and i miss everyone...i miss my bike...i miss riding.
pedals are back on my bike though! laundry from tahoe is finally all done. yes i know that it is terrible that it took a month...so no excuses. starting post heatwave, back on the bike for my own personal sanity. and a road id bracelet or anklet for me so when riding alone versus team, no worries about emergency contact information.
yep. miss everyone the most though. facebook just isn't quite the same.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
the final countdown
so, it was amazing....
this whole experience was amazing...
my apologies for not getting this out sooner. i fear i am going to have trouble putting all of this in prose form so we are going for a list today. i apologize in advance for any insider material...
1. my team as ever is a family of people whom i will never forget and for whom i will be forever grateful.
2. 100 miles is far.
3. lake tahoe is gorgeous
4. lake tahoe is hilly
5. i can not thank the people who donated to my ride often enough or with enough gratitude to truly show how thankful i am for them.
6. people's generosity continuously astounds and surprises me in mostly good ways
7. cathy is a trooper
8. karen is my new hero
9. there was no way i was getting out of that ride without a flat tire.
10. i love my bike
11. training paid off
12. energizer bunnies are the best helmet decorations a girl could ask for.
13. cycling to cure cancer feels good.
i may have to add more later, but right now, that is what truly matters.
Lake Tahoe 2010
Biked It.
Liked It.
this whole experience was amazing...
my apologies for not getting this out sooner. i fear i am going to have trouble putting all of this in prose form so we are going for a list today. i apologize in advance for any insider material...
1. my team as ever is a family of people whom i will never forget and for whom i will be forever grateful.
2. 100 miles is far.
3. lake tahoe is gorgeous
4. lake tahoe is hilly
5. i can not thank the people who donated to my ride often enough or with enough gratitude to truly show how thankful i am for them.
6. people's generosity continuously astounds and surprises me in mostly good ways
7. cathy is a trooper
8. karen is my new hero
9. there was no way i was getting out of that ride without a flat tire.
10. i love my bike
11. training paid off
12. energizer bunnies are the best helmet decorations a girl could ask for.
13. cycling to cure cancer feels good.
i may have to add more later, but right now, that is what truly matters.
Lake Tahoe 2010
Biked It.
Liked It.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
itchy itchy derailleur hanger
flesh wounds are itchy!! oh my. the antibiotics have definitely made huge improvements on the healing front. what a difference a few days make. the deep part of the wounds still has a disgustingly colored greenish yellow moistish scab on it. i know, very pretty. and the bruise around it is spreading and dissipating. yummy.
the bike is out of the shop! my derailleur hanger bent in the crash and broke when they tried to bend it back, as it should have. and here's a fun story about how it got fixed.
but first...life lesson number one here, have many resources for bike repairs...when i first started this journey, my coaches very clearly said ensure you have a relationship with your local shop, your bike will be in there a lot. at first i was skeptical, why would it be in there a lot, it's brand new. naiveté i tell you. here is the lesson, i absolutely have a relationship with my shop however, for some reason they are not open on tuesdays and they can't always fit me in, so i have developed multiple shop relationships. what absolutely kills me is the people that service my time frame and time constraints the best is REI. There is a huge part of me that recoils when i choose a major retailer over local business, but when you have to ride a metric on sunday and the shop wants to give your bike to you on monday, it just doesn't quite work. so back to fun story about this weeks repair...
bloomfield bike couldn't take my bike, so i called REI, they could have it done by friday. sweet. brought it in. they called me thursday morning and said hey, your derailleur hanger is bent, we can try and bend it back; it will probably break. and here is the catch...if it breaks we can not order you the part. crap...since REI is not an authorized trek dealer, no trek parts. so i called my bike shop who couldn't take my bike. they have the part, they think. they ask me to bring the broken one. ok. so after work i went to REI grabbed the broken part, went to bloomfield bike, got the new part (their last one!), and then dropped it back to REI. fun times...
