My Dedication for the Tour

As the tour gets closer (17days!), waves of emotion ebb and flow hourly. Just last week I did a "mini tour" of Colorado driving from Denver to Breckenridge Thursday night. Breck to Beaver Creek Friday. Beaver Creek to South Fork Friday night. Wolf Creek back to Denver Saturday. One day of rest on Sunday. And finally, Denver to Vail and back to Denver on Monday. Needless to say, it was exhausting. As I was sitting on what was my final chairlift of the day on Monday, deep in thought, with my good friend Miley Cyrus singing into my ears, I thought to myself "wow I have to do this 8 days STRAIGHT in a couple of weeks!" Beyond exhaustion, excitment came across me. 8 days, in an RV with my closest friends, driving across my favorite state, doing one of my favorite past times, and dedicating my time and efforts for those who have lost their battle to breast cancer, who have won their battle, who have lost a loved one, or who are with a loved one who is in remission, nothing can get better than that.

I got a call from my aunt last week, shocked that I was taking on this daunting task (apparently I forgot to mention the tour at my cousin's wedding in January). The tour caught her eye not only because I am her niece but also because she lost her college roommate to breast cancer. The thing that made the tour so special for her was that she could donate a lap at a specific mountain for her friend. She dedicated a lap at Loveland  because she lived in Silver Plume before she lost her fight.

I lost my grandmother to breast cancer when I was only 3. Unfortunately, I was too young to have many memories of her. But from what my family has told me, she was the best woman in the entire world. Compassionate, loving, strong willed, and most of all Irish....sounds like all the qualities I possess. Because the tour falls on my favorite holiday of the year (St. Patty's Day), I dedicate not only March 17th to my Nana, but the whole tour to her.

When we first proposed the idea of the tour to the CBCC, we wanted to present them with ideas about why the Tour would be so unique. Sure 27 mountains in 8 days is unique, but the idea of the dedication lap was more important and unique for us. Over 2,800 men and women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Colorado each year. For those men and women, and loved ones we have lost, we dedicate our tour to you.

-Mackenzie