ZANDER’S 1,000 MILE CYCLE TO RIDE OUT LYME

FOLLOW THE RIDE ON ZANDER’S INSTA HERE: @triathlonzander

5/15/2022

"One week ago, I left Boston on a 1,000+ mile bike trip down the East Coast to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. 

Over my many hours on the bike so far and 200+ miles ridden, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what this journey means for me. What was supposed to be an experience purely for my own love of cycling and adventure, has turned into so much more.

May is Lyme Awareness month, and after speaking with family and friends, I have decided to raise money and awareness for Lyme disease, an illness that I am dealing with personally.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease — my mom was also diagnosed around the same time. When I first got sick, now some 13 years ago, I was so ill that I couldn’t even get out of bed, experiencing every symptom imaginable. Since then, many of my symptoms have resolved, but I am still dealing with neurological symptoms. For the longest time, I thought the best way to cope with these symptoms was to pretend that they were not there and live my life as normally as I possibly could. Even with my closest friends, I never talked about what I was going through nor of the treatments I underwent - including being placed on an intravenous antibiotic PICC line for almost a year.

Being open about living with a disease is incredibly scary -- for this reason, I've kept most everything to myself. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that this is not the best way to go about life. When you’re open and can express the hardships that you’re going through, that can lead to healing. But more importantly, it can inspire others to know that they too can lead an incredible life even if they're dealing with challenges, no matter how difficult those challenges may be. 

For the rest of my 1,000-mile journey, I will be raising money for Ride Out Lyme, an organization that works to empower patients, caregivers, and friends affected by Lyme Disease and tick-borne illness to provide funding for treatment to those who can’t afford it.

My ride is more than about raising money. I also want those out there to know they’re not alone and that they still can live an amazing life even if they’re sick. I want to give those out there who are at the lowest lows humanly possible, whether that be from Lyme or another ailment, to know that there is hope.

Please help me raise money and awareness for this cause."

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ZANDER COWEN @TRIATHLONZANDER
Filmmaker - www.zanderfilms.com