A Holiday Message From Rebecca Rusch

It is the off season for World Mountain Bike Champion and KT Tape athlete Rebecca Rusch and she has been taking it easy with some backcountry skiing and Nordic ski coaching.  Not only is Rebecca a believer in the power of KT Tape brand kinesiology therapeutic tape, she is also an advocate for helping getting kids out and active to support a healthy happy lifestyle.  She writes from her website: It’s the holiday season and the snow’s flying in Idaho.  I’ve been shoveling, skiing, coaching cross country skiing and spending time at the Fire Department. Town is filling up with tourists and it absolutely feels like the holidays. All the snow got me into the holiday cheer and I put up my version of mini decorations and have been baking cookies for friends.?If you’re still frantically shopping and at wits end about what to get the cyclist in your family, check out these options. Specialized has always been heavily involved in advocacy programs, whether through local or global organizations, the big red S could also stand for Support. The new First Gear Initiative has one simple mission, to get kids on bikes early in order to promote happy and healthy lives. With a target of 10,000 kids per year, Specialized is setting out to add another strong push to bring the joy of cycling to those in need. If you would like to join in the effort you can visit their website, Facebook, and spread the news via social media. They also have some pretty cool success stories from all the athletes about programs they have participated in, including one from Blaine County Recreation District! World Bicycle Relief has been around for quite some time and is strongly supported by many companies in cycling. Any time of year, just $134 buys and donates a locally assembled bike in Zambia and provides access to education for girls and boys.   From now until Dec 31st, any donations to World Bicycle Relief will be matched!  As we sit and dream about sweet new 2011 bikes that we want to ride, consider how life changing access to wheels can be for someone who has never had a bike. You can check out their awesome new video on YouTube! These are some great organizations to get involved with that benefit our children, community and world. Rebecca uses KT Tape for shoulder pain, a common injury among cyclists.