Please consider helping a fellow cyclist get back on his feet

[EDS]

All,

A good friend and teammate of mine was involved in a crash last week that resulted in a serious spinal cord injury. Mark is a strong Cat 3 racer, a husband and father of a beautiful two year old girl. The following is a link to a page on my team's website that has more information:

http://foundationcyclingnewyork.org/new-york-city-cycling-community-comes-together-to-help-beloved-cyclist-recover-from-tragic-crash/

While Mark is not a member of the Paceline community, me and several of my teammates are, and we are all part of the cycling community. When I crashed a few years ago in a race and had to be taken away in an ambulance I took great comfort in having my friends and teammates there to support me, whether by riding in the ambulance to the hospital with me, taking care of my bike or encouraging me when I was back out on the road. I just want to offer some small help to Mark in the same way.

Thank you for reading.

Regards,

Etienne

P.S. - Special thanks to Keith and the rest of the Paceline team for their generosity in offering to let me post this message.

[54ny77]

Etienne, thanks for posting this.

Godspeed to your teammate on a quick and successful recovery.

[EDS]

Etienne, thanks for posting this.

Godspeed to your teammate on a quick and successful recovery.

Thanks Jim.

[rpm]

Oh my God that is so horrible! I just zeroed out the balance in my PayPal account for this fund because that could so easily have been me. My summer accident left me with a spinal fracture but thank god my limbs were intact. I'm praying for him.

[EDS]

Oh my God that is so horrible! I just zeroed out the balance in my PayPal account for this fund because that could so easily have been me. My summer accident left me with a spinal fracture but thank god my limbs were intact. I'm praying for him.

Thank you so much.

[EDS]

Just wanted to give you guys a little update. We are close to meeting our fundraising goal. There has been a great response both locally and throughout the cycling community. This hit home for me while out riding solo on Sunday (on 9W heading towards Piermont for the locals). A gentlemen I had never met rolled up next to me and asked how Mark was doing, noting how he had a bad crash a year ago and that Mark's story hit close to home for him. It was a short exchange but I think it was one that is emblamatic of howthere really is a sense of community amongst cyclists (even in NYC).

[rwsaunders]

I noted that the PayPal link is gone or perhaps I can't find it...any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[EDS]

I noted that the PayPal link is gone or perhaps I can't find it...any help would be appreciated. Thanks

All funds are now being directed to an account for Mark's benefit at HelpHopeLive. General info is as follows:

To help with the cost of these uninsured medical expenses and recovery–based therapies a fundraising campaign in Mark’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a non-profit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for 30 years. In 2000, they expanded their mission to include those who have sustained a catastrophic injury. All contributions are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the New York Spinal Cord Injury Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for injury-related expenses only. Won’t you please consider helping Mark realize his dream of an active life by contributing to his HelpHOPELive fundraising campaign? Your donation is greatly appreciated.

Make checks payable to: HelpHOPELive
Note in memo section: In honor of Mark Petimezas
Please send to:

HelpHOPELive
2 Radnor Corporate Center
100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100
Radnor, PA 19087

For credit card contributions, please call 800.642.8399 or visit helphopelive.org and enter Mark Petimezas in the “Find a Patient” box on the home page.

You can also check out the team page: http://foundationcyclingnewyork.org/help-mark-overcome-the-long-road-to-recovery-by-contributing-to-helphopelive/

Thank you.