leaving it on the road

Tour de Palm Springs

2009-02-16T10:30:00.001-08:00

Did it again this weekend. I did another century with my team in training team! WOOHOO! As always, was a great experience. We raised $70,000 for blood cancer research the last couple months, and had a great time riding in the Tour de Palm Springs.

So more of the ride details.

My rode with the B team which included a lot of people doing their first century so we took it pretty casual, but it was a lot of fun. We left the hotel and got on the route about 7 am. The first 2 or 3 miles were nice. Just a casual warm up. From there, we got on a long stretch of road out by all the windmills, and it was dang windy! It was hitting us from the left side and it took most of our strength just to stay upright without being blown over. We were in that strong wind for about an hour so we took a really slow pace for that stretch and used our energy mainly to battle the wind.

Next came the majority of the "climbing" for the route. I use climbing loosely, because it really wasn't a challenging climb. It was about 7 miles long, which is a good stretch, but it was more of a gradual incline of 1-2 percent with only about .3 mile of 4%. I'll take that any day. We got into the first rest stop at the 16 mile mark around 8:30. A little later than I would liked but the wind really slowed down my group.

From there, we turned out onto Dillon road which we were on for probably 35-40 miles out of the 100. I loved it though! It was a great road to ride. It was a lot of short rollers and quite a bit of gradual downhills. Plus the wind was mainly at our backs at this point. I picked up some speed here and got down in my drops and just cruised along about 36 mph for a good stretch of that road. From there it was rest stop number 2. (the SAG stops were btw, wonderful. lots of good stuff and nice people along with our own mini TNT random acts of SAG at every stop).

Then back out onto Dillon for more riding. I think we were on Dillon til the 52 mile stop! (Somewhere between Indio and Cochella) . Woohoo. Half way point was around 11 for us I think. We had lunch and got back out on the road and went through just some country type roads until the 72 mile stop.

After the 72, we tackled the last climb of the day. It was probably about a 5% grade, but pretty short. (although a did hear of a few who missed the turn half way up the hill and continued climbing, but hey guess they got a better work out than the rest of us).

From there we started making our way back towards Palm Springs and got back on real roads that we actually had to share with cars again. Traffic wasn't a problem, but it's always nice during rides to have a whole lane blocked off for you and not have to worry about it. Also around this point, I started feeling the effects of my faux pas during this ride. I tried an electrolyte drink I'd never had before at the 72. I know better. You never eat or drink new things you're body is not used to the day of a big ride like this. You just never know if you're body will love or hate it. My body didn't like the cliff electrolyte drink if anyone is thinking about trying it. Pushed my way through it and got some water at the 90 mile stop.

The last 10 miles are always the longest, cause you know you're almost done. Lots of little turns back into downtown Palm Springs and we crossed the finish line about 4 pm. All and all it was a really fun route to ride and a great experience. Though I have decided I need a better bike seat... (To go along with the new bike I still want to buy before my next century).

Didn't get too many pics of this ride because I'm lazy about carrying a camera while I ride. Hope to get some off the event photographer's site tomorrow though....

spring weather in January!!!

2009-01-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

Saturday was our 75 mile ride. It starts at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, goes up Highway 1, through Pescadero towards Half Moon Bay, and back up Highway 1 back to Santa Cruz. It's my favorite training ride because it's absolutely gorgeous throughout the entire ride and moderately challenging. I was expecting to freeze to death seeing that it was along the coast in January and I've frozen every ride I've been on this winter. Much to my delight, it ended up being clear sunny skies near 70 for the day! Picture perfect!!!

The ride itself was pretty awesome. We had a small ride group this week. Coach George, myself, and Janice and Diana. It was good company, good cycling and a lot of breath taking scenery. All in all pretty awesome!

Swanton road off Highway 1 just north of Davenport is what I remember being the challenge of the ride. It was a decent climb, but not bad. It was a lot of fun actually.

In Pescadero, Mike and Hilton were doing SAG at the rest stop. It was cool to see some old teammates. They were both in my ride group my first season.

Stage Hill Road in Pescadero I have climbed several times on several different rides. It's a good climb but I forgot about the second half of it. That's an even better climb. It was a good work out.

Coming back up Highway 1, my knee really started giving me grief around mile 60. Think I just overdid it. My body hasn't been reacclaimated towards these long rides at all. Also I went snowboarding the day before. I think by that point it was just tired. It's feeling a lot better though and I wasn't even sore the next day, so guess it's all good.

Time to actually be more viligent about the gym again I think. I really need to strengthen it and get it used to long rides again. I'm sure it will come with time though.

I'll see if I can gather of some pics of this ride, because it really is the most beautiful ride in the bay area!!

chamois butter!!!!

2009-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

I coulda used some yesterday!

