Today is Day 1 of the Great Cycle Challenge, a ride to fight kids’ cancer. Because kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

So far, I have raised just under half of my goal of $500 dollars, which is just $1 a mile if I reach my goal of 500 miles.

I should say when I reach my goal

I’m going to post this and share it far and wide. Not just because this is a cause I believe in, but because I want you to hold me accountable. Yes, I want to give to a good cause. Whatever you donate, I will match half of it, personally. This isn’t a gimmick or a way to sell more books. It’s about doing the right thing.

It’s also about my own personal fitness journey.

From Good to Bad and Back Again

In my lifetime, I have gone through various stages of being in fair shape, good shape, and plain out of shape. I yo-yo in weight, struggling mostly with food control. I  do well for a while, but once I fall off the wagon, I fall hard.

Now I find myself 47 years old, not in the best shape I have been in, and struggling more than ever with my weight. Part of getting old, I guess.

A Permanent Change

The struggle has been to find a diet I can live with, one that goes beyond just a fad and becomes a lifestyle. I have finally found it.

So what am I doing? Well, my wife started an elimination diet, one to determine exactly what foods she reacts to. It made me start paying attention to ingredients in a big way. Our food is filled with such junk, and it is no wonder people suffer from leaky gut syndrome and have so many allergies like gluten and corn.

So I am doing a detox program to get started, and then I will go through the process, just like she has already started, of testing foods to see what I can and can’t tolerate. It’s already made a huge difference to her.

Then I will switch to a Paleo style diet, probably modified somewhat by what foods I can and can’t tolerate.

Exercise

I am already an enthusiastic outdoors type person, and I want to do some cycling rides this summer, including The Longest Ride on the longest day of the year, coming up June 21st. I also want to do a couple of long rides/races in August and September.

To do that, I need to get my body ready. This month is just part of that, along with time spent in the gym and beyond. Hiking, biking, weight training, I will be doing it all, but at a measured pace so I don’t get hurt.

So I’m riding 500 miles as part of the Great Cycling Challenge. I want you to support me because I would like to shatter my goal of $500. But I also want you to keep me accountable. You can follow along with the hashtag #GCCUSA and follow me on Twitter @tlambertwrites and follow @unboundNW too.

I also want you to keep me accountable. Because I need this. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it. I need to be living too, not just hiding behind this screen creating words.

I’ll see you every day as I record my mileage and my progress. You can give any time in June, so it is not too late. See you out there in June.