2nd Annual
2007 Tour de Sussex
Charity Bike Ride
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007
Sussex County, New Jersey
Thank you very much to all who participated in and donated to this year's ride. And congratulations to those who completed the full 89-mile ride.

Photos of the event are available here.

Riders whose employer has a gift matching program can be fax the gift matching form from their human resources department to 201-656-7411. Because of a 50% matching program already in place, then effect would be to quadruple the effect of your net donation.

The Cause

The longevity research that TdS helps fund target:
- The leading cause of death in those over 50 (atherosclerosis);
- The leading cause of neurodegeneration in those over 50
    (Alzheimer's); and
- The leading cause of blindness in those over 50 (macular
    degeneration).
The strategy is to target points early enough in the aging process, before symptoms arise, to cure what is now merely treatable, while reducing frequency and cost of treatment.

Atherosclerosis is the first target of funds raised by the Tour de Sussex. Atherosclerosis is responsible for 30-50% of deaths in western societies. Due to its role in both stroke and cardiovascular disease, it kills more Americans each year than all cancers combined. Go here for more on this and other target pathology, and subsequent beneficiaries.

(Since founders of LMRF, the ride's sponsor, cover expenses, all of riders' donations go to research.)

How to Quadruple the Effect of Your Net Donation

Over the next three years, Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, is matching all donations 50 cents to the dollar to SENS research, the beneficiary research of the Tour de Sussex. If your human resources department has a gift matching program, then submission of an employer matching form would effectively quadruple your own net donation.

A Prediction

We predict that, before the end of the century, a racer over 50 will wear the Tour de France yellow jersey, maybe even into Paris. (The record for oldest post-war winner is 34. The record for oldest post-war leader is 36.)

The basis of such a prediction is that the object research of LMRF fundraising targets early precursors of age-related pathology. The aim is to degrade or repair these precursors while still at benign levels, before they become pathogenic. But even without being pathogenic, they could impair pre-middle-aged athletic performance.

By retaining and reclaiming youthful resistance to the ill effects of aging, preventative early-intervention treatment for late-onset diseases could have a side benefit of retaining youthful athletic performance as well. Depending on how much of the research's rejuvenative promise is ultimately realized, the difference between an athlete's potential at age 30 and age 50 should diminish with time as such research progresses into the clinical setting.

Atherosclerotic plaques, for example, begin accumulation in arteries in adolescence and are ubiquitous in the general population. A treatment to degrade such plaques and reduce blood flow restriction to youthful levels could go far in reducing the pressure on veteran pros to retire.

If enough early precursors of age-related illness are returned to benign levels, then aging-related atrophy of the endocrine system may be arrestable or even reversable, increasing, say, hGH and testosterone production to natural levels.

Realization of predictions depends on how soon the research becomes fully funded. Thank you to riders for their financial support in bringing this important work up to speed.