First Roll of the CastaShadow Project

On Mar 24th and 25th Castashadow.org will be having an event that puts a kid (12 yrs old) who dreams to be a rider in his/her first event (3/24) and then follow in a sag-wag behind a peleton of Adult riders (60 miler on 3/25) the next day.

Have you ever looked back on life and noticed the circumstances you have found yourself in, and wonder how you ended up on a bike of all things? For me, it was the combination of daring to ride in Temecula's Tour of the Gem with all the "Racers," mounted on my step-dad's Schwinn WorldSport, and the amazing Love Gift from a practical stranger when he heard that I dreamt of becoming a great cyclist one day.

I was 18 years old. My best friend (who is now my brother-in-law) and I went to a business seminar, one of those highly motivational kinds, where among other things we learned to identify our true dreams and desires in life. Some of the attendants found they wanted to be successful monetarily. Some desired success in their relationships. There were even folks that simply realized that the things they wanted the most were more of the immediate sort, like bigger boobs, a lifted truck, a slammed car.

I'm not sure what Roshi found out, but I realized I wanted to be a champion cyclist. Why and what that actually meant to me and whether or not such a thing would become a reality, I wasn't aware of it at the time. The point was that I learned it was OKAY to not only dream, but to dare to chase it. So anyways long story short, a man, after hearing about my personal findings, wanted to help and so gave me his Schwinn Super Sport road bike on the last day. This machine was so perfect to me. I had no clue as to what-was-what and it wouldn't have mattered even if I did. It was pink and white, steel lugged and built with "shimano parts". My benefactor in this scenario wanted to help someone else achieve their own dreams, moved by his very own experience in self-descovery. My whole riding experience has seemed to always have been blessed with these kinds of fortune.

This is a pretty original idea, and the plan from what I understand is to grow bigger, like "Global" bigger. I'll be out there and if anyone else is interested in riding or even volunteering, contact me and/or visit www.castashadow.org. In this first bike-a-thon there will be no actual fundraising by riders, however they have already stoked this kid with a bike and gear for the race. Sounds like it will be a whole lotta fun.