If you aren't part of the Bike Iowa Newsgroup you missed an awesome display of generosity from Iowa cyclists. And a special kudos to Bruce for getting it all started.

Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:47 pm

I have a 21 yr. old nephew who has a brain tumor on top of a loss of oxygen during a surgery that left him with brain damage and physical limitations. My brother would like to find him a trike or recumbent trike to ride for exercise. ( My brother quit his job and is a full time care-giver now.) The new ones he's looked at are WAY over what he can afford. So thought I'd send out a message to this group to see if anyone knew of one for sale or would be willing to keep and ear and/or eye out for a used one. Marshall has come a long way and he used to ride quite a bit before all this happened. Thanks a bunch! Kathy

K. Taylor
Cedar Falls

I have a recumbent trike in my shop that an alzheimers victim nevet got to use. I am selling it on consignment. I'll eat whatever I would make on the consignment if anyone out there would like to help pay the for rest of the trike. This would help 2 families at once. Email me at vamootsman@... if you're interested in helping. I'll get the price of the trike when I get to work tomorrow, and post it to the group. I will also throw in the first $50. I'll be out of town the 2nd thru the 7th of April, but I'll do what I can before I leave.

Bruce

I'd be willing to throw in $20. or so to help out a fellow cyclist.

Mike Evans

Thanks for the leadership Bruce: All9Yards.com / cyclingupdate.com will chip in $100.

Bruce, go ahead and throw in another $50.00, and I will get you your prized red Team Skin jersey.

Cheers, Todd

That's awesome. Here's the deal. I need a total of $585 for the bike, Minus my $50, Minus All nine Yards $100, Minus Mike Evans $20, Leaves $415 to be found. You can mail checks to the address below, just be sure to put it to my attention and that it's for the trike fund. I get a lot of mail this time of year. I'll arrange for Delivery ASAP.

Bruce

OK that makes it $365

Bruce

DICE is kicking in $100 so that makes it $265 to raise.

Bruce

$215 more thanks to the Sylvan Island Stampede. Almost there.

Bruce

Down to $190. Thanks for the Help JJ. (Team Skin)

Bruce

$90 is all that's left thanks to the Bee's and the Day's

Bruce

Thanks to Jeff Corcoran, The Central Iowa Cycling Club and DMOS the Trike fund is complete. Thanks to all who pitched in. I even have a volunteer from the QC to Deliver it, thank you Zuggy. I love Iowa Cyclists.

Bruce

Who needs wings? These angels have pedals!

I wanted to post this reply a couple of hours ago but couldn't stop crying long enough to see the keyboard. Then of course I had to attend a soccer banquet looking like I'd just come from a funeral.(Except for the big grin stuck on my face!) All because of a bunch of guys on this list that I don't even know. I posted a request last night for help finding a trike for my nephew, hoping someone might know of one for sale that was more affordable than the new ones my brother had looked at for him. I can't even begin to describe the feelings as I read through my e-mails when I got home from work. What an amazing group you all are! My thanks goes out to Bruce for his offer and then to everyone who pitched in to make this happen for Marshall.YOU ROCK!!! I wish every one of you could meet him. He's an awesome young man who's really been through hell this last two years. He's a real fighter and the battle's not over yet. His ordeal has turned his family upside down and inside out. My brother, my sister in-law and my two nieces are all devoted to Marsh's well being. Now I can add you all to that list. Having this bike will help keep Marshall strong and also get him outside on our trails again. I'll post some pictures this weekend as soon as I can. May God bless you all. Kathy

marshalls new wheels .....thanks .from his family

For those of you I have not yet met, and hope to someday. I would like to say a very deep heart felt thank you. For taking your time and resourses, to help both my family as well as my son and the family that wanted to sell the bike. I want you to know that it will be given a very good home and be on the trails as offen as we can get there. It was very much like an intervention, I still cant believe. Last night at about 6 as I loaded marshall back into the van at the bike shop in waterloo after he just test drove a red sun recumbant trike around the sidewalk and parking lot, I noticed my phone had messages from my sister kathy. I was busy scratchin my head tryin to figure out how we were ever going to afford this bike for marshall.. when I called kathy back and she told me that she had posted a note to try and help find us a used one. I could tell she was crying on the phone and when I asked her what was wrong, she told me about all of you and how you had come together to do this for a complete stranger and it floored me. I came home and started reading your posts and had to call bruce on the phone to thank him.And I want to again thank all of you for your help and donations to this. Marshall will be putting alot of miles on this bike, and I will be burnin off a bunch of winter cheeseburgers with him. Just a bit about Marshall for you all to know 19 months ago at the UIHC they told us to take marshall home and unhook his life support. he had been in a grade one coma for weeks. The morning we were to leave there his mother leaned over and told him we were taking him home he turned his head and kissed her cheek. At that moment his life started over, we started at zero he had to relearn everything over. 19 months of therapy daily and were ready to get back on a bike and feel the wind again.before his injury,[ he was left without oxigen for about 20 minn] he rode daily and I know that being able to do this again will be an answer to at least one of his as well as my prayers. thank you all again and god bless.... Dennis & Mary & Marshall..