Announcing Conga IV Ride for a Cure

CONGA IV RIDE FOR A CURE

Location: Shell, Wyoming
Dates: July 14-17, 2011

Pink out for the cause!

Flo is home!

Flo just rolled into her driveway about 30 minutes ago. She said she rode over 6300 miles in a month's time. The Conga III is now officially concluded.  Thank you for my new friends and a great fund raiser.
Cancer trembles when it hears us riding the Conga!

TRC

WWR Conga III 2010

Slide Show from the Conga III 2010

Wwr Conga III 2010 2

View more presentations from Cindy Alexander.

NTX Conga has completed

Today was a hot ride as it was all in Texas. Boy am I glad Princess loaned me an evaporative vest for the journey. I spent the ride reflecting on the past days events. Although some of it feels like a dream, the evidence of it's reality is that between the two countries, we raised $28K. Nice work!! A big thank you to all of our riders, supporters, and donors. We may actually kick cancer to the curb in our lifetime.

There will be a Conga IV. It will be in Shell, WY. More details to come as to why Shell.

TRC

Heading Home

Yesterday I started the long ride homeward. Stayed at the Stage Stop Hotel in Springfield, CO and they did not offer wifi so I had to forego the blogging and concentrate on resting. I made it to 9:30 and had to call it a day. The ride from Colorado was windy, but finally I had a day without rain. However, a day without rain when you are headed southbound means the heat begins to take over. Thank you, Princess for the cooling vest! I finally got to use it and it's awesome, really cuts the heat.

Today I got up early to get on the road and make some time. One mile out of town I was stopped for road work in a zone where only one land gets through at a time. Couldn't figure out why we were stopped when there was no traffic coming the other way. Didn't understand until 20 minutes later we got underway. Then I could understand because the zone was about 6 or 7 miles long. WOW. The highway will someday be 4-land divided all the way to Texas, but today it's a road work delay.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I had to get through several more construction zones. They were nothing like that first one, but  still a slow down, detour, and the ever present pucker factor.

Tomorrow, home.

TRC

Concluding the Conga III

Spending the day not on the bike makes one reflect on the events of the past few days. The Conga III has concluded and people are making their ways home. We have many people to thank for contributing to our success. The Conga 2010 raised $24K to kick cancer to the curb. That's like solid gold! Now Flo is still on the road and she shines on the road when it comes to fund raising. Final tally will be in about a week.

To say that this is a fine bunch of folks is like saying the ocean is a gathering of waterdrops. Yes, it correctly describes it, but does not accurately convey how magnificant it is. To melt these women into a group of fund raisers is combining the talents of each person into one awesome machine. They learn to be pieces of a whole, then roll down the road scaring cancer.

Conga Group

This IS the Conga. Wonderful group of folks. Some are survivors, some lost loved ones, some just want to give back more than they take from this world. This pic was taken at Maverick Motorsports on the day of the celebration of life.

Big Event at Maverick Motorsports

Today was the long awaited Conga celebration at Maverick Motorsports in Cheyenne. We were reduced to one word, WOW. It kicked off with a cookout, some music, and a shopping frenzie. LOL I took the mic, turned off the music and made a couple of presentations of appreciation to Flo for her tireless service to the Conga and those it touches. After that I opened up the mic to anyone who had something to say about what the Conga means to them. First up was, the "Twisted Sisters" from Canada. They lost their mother to breast cancer 20 years ago and the older was now the same age as their mother when she died. This was particularly sweet Conga ride for these two to ride together on the anniversary of their mom's passing. The younger presented her sister with matching denim jackets with pink embroidery with their mom's birthday, some other loved ones who had struggled with cancer and messages of hope and courage. Neat stuff!  Then a couple of survivors told their stories. One gal wanted to ride last year, but was in a fight for her life. She shared that following the Conga online was the best thing she has to look forward to everyday when she felt like dog doo. More stories of love, compassion, encouragement, friendship, and love.

We stayed until about 3p then headed back to the hotel for a riding demo led by Doc Donna showing the skill and grace of precision riding. She was joined by Mark and Pam, of Top Gun Competition fame, Harris, from Denver, an awesome rider, Flo, and Tanya, from Canada. These folks had never ridden together and were able to demostrate the three basic skills needed to properly control the motorcycle. We learned some new skills to practice.

We then returned to Maverick Motorsports for an evening of grilled burgers, a live band and more fundraising. The band was "Another Type of Majick". They looked young, but were awesome played awesome blues and Jimi Hendrix. When they were between songs, they introduced themselves and it was then that we found out that only one of them was old enough to drive to the gig. Watch for these 5 guys, we'll be seeing them again, probably on the tonight show.