here is what was interesting. when i got the bloomfield bike i actually dealt with the owner. same guy who sold me all three of the bikes we have purchased there. i told him why i hadn't brought my bike in. he asked if i has explained i had a metric, etc. i said yes of course. and instead of apologizing he told me i should have asked for a manager. in my personal customer service opinion, i don't think you should ever have to ask for a manager to ensure you are being taken care of correctly. it was kind of off putting. so instead i told the team at REI that i truly appreciated them putting my repair on the important list and not only did they thank me, but it was incredibly reasonable for them to fix it. $15 new part installed, they cleaned my chain and adjusted my shifter cables. not too shabby.
the bike is out of the shop! my derailleur hanger bent in the crash and broke when they tried to bend it back, as it should have. and here's a fun story about how it got fixed.
but first...life lesson number one here, have many resources for bike repairs...when i first started this journey, my coaches very clearly said ensure you have a relationship with your local shop, your bike will be in there a lot. at first i was skeptical, why would it be in there a lot, it's brand new. naiveté i tell you. here is the lesson, i absolutely have a relationship with my shop however, for some reason they are not open on tuesdays and they can't always fit me in, so i have developed multiple shop relationships. what absolutely kills me is the people that service my time frame and time constraints the best is REI. There is a huge part of me that recoils when i choose a major retailer over local business, but when you have to ride a metric on sunday and the shop wants to give your bike to you on monday, it just doesn't quite work. so back to fun story about this weeks repair...
bloomfield bike couldn't take my bike, so i called REI, they could have it done by friday. sweet. brought it in. they called me thursday morning and said hey, your derailleur hanger is bent, we can try and bend it back; it will probably break. and here is the catch...if it breaks we can not order you the part. crap...since REI is not an authorized trek dealer, no trek parts. so i called my bike shop who couldn't take my bike. they have the part, they think. they ask me to bring the broken one. ok. so after work i went to REI grabbed the broken part, went to bloomfield bike, got the new part (their last one!), and then dropped it back to REI. fun times...
here is what was interesting. when i got the bloomfield bike i actually dealt with the owner. same guy who sold me all three of the bikes we have purchased there. i told him why i hadn't brought my bike in. he asked if i has explained i had a metric, etc. i said yes of course. and instead of apologizing he told me i should have asked for a manager. in my personal customer service opinion, i don't think you should ever have to ask for a manager to ensure you are being taken care of correctly. it was kind of off putting. so instead i told the team at REI that i truly appreciated them putting my repair on the important list and not only did they thank me, but it was incredibly reasonable for them to fix it. $15 new part installed, they cleaned my chain and adjusted my shifter cables. not too shabby.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
80 mile lessons
yesterday was our 80 mile ride...
we started strong, made it to 2 rest stops. mile 47ish and then one thing you never want to happen happens. not flat tires. accidents. jen and i collided. it was terrible.
i keep playing the whole thing over in my head thinking; could i have done anything different, said anything different, maybe yes, but would it have prevented it, i truly don't think so. it happened so quickly and next thing i knew i was flying off my bike, landing on my forearm, then shoulder, then hip, and finally smacking my head on the pavement. thank you helmet, you saved me big time.
i looked over to see where jen was and all i could see is her laying face down about 20-30 feet from me, face down legs tangled in her bike. i called out her name, no answer. i saw coach evelyn run to her and all i could think was please be alive please be alive and then i saw her foot move.
the rest was a whirlwind, emts, ambulance, fire truck, state troopers, locals. jen was taken to the hospital on a back board...leaving a pool of blood on the pavement from a head wound. it was all that was left of such a crazy scene and heart breaking agony.
our 80 miles turned in to 47ish. we were all very shook up and i don't think any one of us looked at our bikes that had been thrown on the ground in reckless haste and thought, yep let's get back on and finish it out. we had spent the second stop "kibitzing". it took 7 miles to change the entire day.
major and minor lessons from today:
1. there are still many many people in this world who have incredible concern for their fellow man. thank you to all who stopped and helped and offered their services. especially to the nurse who stabilized jen's head until the emts arrived.
2. this team is unlike any other i have ever been on. it is not a team, it is much more of a family.
3. carry your emergency contact information with you at all times. when people need to find it, it is very helpful to have it on you.
4. routes should never contain poorly signed left hand turns on a downhill.
