{"id":17822,"date":"2017-05-05T05:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=17822"},"modified":"2021-02-03T14:59:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T22:59:29","slug":"tour-de-pink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/tour-de-pink\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour de Pink"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Susan
Susan Freehauf – Tour de Pink<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two Yardi colleagues on opposite sides of the country are participating in the YSC Tour de Pink<\/a> cycling stage race this year to raise funds for breast cancer patients. The ride benefits Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to providing information, resources and support to young women affected by breast cancer.<\/p>\n

Both are part of the\u00a0Global Solutions Investment Management Team, but are at very different stages in their Yardi journey.<\/p>\n

Susan Freehauf is an 18-year employee of Yardi and a Senior Director in Global Solutions. Marlyn (pronounced Marlene) Amoguis is a new Consultant in the same department who has been with Yardi just one month.<\/p>\n

Freehauf works remotely from Florida, while Amoguis is based out of the Yardi San Diego office.<\/p>\n

Both women have similar stories \u2013 they joined Yardi after previously working for a real estate company that was a Yardi client, and each has a strong background in fund\/financial accounting, database management and software implementation.<\/p>\n

But one thing they didn\u2019t have in common, until recently, was cycling.<\/p>\n

\"Marlyn
Marlyn Amoguis – Tour de Pink<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marlyn is an experienced rider, who has been mountain and road cycling for years and participated in last year\u2019s Tour de Pink in California with a group from her San Diego cycling club.<\/p>\n

But Susan had never bicycled for fitness until Marlyn told her about the Tour de Pink and what a rewarding and fun experience the ride had been when she took part in 2016. Each rider must raise $2500 for the non-profit in order to participate in the 200 mile ride over three days. Shorter distance options are also offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year I did not know what to expect, and I had a very positive experience. Many of my fellow riders were from the health care industry and were very genuine, caring people. There are also many cancer survivors who participate in the ride, and their stories are very emotional,\u201d Marlyn said.<\/p>\n

One particular interaction stayed with her and played a role in motivating her to do the ride again.<\/p>\n

\"SusanRidingGroup\"
Susan with her riding group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOn the very last day, we were down to the last ten miles of the ride and I found myself riding next to a survivor who was not sure if she could finish. I stayed with her for the entire time and she was so thankful. Months afterwards she was still thanking me. That was the most fulfilling part to me \u2013 to help this woman finish something great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan and Marlyn are both participating in the 2017 event, but on separate sides of the continent.\u00a0 Marlyn\u2019s West Coast ride takes place in October.<\/p>\n

The West Coast Tour De Pink in October 2017 will go through Santa Barbara,\u00a0 with one of the over night stays at the Fess Parker Doubletree on the Santa Barbara waterfront.\u00a0 Anyone interested in participating in this event can find information at west.ysctourdepink.org<\/a> and should speak to Marlyn if interested in forming a Yardi team.<\/p>\n

Susan has already finished her ride, which took place April 20-22 in her home state of Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I really just did this because I heard about the event, I thought it was a good cause, and I wanted to challenge myself,\u201d Susan said.<\/p>\n

She took up the sport for the first time to train for the ride and enjoyed long weekend training rides of up to 85 miles. She also raised $3900 for the cause.<\/p>\n

While riding 80 miles the first day, she met three cancer survivors and they rode together. They shared inspiring stories of their diagnosis, treatment and survival of the disease at a young age. Whereas she hadn\u2019t felt a personal connection to the cause before, suddenly Susan had friends who had beat breast cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started to get tired, I would look around and realize wow \u2013 they beat breast cancer. That is so much more difficult than this ride. So you just keep pedaling,\u201d she said. The second day, on the urging of her new friends, she took on a 100 mile century, even though it was further than she had intended to ride that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was completely physically depleted,\u201d she said. On day three, stormy weather led to cancellation of further riding, a relief after the unexpected century. But next year, Susan already plans to participate again.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the Tour de Pink in this video:<\/p>\n