So, I went on my first long ride since my surgery. It was successful though my butt is quite sore. This was actually one of my team rides I had never been on. The route is called "tour of de montanas" which should of clued me in. It was 65 miles and included just about every major climb I can think of in this area. I do feel good that I finished it and that I finally did some of the benchmark climbs around here I have avoided.

First, let me say, winter cycling was not made for someone who is as cold as I am as often as I am. I don't know how cold it was yesterday morning, but it was dang cold. I started the ride wearing:

A skull cap under my helmet
winter gloves
a base layer
a cycling jersey
a heavy hooded sweatshirt
a windbreaker
cycling tights
cyling shorts
winter socks
and booties over my cycling shoes

That being said, I was still cold most of the ride!!!!

The route actually was really pretty. I'll have to do it again sometime in the spring. Though it is no where near the longest route I've ever ridden, I do think it was the most challenging ride I've done to date.

We started in the parking lot at Foothill College. After looping through campus, we headed toward Saratoga and through Steven's Canyon to Mount Eden. Mount Eden used to be a real challenge to me, but I can do it in my sleep after all the days of hill repeats up it. Another team was starting to climb the same time we were, so I sprinted up to see if I could keep up with them. I did, and made it to the top right in the middle of their team. WOOHOO! One hill down. And climbed in fashion passing much of the tough guy's team on the way up! Next came the awesome descent down the back side of Mount Eden over to Pierce Rd.

I've never climbed Pierce before. I've driven it, and it looks brutal, but just haven't made the effort to do it on a bike before. Given that I had just finished climbing Eden, I really wasn't sure how much I had left in me. I had to granny gear it to get started just because it starts on a really steep incline. Got past that, and it only got steeper... However, the whole climb, though incredibly steep was less than 2 miles, so I made it without too much of a problem. (Though my lungs did remind me at the top that they just barely fought off pneumonia). At that point, I did exactly what you're NOT supposed to do, and got off my bike, and layed down on the cement at the top of the hill in the sun while I waited for the rest of my team to make it up.

From there, we got to some easy fun roads. Down highway 9, through Los Gatos and down Foothill Expressway towards Stanford. Oh, and a nice rest stop right before Foothill. AWESOME! I love SAG!!! Hot apple cider never tasted so good! Anyhow, once we got up towards Stanford, we cut over towards Woodside and geared up for climb #3. The dreaded Edgewood Rd. I've heard stories... Now I know why. That was not only a fairly seriously steep grade, but it is long. In the middle, it starts to level out, and and makes you think you're done climbing. Don't be fooled! It gets steeper very quickly after that. I wanted to stop and get off my bike so bad, only I knew I'd never get going again if I did!!!

At the top of Edgewood (mile 40 in our 65) was another rest stop! Yeah for PB&J and cytomax!!! And SAG's comfy camp chairs I collapsed in!!! After a few hits of Janice's inhaler that I was in desparate need of after that Edgewood climb, it was down to Canada Rd. (BTW, my lungs still thank you Janice. Mental note to self- pack your inhaler before the next ride!!!)

Canada road is a great place to paceline, so that is exactly what we did. I talked to Coach George a bit in the back of the paceline about the rest of the ride for a few minutes. I was told we had one more climb at the end, but that it wasn't bad after Edgewood. (Then again, what is?)

We made our way down Mountain Home road, which is one of my favorite places to ride! Absolutely beautiful! From there is was the Portola Loop and up to the Arastradero Preserve. Then back towards Elena which was our last climb. I again, being tired and not used to being on my bike for this long asked what this climb was like. I was told I was strong enough and had experience enough to handle it... Hmmmm....

Elena was evil!!! It may not have been quite as long as Edgewood, but just about as steep and it was still long. Especially after already haven rode 60 + miles. After I made it back to the college parking lot, some support staff were there almost smirking asking how Elena was. All I could do to respond was say "LIES!"

All in all is was absolutely awesome though!!!! It was good to be able to ride that far after being off my bike so long and not having any real mileage on my legs since August. Also, to be able to do like 5 really tough climbs all back to back in one ride makes me feel really good like I actually accomplished something. Grrrr... What out LOTOJA here I come!

Now, to take care of my bum. My butt's not used to being in the saddle that long, even if my legs can handle it! :P

somebody got a new bike...

2008-09-08T12:14:00.001-07:00

Now, if someone could help me out with a new leg, I'll be all set!!! My teammate I was borrowing a bike from after the theft of mine, decided to buy a new really nice bike (similar to the one I've been looking at.) Consequently, she is ready to get rid of the one she's been loaning me and offered it to me dirt cheap! WOOHOO! I still want to buy the super nice one I've been looking at-- but now I have something to ride in the meantime, and a spare bike for after!

