Hello everybody!  I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself before I jump head first into this blog.  Here's a little background about me.  My name is Greg.  I’m 27 years old and I live in the Milwaukee area.  On New Year’s Eve 2008, some buddies and I made a New Year’s resolution to do a triathlon together.  Little did I know that it would spark a passion in me and completely change my life.  I began training for a “pre-triathlon” before the July race that we chose.  I competed in my first Tri using my mountain bike from middle school, and trained 2-3 times a week, not really knowing what to do or what to expect.  My intent was that if this was something I enjoyed, I would buy a road bike to continue competing.  Well I fell in love with the sport!  Although my bike time was pretty slow at about 13.5 mph, the positive atmosphere and my competitiveness was quite a euphoric experience.  A couple weeks later I found a used road bike on Craigslist that was too good of a deal to turn down.

Now that I had invested into the sport of triathlons, I new I had to help justify that investment aside from 4+ races a season.  I decided I was going to bike to work 1-2 times per week.  At 32 miles round trip, it’s a pretty long haul at 5am in the morning, but the view is worth it!  I set a goal to bike 500 miles during the summer of 2009 and I accomplished that in 3 months!  Every time I get on the bike, my passion just grows deeper for the sport.

My mission

I originally started blogging as a personal diary to keep track of my biking adventures.  While that will always remain a part of it, I’ve decided to add another layer to it.  I thought, if I’m going to keep logging these miles, why don’t I start to do it for a reason other than myself.  This is why I refocused my blog to Riding for a Reason.  Starting January 1st, 2010 every mile that I ride is going to be for the Lance Armstron Foundation.  Each year I will select a different charity and use this as a format to not only share my experiences and fundraising successes, but also to post information and articles to help raise awareness for that charity.

If you would like to join in on my efforts, please let me know.  The more the merrier!  My initial goal is going to be 1,000 miles in 2010. 

What you can expect out of Riding for a Reason

• Articles and information to help raise awareness for cancer and the Lance Armstrong Foundation 
• My adventures commuting around the city as well as the bike routes that I use
• Training routes for people to use throughout the Greater Milwaukee Area
• Cycling groups and weekly rides
• Triathlon teams and weekly workouts
• Triathlons and Cycling events around the state. (Both competiive races and charity rides)
• Other interesting training articles and tips that I find for both cycling and triathlon
• If there's anything you'd like to see covered in my blog that you feel relates to the blog, don't hesitate to comment or e-mail me. I'd love to hear from you!

If you would like to check out my full blog including my blogging over the past year as well as pictures and other related articles, please check out my site.  Keep reading and I hope to hear from you soon!