Manager

If that is the case, then they should have the courtesy of taking down the signs saying ” how good life can help you partner in the community”  in the change rooms and all over the gyms  -  Clearly that statement is full of shit.

So again what has me so pissed with them?

Non-members + free workout = free towel

Non-members + Spin + Save a towel + Raise $ for cancer + partner in the community = Big Fat Fail.

Rant over.

2,960.98 away…

$2,960.98

two thousand nine hundred sixty and ninety eight cents…

That is how much funds at a minimum I need to fundraise in order to place a top fundraiser for the #GIVETOLIVE foundation ride to Austin.

I originally set out with a goal of raising $10,000.  Took me about 2 months to make it half way there and I really hope that I can make it the rest of the way.

But I can’t make it alone,  I need your help!  Everyone has been affected in one way or another by cancer, here is your chance to make a little bit of a difference to fight this giant disease.

How can you help?  Right now, 2 easy ways:

1. Make a donation online via http://convio.cancer.ca/goto/spoonsie

2. email me at isa_belle22@me.com to donate Aeroplan points.  They are the EASIEST way for me to raise funds (other than actual funds).

Other than just raising money for an awesome cause, I’ll be honest and tell you what’s in it for me if I win the fundraising challenge:

Our top fundraiser this year will receive:

-          a private group ride WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG (Saturday) and photos taken with him while you are on your bike,

-          an opportunity to ride at the front of the Livestrong Challenge Ride on Sunday,

-          entry to the Saturday Livestrong Awards Dinner (plus 1 guest),

-          Saturday 5K Entry (participant plus 1 guest),

-          access to the Sunday Hospitality Tent Entry (plus 1 guest),

-          a  Livestrong jacket.

Our Second Highest Top Fundraiser will receive:

-          a Saturday private group ride WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG,

-          an opportunity to ride at the front of the Livestrong Challenge Ride on Sunday,

-          Saturday Livestrong Awards Dinner (Lance usually speaks at this dinner),

-          Saturday 5K Entry, Sunday Hospitality Tent Entry,

-           a Livestrong jersey.

I know you guys can help me get there, biking is the easy part…  fighting cancer is the hard part, just ask my friend Judy!

The first milestone.

Woah!

Sometimes there are people that come out of nowhere and just simply take your breath away.

This has been happening to me more and more as I realize how generous complete strangers can be.

Yesterday while sitting at Physio getting my knee zapped back into shape, I got an email notice that a donation had been made to my campaign.

A $500 donation from someone who I had never met. Someone who I later found out was a cancer survivor.

With that donation, I finally reached my minimum milestone. In 2.5 months I was able to raise over $5,000 for cancer, I am curious to see how if I will make my personal goal of $10,000.

The fundraising part is harder than the biking part… by far. People are attached to their money… Heck, I am attached to my money..

But be it the biking, or the fundraising or what have you, nothing is harder than what my Friend Judy is going through. Each and every single day her strenght, courage and determination amaze me.

If you haven’t had a chance to support me yet, stay tune, I have a few shenanigans brewing!

Thx again to all of those who helped me reach this milestone…

Eat Poutine and WIN WIN WIN!~

Are you a fan of poutine?

Do you have what it takes to crawl through Ottawa’s best venus in search of the perfect poutine?

$25.00 (Pay at the Door)

Reserve your seat now for the YUMMIEST afternoon in Town!

* Eat Poutine from 7 of Ottawa’s best chefs, no two will taste the same!
* Get a tax receipt! Have CRA pay you back for eating poutine!
* A chance win a stay in toronto and visit it’s attactions, just for eating poutine!
* A short haul anywhere to Canada/US ticket will also be won by a lucky poutine eater!

C’est Bon Cooking’s Paola St. Georges will be leading a walking tour of Ottawa’s Market to search for creative takes on the classic poutine on July 17th Playfully referred to as a “poutine crawl”, the event is a fund raiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. Tickets will be sold via EventBrite. All proceeds will go to helping local ahtlete Isabelle Rivard in her GIVETOLIVE challenge to raise $10,000 and bike 4265 km from Vancouver, BC to Austin, to take part in the LIVESTRONG Austin TX Challenge in October 2010.

Please visit
www.isaonabike.com

for more details.

In association with the foodiePrints food blog, a number of poutine purveyors have been selected. We will be visiting each and performing a comparative tasting. Amongst the tentative poutine variations, we intend to try spaetzle poutine, bacon poutine, jerk chicken poutine, Guinness poutine, and perhaps even an Indian-inspired take. After the event, comments and thoughts will be collected and published on the web, along with drool-wrothy photos of course

GIVETOLIVE Aeroplan Fundraising Campaign

New fundraising campaign aspect!!!

Do you have aeroplan points, but not enough to go further then the street corner?

Do you have so many Aeroplan points and are bored with flying around the world and wish to donate them to a good cause?

Do you want to help me out in my quest to raise funds and awareness to fight cancer?

Do you want to help a cancer fighter/survivor make it to Austin TX and do the 5km Survivor Run/Walk with me on her birthday?

If you have answered yes to ANY of the above please get in touch with me by emailing isa_belle22@me.com

Please let me know the following information via reply and I will provide Air Canada with the information:

Name:
Aeroplan #:
Number of Miles Donated:

I will email you a pledge form, for legal reasons, a signature must be submitted to Air Canada for the number of miles donated to be transfered. A scanned copy can be emailed back, snail mailed or even faxed as a follow up.

I was able to set up a campaign with Air Canada where the fee to transfer miles is waived and there is no cost to you what-so-ever.

As described on my website, the miles will be used for the following purposes.