5. lightweight sport fabrics do not provide adequate coverage from road rash, bike shorts however, provide exceptional protection.
6. sometimes it's the little things that get you, like when the emt cut off jen's red jacket and her TNT jersey from tahoe last year. those things represent so much of that person; when you see them removed it almost feels like they are taking off a piece of them, not a piece of clothing.
7. always wear your helmet, it will one day save your life. until i joined this team i had never been a 100% helmeter. i will never ever ride without one again.
we started strong, made it to 2 rest stops. mile 47ish and then one thing you never want to happen happens. not flat tires. accidents. jen and i collided. it was terrible.
i keep playing the whole thing over in my head thinking; could i have done anything different, said anything different, maybe yes, but would it have prevented it, i truly don't think so. it happened so quickly and next thing i knew i was flying off my bike, landing on my forearm, then shoulder, then hip, and finally smacking my head on the pavement. thank you helmet, you saved me big time.
i looked over to see where jen was and all i could see is her laying face down about 20-30 feet from me, face down legs tangled in her bike. i called out her name, no answer. i saw coach evelyn run to her and all i could think was please be alive please be alive and then i saw her foot move.
the rest was a whirlwind, emts, ambulance, fire truck, state troopers, locals. jen was taken to the hospital on a back board...leaving a pool of blood on the pavement from a head wound. it was all that was left of such a crazy scene and heart breaking agony.
our 80 miles turned in to 47ish. we were all very shook up and i don't think any one of us looked at our bikes that had been thrown on the ground in reckless haste and thought, yep let's get back on and finish it out. we had spent the second stop "kibitzing". it took 7 miles to change the entire day.
major and minor lessons from today:
1. there are still many many people in this world who have incredible concern for their fellow man. thank you to all who stopped and helped and offered their services. especially to the nurse who stabilized jen's head until the emts arrived.
2. this team is unlike any other i have ever been on. it is not a team, it is much more of a family.
3. carry your emergency contact information with you at all times. when people need to find it, it is very helpful to have it on you.
4. routes should never contain poorly signed left hand turns on a downhill.
5. lightweight sport fabrics do not provide adequate coverage from road rash, bike shorts however, provide exceptional protection.
6. sometimes it's the little things that get you, like when the emt cut off jen's red jacket and her TNT jersey from tahoe last year. those things represent so much of that person; when you see them removed it almost feels like they are taking off a piece of them, not a piece of clothing.
7. always wear your helmet, it will one day save your life. until i joined this team i had never been a 100% helmeter. i will never ever ride without one again.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Cross training of the most beautiful variety
We hiked Heublein tower today. The bike was still in the shop and both Kat and I needed some outdoors, so Heublein it was. I can tell how much stronger my legs are from riding. Last summer hiking Heublein was winding and I had to stop at least a few times. This round...could've have made it all the way no worries, we did stop a couple times to admire the view though! What a beautiful piece of the world we live in... legs feel good and picked up the bike after the hike. New tire on the back, I do think that the voodoo bill worked is by far going to fix the issue though! No credit to the bike shop!
Trying the new shoes tomorrow, again huge thanks to Karen. She is my own personal heroine if these work out!
Trying the new shoes tomorrow, again huge thanks to Karen. She is my own personal heroine if these work out!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
65 Miles and Counting
65 miles is hard work. over 12 miles of hills (mountains!!), over 5000 feet of vertical climbing, and 8 hours in the saddle. i did it. yay me!! even crazier, another flat tire, the bike is in the shop being checked out as we speak!
but the most amazing things about this past weekend are the following:
1. there is no team like this team. One of my teammates, Karen, actually gave me a pair of bicycle shoes.
2. one of my team mates, who is at a minimum double my age, not only finished the ride, but put us all to shame on the hills. that woman is unstoppable.
3. you can see bears while you are riding, i unfortunately missed it, but the people right behind me did..
4. realizing recovery rides are important and make Monday so much better...
5. when you complete a ride that is called the "cookie" ride you do think about having cookies at the end, but junior's cheesecake is by far a better choice! thanks bill!
and that is really just the beginning of how amazing this has been.