We sold Conga items for donations, discovered more folks who had heard about us and stopped in to support the cause, and managed to dance the conga line before the sun set. When we got back to the hotel and started counting the monies we had raised $1500 on this one evening. That put our Conga total to 24K. That's solid gold, baby!

Now I'm am tired, I mean whopped tired, and have to sign off so that I can get some rest for the ride southbound tomorrow. It's been a wonderful day.

TRC

Day 4 of the NTX Conga

 Well, I only had 150 miles to go and you guessed it, RAIN. Are you kidding me??? Four days of riding and four days of riding through at least some rain eventhough the weatherman told me there would be none, or at least it would be at a time of day I could avoid. Wrong! I found it in only 150 miles and it was accompanied by thunder and lightning. That will get your attention on a bike!
 When I rolled into Cheyenne, there were PINKed out bike lining the overhang of the hotel. It was a awesome site. The Texana recognized me and there were hugs all around. Love these folks. From that point on the entire group are all friends and even a feel of family.
 This has been an emotional experience for me and I'm thinking tomorrow's celebration will be no different. Pics when I can get them into cyberspace.
Later,
TRC

Day 3 of the NTX Conga

 Today, leaving out of Amarillo, the temperature was 65 degrees. Nice break from the 100 degree days we've been surviving in NTX. I actually put on my long underwear and was comfortable. It was a beautiful day and the loop took me right to 287 without much traffic. Arrived Dumas, then Dalhart, then Clayton under clear skies and cool temps. I couldn't pull into a pit stop without more bikes pulling in as well. Met some great folks!
 Clayton to Raton was mostly under construction, 55 mph, but mostly uneventful.  The only vinyl sucker was when I came over a hill to meet a pair of headlights passing an 18-wheeler and the 10 cars following it. I forced him to make a decision and luckily we all went on our way. Upon arrival on Raton, lunch and a long break was in order. After all, we had Raton Pass to get ready to deal with.
 The Pass turned out to be uneventful, but on down the road was another story. Light rain turned to heavy rain. Easy enough to deal with, but when I was hit in the chest by a piece of hail, it was time to find a spot. Yeah, right! In the middle of a long lonely stretch. I looked up a few miles later and saw the old familiar gas station sigh. There was nothing else around, no town, no other business, just the God-sent gas station complete with attendant and hot coffee. I pulled under the overhang in front, which was away from the pumps. When I came out of the bathroom there were three other bikes who had pulled off the freeway and done the same. After the wait it was back on the road.
 After the hail there was only wind, not because of the storm. I mean there were actualy signs warning of the "gusty" winds. I mean actual state approved yellow signs about the wind stating that wind was "likely". They were right, the wind was strong, gusting, and unmerciful.
 I'm proud to say that tonight I'm staying just north of Colorado Springs. Tomorrow, Cheyenne!
Conga, Conga, CONGA!
TRC

The Conga is underway.

didn't post yesterday because the wifi wasn't working properly, so I'll wrap two days into one post. Rain seems to be a running theme, but we are hoping to break that trend tomorrow. Yesterday we rode into rain just to get up this morning and ride out of rain. Rain, rain go away. Yesterday at lunch we had two ladies interested in all the pink. They told us about a surviving mother. They were impressed by the Conga and wanted us to have a donation. I've been traveling for two days and I'm still in Texas. I did discover that when you are traveling westbound and the winds are from the south, then the right side of my bike is REALLY toasty. Today I saw a largest cross I've ever seen outside Amarillo along with a statue series of the passion of Christ. If you've never bothered to stop it's worth a look. Warning: the parking lot is gravel.

Countdown begins

In just a few days it's kickstands up for the launch of the NTX leg of the Conga III Ride for a Cure. Pink is flying off the shelves and donations are at a high. Thank you to one and all who support the ride, in spirit, with donations, and hospitality. We are excited to get the NTX Conga on the road. See you soon!
Meet us at Stroker's Dallas on July 4th. KSU 11am.

Launch Party at Stroker's Dallas

The long awaited day is nearing for the Conga III Rider for Breast Cancer to ride to Cheyenne, WY.
NTX Conga riders are riding out of Stroker's on Sunday, July 4th, KSU 11am to meet up with riders from the rest of the U.S. and Canada in Cheyenne. Conga, Conga, CONGA!
Come see us off and maybe have a great burger at Stroker's, 9304 Harry Hines.

TRC

Conga III makes the news!

