The Ride for Food community is full of hundreds of passionate, hard working advocates for food access and hunger relief in the Greater Boston and Worcester region. We are excited to share their stories and experiences with you in our series of Rider Profiles. In these blog posts our riders will share why they are riding, their most precious experiences with food and food relief efforts along with their training practices leading up to the ride on the 25th.
Name: Ray Wiese
Riding for: A Place to Turn
What is your best food memory?
My most memorable meal was at 3 am some 30 years ago, in a ditch after conducting a reconnaissance training mission in the military- I was hiding with a few great friends in the rain and dark. We hadn’t eaten in about 24 hours… and we could hear people in the woods searching for us because we had been tasked to break their security- and we did… and they were “upset”, so we huddled close. I looked around at my team and could see that everyone in that circle had pulled something out to eat now that our work for the day was done. We just ate quietly and smiled at each other because we knew that all we had to do was not get caught before morning for the exercise to be complete. Food and good company are all we really need to be nourished physically and mentally and have a fond memory. So many things happened in the 2 days before, but that silent gathering sticks with me because of the joy of sharing a meal with people you care about.
What are you doing to prepare for the ride?
I am doing short 8 – 10 mile rides 2-3 times a week. I am not looking to break any records, but this is a great excuse to add cycling to my exercise.
What’s your best strategy for fundraising?
I hold fundraisers for different charities through my business and the trick is to just ask. If anyone is struggling with this, just realize that if you have confidence in the organization you are helping raise the money for, you are only providing your friends, family and co-workers with an easy way to help in the community by showing them an easy vehicle to help- you are already doing the hard work of signing on, all they have to do is spend a couple of minutes giving:)