I spent last night cleaning and degreasing my chain, coach henry scolded me for a dirty chain on Saturday. :( As karma would have it, I am allergic to the degreaser I used and my whole hand is swollen and itchy and red. should have taken better care of the bike. Also, couldn't get the new pedals on, the other reason the bike is in the shop. hopefully i will get some time on the new pedals before Saturday!!! 70 miles! flatish miles, but 70 miles. wish me luck and feel free to donate to the cause!!
but the most amazing things about this past weekend are the following:
1. there is no team like this team. One of my teammates, Karen, actually gave me a pair of bicycle shoes.
2. one of my team mates, who is at a minimum double my age, not only finished the ride, but put us all to shame on the hills. that woman is unstoppable.
3. you can see bears while you are riding, i unfortunately missed it, but the people right behind me did..
4. realizing recovery rides are important and make Monday so much better...
5. when you complete a ride that is called the "cookie" ride you do think about having cookies at the end, but junior's cheesecake is by far a better choice! thanks bill!
and that is really just the beginning of how amazing this has been.
I spent last night cleaning and degreasing my chain, coach henry scolded me for a dirty chain on Saturday. :( As karma would have it, I am allergic to the degreaser I used and my whole hand is swollen and itchy and red. should have taken better care of the bike. Also, couldn't get the new pedals on, the other reason the bike is in the shop. hopefully i will get some time on the new pedals before Saturday!!! 70 miles! flatish miles, but 70 miles. wish me luck and feel free to donate to the cause!!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
conquering spin class!!!
avg heart rate:153 (which is REALLY good for me)
max heart rate:179 (which is REALLY REALLY good for me)
tired?: only a little bit...
energized?: heck yes!
legs tired?: yes, but not sore!
could have done it three or four times over! training is paying off peoples!
Also, on a side note, have fell in a bit of a state of heart with a pair of Shimano WR40 bike shoes in a 42...big sigh..must find room in the budget....
max heart rate:179 (which is REALLY REALLY good for me)
tired?: only a little bit...
energized?: heck yes!
legs tired?: yes, but not sore!
could have done it three or four times over! training is paying off peoples!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Out on my own...
Today was a big day, out on my own, no team, 60 miles. In the rainy mess....
I really wanted to succeed. I fell a short of my goal...Big sigh. 10 miles in I got a flat. If you recall, I had no hand in changing the previous flat, so it was a huge sinking feeling in my chest...
I parked the bike on the edge of a very nice lady's lawn and pulled out all of the gear, spoons, tube, pump. Looked at my tire, of course it was the rear one again and said you can do this kid, you paid very close attention last time...
so here is how it went...
1. Note the gear you are in: 4th - check.
2. Unscrew your tire and pull it down and away from the derailer: check
3. Place bike on the ground gears up: check.
4. Take evil tire and get the tire spoon in between the rim and the tire itself: not so much of a check on this one..but even though it took ten minutes..made it happen.
5. Connect correctly inserted spoon to spoke: check
6. Insert the pulling edge of other tire spoon into the space created by the existing spoon and pull around the wheel: not so much....this is how that went if it was it's own entry...6. Try really really hard to insert the tire spoon into the space. so hard you snap the plastic piece off. flip the spoon around, try with the flat end. after 3-5 minutes decide that was a very dumb idea. Take the spoon with the pulling end that is still intact out from the tire and swap it with the broken one. Decide you should have done that ages ago. manhandle tire until it comes loose: check - moving on...
7. Remove tube with the hole in it: check
8. Reinflate tube to find out if it was a pinch or a hole: check- and btw it was a hole, in the same place as the first hole from a few weeks ago! Make mental note to bring bike to repair shop to have tire checked out.
9. Replace tube with the spare you brought with you: check
10. Push the tube and the tire onto the rim: The tube went great. The tire was a complete and utter beotch. My fingers still hurt, the tire was wet, the rim was slippery, I started at the wrong side. However! When I finally snapped it all into place witht he aid of the tire spoons I actually shouted out "YES!". and yes, I was standing on the road by myself looking like a dummy. oh well, who cares..not me :)
11. Put tire back on bike, make sure to put the chain back on original gear: Henry made this look very easy when he did it. I knocked my chain loose from not only the rear derailer but the crank as well. More big sighs and very dirty hands. Yet i reigned supreme and absolutely made it happen. So CHECK!
