What I want for Christmas. Send the Fat Cyclist to camp!

Fatcyclist.com is one of my absolute, all-time favorite reads on the web. Although cycling focused, Elden Nelson’s blog is about so much more. Long-time readers have had the opportunity to witness Elden’s blog evolve from a fun weight loss accountability blog for Fatty’s friends into a true testimony of what the cycling “family” really is. Elden was very candid during his wife Susan’s battle with cancer and touched lives all around the world. When Susan passed, people who had never met her mourned for her and reached out to Elden and his family as if they were kin.

Elden is a better writer than I, so I encourage you to read his blog yourself. Be sure to read the comments on many of the posts; they are a pleasant relief from the commentary on most sites. His blog reminds me of why I ride the bike – I’ve made some of my strongest friendships simply by showing up to a group ride.

Elden is doing a lot to honor his wife and their children. With the help of loyal and loving fans he has raised a great deal of money for some good causes. One of his MO’s is the tongue-in-cheek open letter. Recently he wrote a very humorous letter to Johan Bruyneel, manager of the newly-formed Team Radio Shack, in which he mentioned his many qualifications to be on the team. Bruyneel replied with a challenge for Elden to raise a considerably amount of money for two great causes in a short period of time.

If you want to do something great for someone who deserves it this holiday season, I encourage you to consider giving as much as you can to either one or both of these causes. Do it as soon as possible though, the deadline for Bruyneel’s challenge is this coming Friday, December 11.

Direct links to the causes mentioned in Bruyneel’s letter:

World Bicycle Relief – http://grassroots.kintera.org/Creative/fatcyclist

LIVESTRONG – http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/sendfattytocamp

Thanks and Happy Holidays.