Conga riders from NTX gathered at Stroker's Dallas to talk about the Conga Ride for a Cure.
WFAA (local ABC station) featured the Conga as their "Our Neighbor" segment.
Check out these lady riders! They are riding for a cause.  They just make us proud.
Please support our ride and help us kick cancer to the curb! Visit the DONATION link. It will go straight to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which is 501(c)3. Thank you!

http://www.wfaa.com/news/daybreak/Our-Neighbor-Women-Who-Ride-Conga-III-96883039.html

TRC

For all you late entrants!

Those who have waited, it's time to make those reservations are pay twice the Conga3 discount rate. That discount ends today! So book your rooms before 6p today!!!

Cindy,

Just wanted to remind you the block of rooms drops today. After today anyone who still needs reservations will NOT be able to get the block rate and will have to pay the normal desk rate. If you have any questions let me know.
Thanks !
Mandy

Mandy Ludtke
Director of Sales
Holiday Inn Cheyenne
204 W. Fox Farm Road
Cheyenne, WY 82007

Conga III hits the local news

These are the ladies of the Chrome Angels riding group who are joining up with Women Who Ride and riding the Conga III to Cheyenne this year. We gathered at Stroker's Dallas on Tuesday morning for a filming about the Conga III to be aired next week on WFAA's Daybreak. Rick, owner of Stroker's Dallas, is supportive of the Conga III and opened early for us to be able to shoot. Thanks, Rick.

Too good not to share

Why do we have a fire for the Conga? Because breast cancer hits our friends and family. Tomorrow we have a TV interview about the Conga. The reporter called me this morning and asked if there was anyone I could invite to the shoot who has been impacted by the cause. I put the word out, but without much success, so I shot an email to our very own "Vegas" and her response is below. It was just too good not to share with all Conga riders, past and present, supporters, and spirit riders. Vegas will be in Cheyenne this year!

Hi, Cynthia Izaguirre, WFAA Daybreak, Dallas,


Thank you so much for profiling the Conga III Ride for Breast Cancer. I'm sorry I can't be there with you tomorrow when you meet Cindy (TexasRed).

I know first hand what it is like to hear the words "You have Breast Cancer". I was diagnosed on October 20th, 2008, and having never been sick a day in my life I can tell you it was totally unexpected! Within three weeks of being diagnosed I had a biopsy followed by a mastectomy. I started chemo a month later (and no I don't look good bald! ha!) and finished chemo April 2, 2009. Those are dates I'll never forget.


During the 2009 Conga II run I can't tell you how much I wanted to join everyone - but was sidelined with treatment. I followed the Conga II every day, riding each mile with Flo as she crossed the USA . Her travels got me through my last month of treatment. This year I am riding ..... I am riding for the many wonderful women and men who are in treatment right now, I am riding for those that need funding to get treatment, and I am riding for those we have lost. Well all that and I really want to meet this Flo character I've known on-line at WWR for over three years! ha!


In 2009 One in Eight women had breast cancer.
By 2019 One in THREE are expected to have breast cancer.
Breast cancer also affects men.


My story is just one of millions. Mine has a happy ending. Please do what you can to support the Conga III. The Conga may pale in comparison to many of the large cancer fund-raisers, but this is a group of women motorcycle riders who aim to make a difference AND have a great time doing it. And, you know what happens when you get a bunch of determined women together! ha! Stuff Happens!


Thanks again for your time and effort to profile and promote the Conga III. Every dollar raised will make a HUGE difference in research and treatment. Let's make this a nightmare our children won't have to deal with.


PS - If you see a bunch of women on motorcycles decked out in Pink - you'll know it is the Conga heading through to Kick Cancer to the Curb! Join us if you can..... we aim to have a mighty good time!

Regards,


Debbie Payne
Houston , TX
1-year Survivor!

Conga III is getting close

20 days until the ride-out, 24 until the Meet-up. Conga, Conga, CONGA!

"Cancer trembles when it hears the Conga coming."

Conga Merchandise for sale

Celebrate the Breast Cozies $12 (which includes shipping)
 AND

Supports the Breasts Key Fobs $10 (which includes shipping)

Email me with which item you want to buy. texasredc@gmail.com
Please help us kick cancer to the curb!

Cool plates!

WFAA here in NTX has annouced that the National Breast Cancer Foundation will receive 10% of all personalized license plates that use their design. They are available at the listed link for all vehicle types. Just click on "COOL PLATES!"  It's a plate with a pink ribbon background and their website address along the bottom.  Cool stuff.
They are the U.S. beneficiary for the Conga III.

