Alan Karelitz

Just Over a Week Out: Final Preparations & Big Announcements!

I am so grateful for the fundraising support and want to thank everyone who has graciously donated, as well as the friends and family assisting with the logistics to help me pull this off. The minimum requirement was $2,250—otherwise, my card would have been charged for any shortcoming. I aggressively set a personal goal of $4,250, $2,000 above their minimum. While I won't quite reach that top mark, I am thrilled that I will officially cross the $3,000 threshold when all is said and done!

I also have a couple of tricks up my sleeve that will make following along really exciting for everyone at home. With the assistance of my dear friend Doug, I’ve picked up some bike-mounting photography equipment, and I am working with Lensrentals to secure an Insta360 X5 camera. Paired with my front-mounted GoPro, this setup will capture some incredible, immersive footage during the ride.

A few key moments I can’t wait to capture:

 Day 1: Riding into Fenway Park alongside nearly 200 fellow cyclists, all decked out in our official Ride for Resilience kits.

 Day 5: Rolling into Ground Zero with the group to pay homage to the 343 lives lost on that sacred site.

 Day 5: Riding into Battery Park for the official concluding ceremonies.

Finally, I’m working on one more exciting feature: a live tracking webpage where you can click a link during ride hours to follow my progress in real time, complete with links to my YouTube channel for daily pictures and video updates!

Thank you again to everyone who has donated and supported my fundraising efforts. I couldn't do this without you.

Ride of Resilience: Training & Recovery Update

I’m officially coming up on four weeks post-ablation, and things have been going smoothly! I haven’t experienced any weird beats or palpitations. The first three months following an ablation are known as the blanking period, a time when the heart is healing and it’s common to experience temporary palpitations or strange rhythms. So far, the only thing I’ve noticed are a few mild sensations—definitely no chest pain.

Because I’m still on post-ablation medication that limits my heart rate, I’m not quite back to where I was in May, nor do I have the same strength I had before these heart issues popped up. I tend to get winded a lot easier when trying to put watts into the pedals. To manage this safely, I monitor my pulse and power output very carefully on the bike, making sure I get an optimum workout while using my physical energy efficiently.

Despite the temporary physical limitations, the training miles are stacking up nicely:

 Training Goal: I’m sitting around 1,300 to 1,400 miles toward my original 1,500-mile goal.

 Next Target: I’m officially bumping my overall training goal up to 1,750 miles!

Fundraising Update

On the fundraising front, I have officially met the required minimum! A huge thank-you to everyone who has donated so far—it is very much appreciated, and I know of at least one more donation coming in soon.

If you haven’t had a chance to donate yet, please consider supporting the cause. The funds go directly toward helping Boston and New York firefighters who are actively battling cancer. As a reminder, this journey is called the Ride of Resilience, honoring the 343 firefighters who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Back-to-Back Saddle Time

Now, the focus shifts to stringing together multi-day long rides to build up endurance and get comfortable with consecutive days in the saddle.

Tomorrow is set to be a 40- to 50-mile day. The plan:

1. Ride from home over toward Washington Boulevard and Fifth Avenue.

2. Meet up with the kids and a chaperone from Operation Better Block.

3. Ride down to enjoy Open Streets Pittsburgh.

4. Head back to the starting point and finish the ride home.

It’s going to be a long day, but the weather forecast looks ideal, and I’m really looking forward to getting out there.

The Final Stretch

We are almost at the one-month countdown before launching the Ride of Resilience, which will be followed immediately by the Pennsylvania EMS Memorial Ride. All told, I’ll be putting in just under 500 miles across eight days of riding.

Thank you all for following along and supporting this mission. Please wish me luck!

It’s Getting Closer!

5/18/2026 Training

Thank You Monroeville Fire Department 6 for your very generous support!

Training in full swing!

It’s been a busy week!