From June 12th to June 14th I will be participating in the 20th annual Bresnan Bike Tour. It is a 200 mile charity ride from Patterson, New York to Bennington, Vermont supporting the Hudson Valley Special Olympics and the Westchester ARC, the oldest and largest agency in Westchester County serving children and adults who have developmental disabilities and their families. Each participant has to raise a minimum of $2000, and over $375,000 was raised last year. Bicycling is one of my passions and this tour will allow me to fulfill my goal of riding in a multi-day bike tour.

The current economic slump has been hard on all not-for-profit organizations, and yet I have been pleased and amazed at the willingness of my friends, neighbors, relatives, and business and professional colleagues whose generosity will enable me to surpass the $2000 goal very soon.  As the sponsorships come in, I can’t help feeling that somehow those who are sponsoring me are doing so not only to support this wonderful cause, but in a way to reward me for the work Gabe and I do on behalf of our disabled clients.  While our disability law practice is definitely “for profit,” I think that people recognize the care with which we help our clients to get through the challenging process of fighting for disability payments.

When I decided to focus on Social Security Disability and phase out of Workers’ Compensation law in the mid 1990’s one of the main reasons was the satisfaction I feel when we win a Social Security Disability claim for a client. The frustration of case backlogs and the economic and physical distress our clients feel puts a lot of stress on me and our entire office as we try to help everyone.

The pleasure and freedom I feel when I’m cycling makes it one of my main stress busters. And the fact that I am doing extra cycling this spring to be ready for the Tour has actually made me more productive at work because I’m more relaxed. So the Bresnan Bike Tour is a win for everyone involved, even our clients!

I’m excited and prepared for the Tour and I wish it wasn’t still a month away. But at least that gives me plenty of time to stock up on Aleve!

Lew Insler