LIVESTRONG Challenge Davis 2.0
by Matt Florio
Northern California is synonymous with many thing – beautiful landscapes, wine country, the Bay area, Yosemite National Park, the capitol city of Sacramento and…technology mania! From your small, start-up companies to your industry giants, Silicon Valley has them all. I never knew that so many technology companies had a penchant for cycling but with the great year-round riding conditions that California offers, it’s no wonder people are using their lunch breaks to take their bikes out for a spin. So it makes sense that at this year’s Team LIVESTRONG Challenge Davis several technology-based corporate teams are coming out to ride.
Industry staple, Cisco Systems, specializes in networking and communication systems but can also put together a team of great riders and fundraisers. Cisco+ raised over $8,000 for the event in 2011 and are setting their goal this year for $10,000. Team Captain Don Doyle says, “The LIVESTRONG Challenge is a practical way to raise funds for cancer awareness; it’s the best-run amateur event I’ve ever participated in.”
And have you ever heard of a little company called, Google? Oh yeah, the Googlers have been a mainstay at our California Challenge events over the years, and are great advocates for the LIVESTRONG mission. As an active company with a wide reach, we’re glad to have Google join us at the Challenge every year. I’ve had the opportunity to visit their HQ in Mountain View and my favorite part of the campus (beside the awesome free food), is the complimentary bikes that employees can ride around during breaks or from meeting to meeting – it’s awesome!
I was also pleased to see a longtime Austin-based company, Team Dell, throw their hat into the California ring this year. Team Dell is consistently one of the largest teams at our Austin event in terms of both participation and fundraising. Last year alone, Team Dell had 160 members and raised over $85,000! Over the years they have contributed several hundreds of thousands of dollars to Team LIVESTRONG events. We are looking forward to see what they bring to Davis in 2012.
We also have individual participation from people employed at Adobe, Symantec, RadioShack, Microsoft and Apple. The presence of high level, cutting edge technology will be alive and well at the Team LIVESTRONG Challenge Davis. Corporate teams are a great way to get your company and its employees involved in a fun, active event that promotes camaraderie and teamwork, all while supporting a great cause.
The Team LIVESTRONG Challenge Davis will be held on June 24, 2012, with ride distances ranging from 20 – 100 miles.
Learn more and register at LIVESTRONG.org/DavisChallenge.
