The aftermath of the deaths of five CIA officers and two contractors in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan in December has brought what the intelligence community says is an unparalleled outpouring of public sympathy and appreciation.
The CIA normally honors its fallen in private; a wall at headquarters memorializing the 90 officers who have died in action marks them with stars, not names. But the magnitude of the December loss has raised the profile.
More than $3 million has been raised to help the families of the dead by former agency personnel and the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit outfit that is dedicated to helping the survivors of those who die on duty.
Retired CIA officer Rob Richer is raising sponsors for a cross-country bicycle ride, with proceeds going to the families. And actor Dan Aykroyd (of “Ghostbusters” fame) and musician Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (alum of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers bands) are headlining a July 8 charity dinner to raise money for the same cause.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/washcall070210/washcall070210/
These helmets made me smile!
http://www.wendmag.com/greenery/2009/12/the-dweeb-free-bicycle-helmet-is-finally-here/
That’s the most in one year since the agency’s founding. In addition to the seven CIA employees who died in Khost, five others were killed in the service of their duties this year, bringing to 102 the number of Americans who lost their lives while on the job for the Company.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/06/the-night-beat-12-stars-at-the-cia/57740/
Or two or three or four! We just did a ride around Lake Anna on our new Trek 520’s, which have 7 more gears than our other bikes. What a difference that makes on hills!
We met last week with Kristin Wood of Max Muscle in Fairfax. She is working with us to develop a nutritional plan for our training. There’s so much to learn! (www.fairfax.maxmuscle.com) We are trying the Iso-Extreme for protein and the XTR for recovery and increased exercise intensity.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/21/fridays-intriguing-people-11/
We found out late last week that the Washington Post was going to do a story on our ride! Yesterday, we did a photo shoot while riding on a back road. It was a little cold and rainy but we had a great time. We think the story may run tomorrow or Friday, but we haven’t yet gotten the official word. We are thrilled to know that the Memorial Fund will receive this publicity!
50 miles in 4 hours! We rode the W&OD trail and boy, is it easier than riding on the roads!
We were doing a 20 mile ride today and were on the Loudoun County Parkway (4 lane divided road through neighborhoods) for part of the ride. There was very light traffic and we were on the far right side. A woman in a mini-van, with 3 small children in the back, came up from behind and started laying on her horn, rolled down the window and gave us the middle-finger! What is THAT all about???