That took a half hour. At that point I was soo off schedule. I started booking it, went up past 44 into Simsbury and then proceeded to read my map wrong and miss a turn. Big oops, kept going made my own little path around. At mile 20 ish I was soaked, my feet were soaked and freezing cold, the wind was going crazy and it had started to rain a bit heavier. So giving in to my major concerns of foot damage, and illness, I cut my ride short to 30 miles. I did decide to take care of the tire check up while I was out and stopped at the cycle shop in Simsbury for 10 minutes to pick up some more tubes, replace my spoons and get the rim looked at. It was fine, very strange.
So I feel a bit like I failed today out on my own, but I did ride the farthest I have ever ridden alone. I guess there is a bit of a silver lining there. I am going to hop on the elliptical at home tonight and make my legs do some more work so that the cookie ride won't kill me this weekend. Yay for cookies!
Praying for no rain tomorrow and Thursday! If not spin class it will be:)
I really wanted to succeed. I fell a short of my goal...Big sigh. 10 miles in I got a flat. If you recall, I had no hand in changing the previous flat, so it was a huge sinking feeling in my chest...
I parked the bike on the edge of a very nice lady's lawn and pulled out all of the gear, spoons, tube, pump. Looked at my tire, of course it was the rear one again and said you can do this kid, you paid very close attention last time...
so here is how it went...
1. Note the gear you are in: 4th - check.
2. Unscrew your tire and pull it down and away from the derailer: check
3. Place bike on the ground gears up: check.
4. Take evil tire and get the tire spoon in between the rim and the tire itself: not so much of a check on this one..but even though it took ten minutes..made it happen.
5. Connect correctly inserted spoon to spoke: check
6. Insert the pulling edge of other tire spoon into the space created by the existing spoon and pull around the wheel: not so much....this is how that went if it was it's own entry...6. Try really really hard to insert the tire spoon into the space. so hard you snap the plastic piece off. flip the spoon around, try with the flat end. after 3-5 minutes decide that was a very dumb idea. Take the spoon with the pulling end that is still intact out from the tire and swap it with the broken one. Decide you should have done that ages ago. manhandle tire until it comes loose: check - moving on...
7. Remove tube with the hole in it: check
8. Reinflate tube to find out if it was a pinch or a hole: check- and btw it was a hole, in the same place as the first hole from a few weeks ago! Make mental note to bring bike to repair shop to have tire checked out.
9. Replace tube with the spare you brought with you: check
10. Push the tube and the tire onto the rim: The tube went great. The tire was a complete and utter beotch. My fingers still hurt, the tire was wet, the rim was slippery, I started at the wrong side. However! When I finally snapped it all into place witht he aid of the tire spoons I actually shouted out "YES!". and yes, I was standing on the road by myself looking like a dummy. oh well, who cares..not me :)
11. Put tire back on bike, make sure to put the chain back on original gear: Henry made this look very easy when he did it. I knocked my chain loose from not only the rear derailer but the crank as well. More big sighs and very dirty hands. Yet i reigned supreme and absolutely made it happen. So CHECK!
That took a half hour. At that point I was soo off schedule. I started booking it, went up past 44 into Simsbury and then proceeded to read my map wrong and miss a turn. Big oops, kept going made my own little path around. At mile 20 ish I was soaked, my feet were soaked and freezing cold, the wind was going crazy and it had started to rain a bit heavier. So giving in to my major concerns of foot damage, and illness, I cut my ride short to 30 miles. I did decide to take care of the tire check up while I was out and stopped at the cycle shop in Simsbury for 10 minutes to pick up some more tubes, replace my spoons and get the rim looked at. It was fine, very strange.
So I feel a bit like I failed today out on my own, but I did ride the farthest I have ever ridden alone. I guess there is a bit of a silver lining there. I am going to hop on the elliptical at home tonight and make my legs do some more work so that the cookie ride won't kill me this weekend. Yay for cookies!