More Texans!

Nice weather in Dallas so I met a couple more Conga riders at Stroker's. Jenni and Billie rode up with their husbands as I sat at the outdoor tables drinking a Coke and eating a plate of nachos. They are two great ladies who want to be a part of something as great as the Conga. They will be pink warriors and an asset to the Conga III. I'm glad they are Texans. Makes me proud.

Texas Conga meeting

Met half-way between Dallas and Houston with some of our Houston Conga-ers. Great bunch of folks. Cheyenne's going to be a blast! And just think, we are raising funds for a good cause as we are doing all this. WOW, what a wonderful thing.

Appointment in Honeygrove

Feeling some anxiety about riding across the country to meet up with folks I've never met, LOL, I went for a day-long ride today. Today was the perfect day to head out and stay out for awhile. I headed for my favorite diner via 60 miles of backroads. Once fed and rested, I wasn't done. When thinking about the route home I decided to go out farther before turning the front wheel towards home. Ever seen my "Bugtussle, Texas" pic? Well that's where I headed, about 20 miles farther north. I knew it was a ghost town, or a ghost building in this case, so I planned a pit stop at the only gas station in the nearest current town to Bugtussle, Honeygrove. Inside I found a fellow biker who engaged me in bike talk. I invited him to Ride for Breast Cancer, but no soap. I said my good-byes and headed out the door to reunite with the bike. In the parking lot a man approached me asking about the Ride for Breast Cancer he had heard me speak of inside. As we talked, he shared that he lost his wife to aggressive breast cancer 2 months ago. We talked more. I finally asked him for her name so that she could ride with me on the Ride. Since I could not find a pen, I always have one, we walked to his truck. He took 2 of my Conga cards, one to keep and one to write Diane's full name on. I shook his hand, thanked him and hastened to the bike. I pulled the helmet on, slammed the face shield down and burst into tears. I had a divine appointment in Honeygrove with a man named David, whom I'd never met. David if you are reading this, Diane's name in your handwriting will be riding in a safe place on the bike all the way to Cheyenne and all the way home. Thank you for taking the effort to stop me and talk a bit. I will never forget our meeting.

U.S. Donations on the website

There's been a bit of confusion about Flo's site and U.S. donations. I can assure you that on her website for the Conga you can find the link for U.S. donations which go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation here in the states by clicking the American Flag. When she set up the web page, she contacted me requesting the link to the donation site set up on FB. That is the link you find when you scroll over the American Flag on http://gowitheflo.com
Flo is a great gal of high integrity who strives to get it right. She's doing a fantastic job of it. My hat is off to her. With that link on there we can all go to one site for info, links, and updates. When you see her, hug her neck and thank her for doing a great job of keeping us all together!

All donations go the National Breast Cancer Foundation

Every donation goes to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. We pay our own road expenses. We ride on our own dime. That way we are assured that every donation goes to the cause. The online donation link is on the right side of this blog. Those donations go directly to NBCF, which is 501(c)3. That makes it a tax deductible charitable donation. Your money is not diverted into a fund to be distributed. It goes straight to NBCF.

We do this because we love to ride and we want to make a positive difference in kicking cancer ass in this generation! Help restore hope for the future.

TRC

Survivors are finding healing in the Conga III

The Conga takes on it’s own life. One thing really does lead to another. I sitting here watching the last half of closing ceremonies because of the time change. I had to work tonight so I thought I’d missed them.

For the past year or so I’ve worked a part-time job as a server at a local restaurant to assist me through the lean times. Tonight was a light night so it was just me and another server. He and I were discussing a fair way to divvy up the customers and in walks two older couples. He looked at me and said, “You wanna go first?” I took off with a ticket book in my apron. These were really nice folks. Now since I’d been riding today, I was wearing my Conga II-Reunion t-shirt. They were very interested in my motorcycle riding. That lead to talk about the Conga III Ride for Breast Cancer. One of the ladies looked up at me and said, “I’m a breast cancer survivor and I’m very interested in making a donation. How would I do that?” I sat down with her and talked for a few minutes. I showed her my Conga III Ride for Breasts fob which was hanging from the belt-loop on my jeans and said, “There are people all over this country and Canada who love and care about you and your health.” She smiled. She smiled a smile which was unlike any other I’ve seen. It was a smile of warmth, grace, and survivorship. I shared our “saying” with her and she LOVED it! I invited her to my Launch on July 4th at Stroker’s.

It's awesome how God has used Flo's simple quest to get home with a new bike into a hope-filled ride of healing and love.

Thanks, Flo-bee.