I also talked to James a little bit yesterday. His father in law rides and rode a double century this weekend and he and Taylor got to serve as his pit crew. James has now caught the bug and is ready to start cycling as well. We plan on doing the same double next year. It's called LOTOJA and covers 206 miles, and 10,000 ft of climbing between Logan, Ut and Jackson Hole, Wy. I can't wait!

I'm actually going to do a few doubles next year (my leg permitting). I want to do STP (Seattle to Portland), LOTOJA (Logan to Jackson Hole) and probably the Solvang double.I'm stoked that James wants to ride because I know he'll enjoy it, and it'll be a blast to be able to ride some centuries with him!

sticks and stones may break my bones... (and so may road signs)

2008-08-31T09:25:00.001-07:00

So, though I have been hurting quite a bit from my crash, I guess I did a bit more damage than even I thought. Finally got my stitches out--YEAH! I get to enjoy my new pool and take a shower like a normal person again. I still can't put weight on or bend my left knee at all though. I went to the orthopedist, and my xrays were impressive. The cut on the side of my knee was so deep it actually showed up on the xrays! Because I couldn't bend my knee, they thought maybe I tore my meniscus or something. An MRI revealed that my meniscus is fine... HOWEVER, I have a broken femur. So, I guess that explains the amount of pain I've been in. I still can't believe I walked around on that for 2 weeks. I chipped off about 15 cm of the bottom of my femur right where it meets my knee. Unfortunately, that means my cycle season is over. I'm really bummed that I'm going to miss my century next month, but the good news is that all my accomodations and flight are booked so I'm still going to go to Hawaii and cheer my team on and enjoy a short vacation. So a month from now, though I may have a broken leg, at least I'll be laying on a beach in Waikiki!Here are some of the gorey pics of my leg the last few weeks. (A few people have actually asked to see them

my stitches

imprint of the road sign on my right thigh

makeshift stop sign over my bruise to remind me that i didn't "stop"

crash and burn

2008-08-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Soooooo... I'm riding a friends bike until I replace mine (mine was stolen a few weeks ago). Anyhow, went to my team training ride Saturday and had my first real crash. Not fun. I heard a commentator for the Tour de France talking about crashes. Someone asked what it felt like to crash. His reply was that is was like being stripped down to your underwear and thrown out of a moving car at about 50 miles per hour. Now that I've experienced it, I think he was pretty much right on!So, a bee was buzzing around in the side of my helmet. I'm allergic, so I started swatting at it and lost my focus on the road for a minute. In that second, I must have hit some gravel or something on the road, lost control of my bike and took out a road sign (or maybe it took me out...). Ended up propelling my body around a reflector post on the side of the road a few times- bending the sign in half before falling about 10-15 ft down an embankment in the side of the road. My right leg that first got the impact of the sign has a black impression of it on my thigh. Somehow my whole body got wrapped around the sign and I filleted the side of my left knee on it. When all was said and done I ended up with about 20 stitches in the side of my knee, a knee brace and crutches, and a lot of bruises and road rash. But in the bigger scheme of things I guess I'm pretty lucky. The doc was amazed I was awake and conscious so I guess I'm really lucky.

leaving it with the crooks

2008-07-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

So, as the quote from Patrick goes, "If you got it- leave it on the road." I got plenty to leave on the road, but no bike to do it with! Some lowlifes decided they needed my bike more than I did. So I'm out a very expensive bike (which will cost me a few thousand to replace), I have a century ride coming up in a few weeks-- that'll be interesting, and lots of pent up frustration over the whole situation and no bike to go spin it out on.

I know I wanted a new bike, but com'n!!! This is not what I had in mind! So if anyone happens to see someone trying to sell a hot 56 cm Trek 2100 let me know so I can go hunt them down and give them a piece of my mind!

Til then, I suppose I can say I have seen the best and worst of people. The worst obviously being the jacka$$ that took my bike. The best being my really cool teammates who have helped me out so much! All my teammates are amazing, but this one couple lent me a bike til I get my new one so I can at least go to my training rides! Will and Kristy, you guys are my heros! `

Pro Crashes?

2008-07-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

While riding yesterday, Rick and Patrick were talking about watching the Tour de France, and the commentators showing some of the crashes from the ride.... Well, someone asked what it was like to crash. The answer given was this:

Get in a car going 50 mph, strip down to your underwear, open the door and jump out. That's what it feels like!

Thankfully, I've never had a real crash *knock on wood* but I imagine that's probably very close to what it would feel like...

Hills, Hills, and More Hills...

2008-07-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

None of them too bad, except Metcalf, which I only drove my car over. So, since LiveStrong, I've been on my bike a good amount for a week.

Tuesday I went out to hill repeats before work. Even though my legs were tired from the LiveStrong ride on Sunday, I managed 4 climbs up Mount Eden.