Praying for no rain tomorrow and Thursday! If not spin class it will be:)
Monday, April 19, 2010
hiatus is over!
i feel terrible that I haven't posted in ages, but the hiatus is over. I am back on the wagon 100%! fundraising guns a blazin and full tilt on training. deadline for fundraising is may 9th, need to get a good chunk of that done. this weekend should help, captive audience at the work convention i am going to...definitely plenty of follow up time! I sent out the letters that needed sending, it is amazing that there really are not a lot of people who don't have e-mail anymore. i need to repost my contest, that should help as well.
Monday, April 5, 2010
45 miles and counting
If anyone had told me a few months ago that I would have ridden a bicycle from Farmington, CT to Seville Dam in Barkhamsted, CT; I would have told said person they were crazy. However, 25 miles into our ride this Saturday I found myself standing next to the dam, munching on a power bar and a pb&j sandwich (thank you road angels!!). It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining bright, I had just climbed the biggest hill I had ever seen from a two wheeled perspective and come down the other side of that hill at over 40 mph. :)
Now getting to that point was an adventure. I have the honor of getting the first flat tire of the season. Mile 15ish, out went my back tire. I had missed the bike maintenance clinic, so very lucky for me, all 3 of my coaches stopped to help. Even funnier is it took all three of them to fix it. Coach Henry put my new tube in, Coach Dave pumped it up and promptly snapped off the top of the presta valve which I think may have broken the other coaches pump...and of course bye bye tire. Another new tube, tire all set, off we go.
Because I now have two busted tubes to carry back, my overfull bike bag that lives under my seat unzipped and out flies my bike tool. Thank goodness it didn't topple Jen who was drafting behind me. So poor Coach Henry stopped to pick up my tool. At this point Jen and I keep going. I pull out my water bottle (if I have learned anything through this it is that hydration is important :)) and when I went to put it back in the cage it popped out and went flying across the road, and then promptly bounced back again into Jen. Fun half mile let me tell you.
BUT!!! I made it. And I made it in with the majority of my pack. I was the last in, but only by a few minutes, which felt great. Especially because I am still riding without bike shoes and clipless pedals. Hopefully I can get those into the budget. It would be a huge help on the hills.
This week is all about maintaining my training, took yesterday off with Easter travel and today did a ton of around the house work, plenty of stairs and cardio. Great weather this week, should be back on the bike tomorrow! Bike computer is back up and working, bike pump is loaded on the new bike, hopefully the new back bag that will hold a bit more gear will be in soon and complete the package. Now that all of that is taken care of, need to focus on fundraising, which is starting to get scary! Deep breath. I can do this...
Now getting to that point was an adventure. I have the honor of getting the first flat tire of the season. Mile 15ish, out went my back tire. I had missed the bike maintenance clinic, so very lucky for me, all 3 of my coaches stopped to help. Even funnier is it took all three of them to fix it. Coach Henry put my new tube in, Coach Dave pumped it up and promptly snapped off the top of the presta valve which I think may have broken the other coaches pump...and of course bye bye tire. Another new tube, tire all set, off we go.
Because I now have two busted tubes to carry back, my overfull bike bag that lives under my seat unzipped and out flies my bike tool. Thank goodness it didn't topple Jen who was drafting behind me. So poor Coach Henry stopped to pick up my tool. At this point Jen and I keep going. I pull out my water bottle (if I have learned anything through this it is that hydration is important :)) and when I went to put it back in the cage it popped out and went flying across the road, and then promptly bounced back again into Jen. Fun half mile let me tell you.
BUT!!! I made it. And I made it in with the majority of my pack. I was the last in, but only by a few minutes, which felt great. Especially because I am still riding without bike shoes and clipless pedals. Hopefully I can get those into the budget. It would be a huge help on the hills.
