The word community means many things to many people. To some it’s the place they live. To others it’s shared beliefs, resources or needs. To me community is a place of shared passions and shared responsibility.

As a Veloist we gather each day and give thanks we can participate in a sport we love. And when one of our own falters we rush to their side with an encouraging word, a push up a hill or a spare inner tube. Our actions demonstrate our beliefs in taking responsibility for those in our community.

Which is why we strongly support The Blazeman Foundation for ALS. Before Jon “Blazeman” Blais lost his battle with ALS in 2007 he challenged endurance athletes everywhere to help Fight the War on ALS. This deadly disease first robs you of your body and eventually your life. Like millions of others I know this first hand when my father passed because of ALS. There’s no stopping it unless we do something together as a community.

In two weeks on Saturday, February 7th, the Blazeman Foundation for ALS is sponsoring Cycle for ALS Indoor Ride-a-thon. This nation wide event is a grass roots effort designed to raise funds for research to find a cure to ALS. We need your support, the support of our community. To find out how you can help go to CycleforALS.com and find an event near you. If there isn’t one then create your own or make a donation. Every dollar helps. To learn more about Jon Blaise and the Blazeman Foundation’s War on ALS visit WaronALS.com

If you or someone you know has ever experienced the devastation this disease leaves in its wake then you owe it to them to raise your hand and help. Many have fallen and many more will follow, we need your help to put an end to this destruction.

As of today there are Cycle for ALS Events in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Rhode Island, New York, Colorado, Arizona, California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Montreal and Chatham, Ontario Canada.

This is the link: http://spinforals.com/EVENTS.html to find one and participate or make a donation.

As of tomorrow there could be one in your town: Your Event. It doesn’t take much, just pull your team or club together and find a place to ride as a group. It could be a bike store, mall, gym or community center. But get noticed to create awareness and raise donations along the way. Everything you need to educate others about ALS and get your Event started is on the website CycleforALS.com. You’re going to ride that day anyway so why not make it mean something more and be a part of the community of athletes that are doing something that makes a difference. Help us fight the War on ALS so others may live.

If you have any questions or need help getting started just contact me personally at: mike@veloist.com and I’ll do anything I can to help. You can also contact another of our Veloist community and leader of the Cycle for ALS event John Wolski at: banjodoggy@comcast.net

There are some events already scheduled in the Chicago area in the locations listed below so check them out and help us fight the War on ALS so other may live.

Thank you for all you do and thank you for supporting our community.

Mike the Veloist


Element Multisport- Chicago, Illinois. Mike Swyt mswyt@hotmail.com
Beuhler YMCA - Palatine, Illinois. John Wolski banjodoggy@comcast.net
Power of Your Om Yoga Studio, Naperville, IL. adriennesaeger@mac.com
Plymouth Middle School -Plymouth WI. Tom Lawn tomlawn@excel.net