- Cover my flight back from Austin rather than having it come out of an overhead expense of the GIVETOLIVE foundation credit card, which means that the money that would have been applied to my flight will be added to the total given to charity.

- Fly Judy Gibson, the survivor behind my ride; a colleague and now friend who is currently fighting breast cancer for the second time to join me at the finish line is Austin and take part in the Survivor 5km walk/run with me, on her birthday of all days!

-Any leftover miles will be used to raise funds which will in turn be applied directly to the fundraising campaign as per the terms and conditions of the charitable pooling account.

Lastly, if you know of a few people who would be interested in supporting this, please feel free to pass this message along, so many of us have points that simply expire with the new rules because we cannot get enough to use them. This allows them to go to a good cause!

Once again, thank you so so very much for supporting me in this. It really means a lot, more than you can probably imagine.

All the best,

Isabelle

Toronto Vacation Giveaway!

Toronto Vacation Giveaway ~ Benefit to a charity

I am giving away off this vacation to the highest donor (or first one to reach $1000) as a fundraiser for my GIVETOLIVE Cancer Fundraiser to in addition to my cycling from Vancouver BC to Austin TX in October 2010.  See www.isaonabike.com for more details.

Prize pack consists of:

• 4 via rail tickets Ottawa to Toronto value of up to $1,120.96
• • www.viarail.ca
• 1 night accomodation at the Four Points sheraton Lakeshore Toronto $200
  • http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1243
• Complimentary admission for up to 5 people to the Toronto Science Centre $90
  • www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/
• 4 play all day passes to Ontario Place $80
  • http://www.ontarioplace.com
• >Entry for 4 to Casa Loma castle $82.20
  • http://www.casaloma.org

Street value before tax of this package is more than $1575…

Make me an offer in the comment section, leave your name and contact email and if you come out on top, I will not only give you this wonderful prize pack but also issue you a tax receipt for the amount of the donation!

Now how about that Ottawa?  Ready to take a holiday to Toronto while supporting Cancer?

If you don’t want to go to Toronto, you can always click here and support my effort via an online donation to help me reach my $10,000 goal!

Afternoon BBQ in Orleans

Another successful fundraiser pulled off this weekend… (along with a wickedass sunburn).

This time I owe thanks to the wonderful people of Orleans.  Some who saw the BBQ advertisement via Twitter/Facebook/Word-of-Mouth and those who fell prey to my awesome charity pitch while going to get their water tested. (it was at a pool store).

All in all the event raised a little bit over $400 and I would like to highlight the following people who really helped make this event a success.

The Manager on Duty at Loblaws Isabella, the only one I approached under short notice that was able to supply me with a modest contribution that helped cover some of the costs.  THANK YOU.

Gina from Club Piscine for letting me take “advantage” of their clients.

Mike and his Son our cook from Romantic Fireplaces for bringing out the wicked “Pink Pig” for us to BBQ on.

These local Businesses went out of their way to help me out, which in my eyes really sets them apart from the competition!   Now go check them out!

I would also like to thank my friends Leslie – Supporter/Photographer of the event. Yannick who spent the day roasting in the sun with me spreading the message of my cycle around and lastly Darren who organized the contacts to make this happen.

Thanks to everyone, now onto the next one!

My Austin TX Belle!

Every so often, someone comes across your path and you can’t help but be in awe of the situation that has presented itself.  This was the case when I met Jennie Chen from twitter.

My good friend Don, www.foodieprints.com put out a tweet supporting my ride.  Somehow via the power of twitter, this amazing woman picked up the RT and sent something my way.

“I’m thinking of cutting my hair for Locks of Love want to work on a fundraiser together”.  A few days later I was on the phone with a bubbly girl working out the specifics.

Jennie (@misohungry) is working hard to spread the word of my cycle throughout Austin in hopes of raising money for the Cancer Foundation. She has aligned herself with one of the top Austin Salons…

Here is what she has to say about it:

“Growing hair for Locks of Love is a long-term laborious commitment.  It has been 20 months since my last hair cut.  That’s 20 months of rarely using styling products in my hair.  I’ve only applied heat to it for styling maybe five times in the last 20 months, and I condition and protect it everyday. Before my long locks are sent to become a wig for Locks of Love, I’ll be driving donations to @Spoonsie‘s #givetolive campaign.  I’ll also be at the #BATHH on Union Park with a donation jar so bring some spare cash.  The haircut will take place at WaterStone Aesthetics on June 23rd.  Stay tuned for more info!”

I have to say she also found a pretty wicked stylist for the new do!

Joel Hamburger from WaterStone Aesthetics is going to be the featured stylist to use scissors on her long locks.  Joel has been doing hair for about seven years, the last two in Austin. He trained at one of the top salons in San Francisco, and takes classes at Vidal Sassoon and Bumble & Bumble. Joel also styles hair for fashion shows and magazines, including my own hair from last year’s Austin Fashion Week. Currently, he is putting the finishing touches on a new hair blog called HeyStylist.com.

Who knows maybe I will even meet Joel myself so he can fix whatever happened to my head after spending 2 weeks (+hundreds of training hours) under a helmet!

I really want to thank Jennie, Joel and WaterStone Aesthetics for getting involved with my GIVETOLIVE fundraiser. It’s amazing to see that the word of the Eastern Canadian Girl coming to Austin on a bike is already spreading!

Please support Jennie and myself through this event by making a donation and feel free to post your gift here as a comment so we can tally the total for this event.

Stay tune for more details, cut is set for June 23rd, I’m hoping we can live stream it!  Please check out what Jennie has to say about this event: #Givetolive and Give to Locks of Love