This week is all about maintaining my training, took yesterday off with Easter travel and today did a ton of around the house work, plenty of stairs and cardio. Great weather this week, should be back on the bike tomorrow! Bike computer is back up and working, bike pump is loaded on the new bike, hopefully the new back bag that will hold a bit more gear will be in soon and complete the package. Now that all of that is taken care of, need to focus on fundraising, which is starting to get scary! Deep breath. I can do this...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
mid week update!
second round of spin class done and it's only wednesday! yipee!! plus a day of cardio work. i absolutely need to keep this up. 45 miles this weekend and rumor has it that it is going to be hills upon hills...
deep breath. ok, yes i can do this. what is starting to get a bit scary is the fundraising side. the first big deadline is on april 9th. I really want to have 50% completed or more so that I can breathe a little bit easier on that front. So, massive campaign push coming. I am thinking a referral contest would be a pretty good start. Announcing it this week!
I have to say though, this whole experience is so emotional. Blood cancers have affected more people than I ever knew. it is amazing how once you starting talking about this ride people open up and tell you stories about their best friend who passed away from leukemia when they were 24 or how they sat by their best friend's hospital bed for months while they fought through and are now in remission. it's crazy stuff. but remission isn't a cure. so i will keep pedaling my way forward to raise money for this wonderful organization. Thank you to anyone who has already donated to this cause. If you haven't, please do. There are many patients, families, and survivors that need your assistance and generosity.
deep breath. ok, yes i can do this. what is starting to get a bit scary is the fundraising side. the first big deadline is on april 9th. I really want to have 50% completed or more so that I can breathe a little bit easier on that front. So, massive campaign push coming. I am thinking a referral contest would be a pretty good start. Announcing it this week!
I have to say though, this whole experience is so emotional. Blood cancers have affected more people than I ever knew. it is amazing how once you starting talking about this ride people open up and tell you stories about their best friend who passed away from leukemia when they were 24 or how they sat by their best friend's hospital bed for months while they fought through and are now in remission. it's crazy stuff. but remission isn't a cure. so i will keep pedaling my way forward to raise money for this wonderful organization. Thank you to anyone who has already donated to this cause. If you haven't, please do. There are many patients, families, and survivors that need your assistance and generosity.
Monday, March 22, 2010
what a weekend
35 miles...
Saturday morning was an adventure. we took off at 10am. The new bike felt great and was sooo much faster than my hybrid. wow. huge difference. so we are between 4-6 miles out and I feel this burn in my right calf. within seconds, i have a massive charlie horse, it was terrible. I almost toppled off my bike onto the side of the road, my calf just wouldn't move and my sneaker got stuck in my toe clips...very graceful, i know. stretched it out, felt a bit better, off we go again. My coach, henry, who very graciously waited for me caught up to the rest of the ladies in our mini group who were also so sweet to wait for us.
so we rode for a while, all was going well, and then we hit huckleberry hill rd in canton, ct. it is the most evil road i have ever biked. they really should rename the road huckleberry gigantic mountain road. hill? not so much. the calf reared its ugly little head again. big grr from me. i was so looking forward to finishing this week with the entire team and not pulling in to the lot last. It was not to be.
Coach henry and i had to stop every 4-5 miles and stretch out my calves or we just weren't going to make it. Total ride time almost 4 hours. but let me tell you, at mile 31 when i realized yes Charryse, you are going to make this and then you can chop your leg off, it was such an overwhelming sense of pride knowing that I had accomplished something and all I could think was if this is how i feel at 35 miles, i can't imagine what 100 is going to feel like...because not only will it be a huge physical accomplishment, but an emotional one as well knowing that I have raised a substantial amount to help cure cancer.
AND, not only that, but I swear the people on my team are amazing, at least 10 of them stayed and waited until we got back and cheered us into the lot, which was just so unexpected, albeit almost embarrassing. such kind people. pretty crazy stuff, i am starting to see why people call this program life changing.
well, i hit the gym tonight to walk out the last of the lactic acid, back on track with the hard work tomorrow night. if it's still raining i am thinking spin class!
