If That's What You're Into

I'm running around like crazy, trying to finish everything that has to get done before Mom and I leave for Spring Training on Tuesday. You might wonder why I think that I can finish as many as three pair of socks (two of which are really almost done), weeks of work backlog, months of cleaning backlog, and a book about Louis XIV between today and the crack of dawn on Tuesday. You would be right to wonder--that's only the short version of the list, which extends to packing, selecting new knitting projects, collecting the travel info in one place, making gifts for a bunch of babies born in the last 6 months, and spending some quality time with Frieda and Gretel.

One thing that's been on my list for awhile is to mention something that my friend Mara is doing next month. She's riding a leg of the Tour d'Afrique bike tour though Botswana & Namibia as part of the Lonely Planet team. The Tour 'Afrique runs from Cairo to Capetown by bicycle. Yes, bicycle! It's like the Tour de France, but FOUR times longer. I'm both 100% jealous, and 100% incapable of the training she's undertaking. All the flurry and hub-bub that's been killing me over the last couple of weeks pales in comparision to the work she's had to do to prepare for this trip (and in a New England winter, to boot). Go, Mara!

She's also raising money for the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN), an organization that repairs bicycles for use by healthcare workers and schools in Namibia.

You can read more about Mara's trip on her website, and if you're interesting in lending your financial support, you can make a donation to the Bicycle Empowerment Network here. I mean, if supporting African development & health care is what you're into.

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"If That's What You're Into": Flight of the Conchords, If You're Into It.