I’ve been really slow getting this posted but the UMCA has set up a scholarship fund in honor of Anne Marie McSweeny. The Anne Marie McSweeney scholarship fund will provide scholarships to women cyclists to attend any one of three PAC Tour camps. The scholarship fund is administered by the UMCA and contributions to fund are tax-deductible. The deadline for applications is December 15, 2006.

The PAC Tour camps are

• Arizona Coaching Camp March 3-10, 2007
• Arizona Women’s Camp April 8-15, 2007
• Wisconsin Coaching Camp (not offered in 2007)

PAC Tour (Pacific-Atlantic-Cycling Tour) was started in 1985 by cross country record holders Susan Notorangelo and Lon Haldeman. Although I’ve heard about Lon for years, I first met him this year at RAAM. He and his daughter were manning the RAAM control point in Cortez, CO when I went through there during my RAAM attempt this year. He’s in Peru now helping out poor people in various ways. One of the things he’s done is deliver books to schools in remote villages. The books where bought from the sale of Anne Marie McSweeney bikes. In one of his recent posts, he talks about how he got back his stolen camera with pictures of children at an orphanage he had visited. It involved sitting in the doorway of a restaurant with a 12 inch metal file in his lap.

I’ve never been to any PAC Tour events but I’ve heard really good things about them. I’d like to do one of their long tours sometime. Doing week long of longer camps or tours is a great way to get really fit. The best thing I did training for RAAM was to go to Texas Hellweek.