Saturday morning was an adventure. we took off at 10am. The new bike felt great and was sooo much faster than my hybrid. wow. huge difference. so we are between 4-6 miles out and I feel this burn in my right calf. within seconds, i have a massive charlie horse, it was terrible. I almost toppled off my bike onto the side of the road, my calf just wouldn't move and my sneaker got stuck in my toe clips...very graceful, i know. stretched it out, felt a bit better, off we go again. My coach, henry, who very graciously waited for me caught up to the rest of the ladies in our mini group who were also so sweet to wait for us.
so we rode for a while, all was going well, and then we hit huckleberry hill rd in canton, ct. it is the most evil road i have ever biked. they really should rename the road huckleberry gigantic mountain road. hill? not so much. the calf reared its ugly little head again. big grr from me. i was so looking forward to finishing this week with the entire team and not pulling in to the lot last. It was not to be.
Coach henry and i had to stop every 4-5 miles and stretch out my calves or we just weren't going to make it. Total ride time almost 4 hours. but let me tell you, at mile 31 when i realized yes Charryse, you are going to make this and then you can chop your leg off, it was such an overwhelming sense of pride knowing that I had accomplished something and all I could think was if this is how i feel at 35 miles, i can't imagine what 100 is going to feel like...because not only will it be a huge physical accomplishment, but an emotional one as well knowing that I have raised a substantial amount to help cure cancer.
AND, not only that, but I swear the people on my team are amazing, at least 10 of them stayed and waited until we got back and cheered us into the lot, which was just so unexpected, albeit almost embarrassing. such kind people. pretty crazy stuff, i am starting to see why people call this program life changing.
well, i hit the gym tonight to walk out the last of the lactic acid, back on track with the hard work tomorrow night. if it's still raining i am thinking spin class!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Two Days in a Row!!
I made it to the gym last night! Two days in a row! Yay! Got to keep trucking along. I was so hoping to catch a spin class, but missed it by an hour, oops. So the stationary bike it was for me. I did some work on my cadence and rode a good 13 miles, well not really rode...but you get the idea.
Even more exciting though....I picked up the new bike last night. It is gorgeous! Hopefully, I will be out of work in time tonight to take it out for some miles. I would be nice to get in a 20 mile trip before the weekend ride. It would also be nice to figure out how to use my shifters before the weekend ride. I am super excited though that this weekend's ride is out of Farmington and not Clinton, such a time saver!
Even more exciting though....I picked up the new bike last night. It is gorgeous! Hopefully, I will be out of work in time tonight to take it out for some miles. I would be nice to get in a 20 mile trip before the weekend ride. It would also be nice to figure out how to use my shifters before the weekend ride. I am super excited though that this weekend's ride is out of Farmington and not Clinton, such a time saver!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Back to the Gym!
Finally!
Wow, what a weekend...everyone in the house was sick, me included. Today is the first day that I finally feel strong enough that going to the gym tonight is not going to throw me back into a tailspin of sickness. Pick up the new bike tomorrow. Daylight savings time hopefully means afterwork riding on the road! Yay!
Wow, what a weekend...everyone in the house was sick, me included. Today is the first day that I finally feel strong enough that going to the gym tonight is not going to throw me back into a tailspin of sickness. Pick up the new bike tomorrow. Daylight savings time hopefully means afterwork riding on the road! Yay!
Friday, March 12, 2010
No ride this weekend :(
no ride this weekend, silly weather. 30 miles in the gym then! I have to say though 2 hours on a stationary or spinner is quite dull, but necessary! I hope I don't get the bug that everyone has that will definitely put a damper on the plans!.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Training Begins!
I thought 25 miles was going to be easier. It was much easier in very flat Florida. Hilly Connecticut, not so much. What a great group of people though on my team. So supportive of not only the physical aspect but ensuring the fundraising is going well too.
So the group ride last Saturday made me realize I will definitely need a road bike to get this event done. So I went to Bloomfield Bike during my lunch break on Monday and picked up a 2009 Trek Alpha 1.5. Pretty nice bike and cute too! So strange that the road bikes don't have kick stands, makes sense, but just not something I would have ever thought of until I bought this one.
I hit them gym already this week and did 17 miles! Woo-hoo! I was hoping to go tonight as well, but sickness has besieged the house...Hopefully tomorrow will not bring barfing babies!
I figured, if I can't get some physical work done, I better get some time in on the fundraising portion! So new blog here I come!
Bed time is calling! I think this is going to be one of those nights that you have to sleep whenever you can get it. Work should be fun tomorrow!
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