Announcing CYCLE FOR SURVIVAL 2009!

Dave and I are delighted to announce that the cycle for survival website is open for registration! That’s right: not only do we have a new name—we also have more bikes, an ambitious new goal, and a great new Web site.

As everyone who knows me is aware, Cycle For Survival is our "baby". An event that we created in 2007 to raise much needed money for sarcoma and other orphan cancers that rarely receive the funding they need. The event was successful beyond our wildest dreams and we have even bigger goals this year! This event is truly the gift that keeps giving. As I said from the event inception, my dream is to host this event in multiple gyms around the country. I would love to give millions of people the chance to exercise and raise hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research. Well, both Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Equinox Fitness Clubs share my vision and they are officially partnering with us this year to make it happen! We have instituted many changes that will allow the event to be as personal and inspirational as it has in the past while increasing the impact that we can make on the cancer community. Here are some exciting updates:

We have changed the name from Spin4Survival to Cycle For Survival. Why, you ask? Because the word "spin" is owned by spinning.com and they didn't like the fact that our "little ole' charity" was getting a ton of recognition. So, fine! We like the new name just as much :)
We will be taking over an Equinox location in January. Rather than having all of our participants compete with the everyday members of Equinox, we will be taking the 44th Street location and making it Cycle For Survival headquarters. This allows us to bring in a ton more bikes - 200 in total!
We will be making sure we get the word out to the cancer community. Memorial Sloan-Kettering is hosting a kick-off party on October 22nd to get everyone excited about the event and we have enlisted a very savvy public relations firm (in addition to Equinox' PR department) to make sure we get the word out to the right folks.

And, OF COURSE, as always, we are keeping the overhead as low as possible. In fact, as a sign of their commitment to the event, MSKCC is absorbing all costs this year and ensuring that 100% of the money we raise goes directly towards cancer research. To date, your dedication and support has helped us raise more than $800,000 to fund pioneering cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. This year our fundraising goal is $1 million to fight this deadly disease, and we hope you can be there on January 25 to help make this happen! Here are the details:

Event date: Sunday, January 25, 2009 — mark your calendars!
Location: Equinox Fitness Club, 420 Lexington Ave. (at 44th St.), NYC, and in satellite locations around the world.
Featuring: All of the instructors you loved from the past, plus more bikes and more surprises.

There are many ways to get involved: 1) Sign up a team at cycleforsurvival.org or join an existing team 2) Spread the word to everyone you know...if they live in the NY area, have them join your team or start their own. If they live far away, have them create a satellite team (you can read all about how to do that on the website) 3) Help us fundraise so we can get closer to finding a cure. We know the economy is making it a bit tougher this year. Unfortunately, cancer has shown no signs of slowing down so we need research just as much as we ever had. You can donate to my team, The Livestrong Linns, by going directly to: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/linns Please join me again. Register today to guarantee your spot! Contact Abby Kussell at Memorial Sloan-Kettering at 646-227-2762 for more information.