Ryanne Conquers the “Dirty Dozen”

We are sending a huge “congratulations” out to Team PHenomenal Hope member, Ryanne, for

tackling – and conquering – Pittsburgh’s 12 steepest hills for the second time in the Dirty Dozen annual bicycle competition. Ryanne won the women's category, after enduring near-freezing weather, a few broken bike parts and even a bad case of nausea!

The Dirty Dozen competition began in 1983 and has occurred annually since then on the Saturday immediately following Thanksgiving. In order to finish the Dirty Dozen, riders must ride completely up each of the 12 hills without stopping – or crashing! If a rider fails to maintain a continuous uphill momentum, they must go back to the bottom of that hill and start again. Read more about the Dirty Dozen

Ryanne’s win was a huge feat, and we can’t wait to see her, and the rest of Team PHenomenal Hope, take on Race Across America in June. You can read a detailed account of Ryanne’s experience conquering the Dirty Dozen on the Team PHenomenal Hope blog.

PH Patient Plans to Bike 3,000 miles in Unity Miles Challenge

'Tis the season ... of giving!

Pulmonary hypertension patient, Kathleen Richardson, recently kicked off a virtual fundraising challenge in support of the Race of Our Lives campaign and our friends, Team PHenomenal Hope. Between Nov. 1, 2013 and June 14, 2014, Kathleen plans to ride 3,000 miles on bike, which for anyone — especially a PH patient — is quite a feat! Her goal is to raise $3,000 — $1 for each mile that she rides, which will help support PH research and programs for patients. To meet that goal, Kathleen is asking friends, family, community members — basically anyone and everyone — to give a donation to her virtual page.

Recently, Kathleen was a featured story on Team PHenomenal Hope's blog. The team interviewed Kathleen and got the inside scoop on her diagnosis story and how cycling fits into her life. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

How and when did you start cycling?
I always loved riding my bike as a kid. I loved to just take off on long rides and did that on and off up through college, but was not really what I would call a “serious” cyclist (not sure I’m a “serious” cyclist still ... but I love to ride!). I started riding with a purpose after I was diagnosed with PH.

Want to learn more about Kathleen? Head over to Team PHenomenal Hope's blog to read on!

Interested in starting your own virtual fundraising page to support the Race of Our Lives campaign? Learn more and get started.