The Charter Oak Challenge -- Giving Bridgeport students a better chance

Today I was able to participate in what is clearly an incredibly valuable cause.

Don't get me wrong -- riding to help combat all the diseases that ravage us is very important.

But how wonderful it is to ride for the future -- and that is what the Charter Oak Challenge is all about.

Andy Boas, the founder of the Charter Oak Foundation, has a strong sense of mission. What he and his comrades have done is nothing short of incredible. The focus of Charter Oak is education.

Although Charter Oak has a college scholarship program, what I see as fundamentally unique is that they have helped to create a Bridgeport school that qualifies for public funding yet also gets private financing (from the Charter Oak 501c(3) non profit company). The children start currently in 5th grade and more grades are being added each year (next year there will be a 5th, 6th and 7th grade). Each child costs $10,000 a year to educate. Charter Oak makes up the funding shortfall that is not covered by the government. Approximately 70 children are in each grade. These children are getting a great education in a beautiful environment with excellent teachers and an organization which acts like angels watching over those in need. The entire community appears to be uplifted by this -- it is inspiration.

So, I have been sick for what seems like a long time -- 5 weeks of downtime starting the second week of August due to a viral illness that turned into bacterial bronchitis/sinusitus. Yes -- I did not start training again until this week, and have done so very slowly. Not being able to breath is no fun. 20 minute runs Monday-Thursday followed by a 45 minute indoor cycling session Friday and a 1 hour session Saturday. I was in my own little world of "this sucks."

So Saturday evening my wife and I went to the Charter Oak foundation off-site in Litchfield County. We got to listen to the founders and families who drive this forward. They all love to bicycle (which is great) but even more, they truly believe in the need to help those in need. Andy Boas has more than a full time job, a family, and yet has created what is clearly a strong community of organizers/givers/volunteers. This Challenge is a unifying act for a team that is very unified in its cause, through its actions, and with its shared moral compass.

And thus Sunday morning, after a wonderful night's sleep, I went on a 65 mile, 6000 foot climb ride from West Cornwall CT to Westport, and stopped worrying about myself. Although I had to use the bronchial dilator oh let's say 10 times, I felt completely compelled to ride. And I could not think of a better group of 40 co-riders to bicycle with than the Charter Oak Champions. From Rob "Bonnie's hero" Adler to Paul "don't scratch them in public" Able to Vanessa from Achievement First to our two Westport Staples Seniors who rode alongside Andy Kaplan and me the entire ride to every TARGETraining person on the ride -- including Nolan Menachemson and Dan Price (along with all the Charter Oak riders all of who ride because it is fun), it was a great group of folks that made its way down the beautiful ride designed by Harold Kamins (who by the way is a past president of A Better Chance). We did hear that Libby Kaplan had a slight mishap with one of her tires but we believe all is OK.

The Charter Oak experience knocked me out of my doldrums. They helped heal me -- pretty much instantaneously. And I hope that next year a bunch of you will join the Charter Oak Challenge -- it is an absolutely worthwhile endeavor and a fantastic cycling and community building experience.

Thank you to the Charter Oak family and to Andy Boas.

ps I heard Max L. got 2nd at Bear Mountain -- any other good results?