Then yesterday I met up with Patrick, Rick, and Rachel for a nice 30 mile ride. Good times. We met on Foothill at McKenzie Park and rode up to Portola Valley. I did feel like a bit of a misfit, being the only one not employed by the Foothill College Math Department. Man can they ride - those math geeks musta studied the mathematical equations behind the physics of cycling or something!!! They really pushed me. It was great though. We got a nice paceline going along Foothill expressway and were rolling between 20-25 mph. It was cool. Rick made a comment that we just needed another 6 riders or something to get a peleton going and we'd look just like the Discovery Team! (well, maybe not quite...) Took a breather at the park next to Robert's market where Rachel and I stuck our heads in the sprinklers to cool off. Patrick, Rick and I then rode up to the top of Alpine Rd. BEAUTIFUL! That's one of my new favorite rides. I must admit I was a little nervous setting out, but it was amazing. Patrick wasn't "coaching" so he gave me the truth about the climb, and I think it's the first honest answer I've gotten out of him about a hill! He said it wasn't too bad til the last few hundred yards, and then it was pretty steep. I let the boys go ahead and filled up my water bottle and threw my ipod on for the climb. It really wasn't bad at all, just had the tunes going and was able to spin close to 10 mph most the way up. I don't know the exact grade, but it's probably only like 6% with a little 7-8% in a few places. It was one of the most beautiful roads to ride up though - winding, tree lined, along a creek up in the mountains. I think a "few hundred yards" was a little bit of an understatement, but it coulda been- but really I think it was close to the last 1/2 mile that really got challenging for me. It probably jumped up to like a 12-13% grade. And it was so winding, I couldn't see the end -- which frustrates me. I don't mind climbing as long as I know how much is left so I can conserve the right amount of energy. (WOW, my mindset has changed a lot from last season!!!!) I was so relieved to see Patrick and Rick sitting at the top when I came around the last corner! Mission accomplished!!! So I made it to the top, and they said it was cool watching me come up beccause it was so steep they couldn't see my bike, just my legs spinning! Then we hauled it back down. Pay off time! That is the best descent I think I've ever rode. It's all S-curves the whole 3-4 miles down. I really got to put my technical skills to use which was fun. I've never felt a carve like that before. All my weight on the outside pedal and just leaning to the inside cruising through the turns. It was pretty cool to look at the posted speed limit of 20 mph, and down at my bike computer which read just under 40 mph. Good thing there were no cops up there! We rode back around Portola and picked up Rachel at the park and headed back past the Arastradero perserve and back down foothill to our cars. What a great afternoon of riding!

Here is a small glimpse at Alpine.

Today, I wanted to scope out Metcalf to get a better idea of the grade and distance. Glad I scoped it out in the car first. That is a monster of a hill! Just plain gnarly. It's like 5 miles up and steep enough for my car to be sluggish and fighting to climb up. My goal is to climb it by the end of summer. Gotta find some others with enough screws loose to be willing to do it with me. (hmmm... Patrick said he's never done it, and it was crazy enough to attempt death ride last weekend...)

Tomorrow is an actual team ride. I'm ride support for a beginning team, so should be a fairly easy 30 miles for me. Although, I did hear coach Matt talking about having some "surprises up his sleeve" for tomorrow's ride. That can only mean more hills... bring 'em on.

IT'S GO TIME!

2008-07-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

2800 cyclists, $1.5 million raised for cancer research/treatment, 2500 calories burned, 3.5 banannas, 2 oranges, 2 peanut butter and jelley sandwiches, 2 packs of shot blocks, 3 bottles of gatorade, 2 bottles of water, 3 rest stops, 2 good climbs, lots of good company, 50 miles, and 1 sore bum later....

Yes, this would be none other than the LiveStrong ride. What a fantastic ride! I had so much fun. It was the innagural Livestrong challenge for San Jose, but Lance said it was so succesful that they will definitely be back next year! BUYAH! I can't wait. Next year will be the full 100 miles for me I think.

(Lance Armstrong downtown San Jose ride morning)

(Chis Carmichael, Lance Armstrong and gurus before the ride)

(Lance leading off the 63 mile ride)

THE DETAILS:
I pulled into the parking lot of the HP center at 6:30 yesterday morning. Got my bike unloaded and shoes on, and packed the necessities (shot blocks - to physically get me up any potential hills, i pod- to mentally get me up any potential hills, camera- just in case I run into Lance, cell phone-for emergencies) into the back pockets of my LiveStrong jersey. Had one last handful of trail mix and washed it down with a swig of orange gatorade and met my friend Peggy on the corner about 6:45. From there, we warmed up our legs as we rode the couple blocks to the start line. Peggy and I decided a few weeks ago to ride the 50 mile ride. I would've liked to have done the 100 mile, but I haven't trained at all, and haven't rode more than 30 miles at one time in 6 months or so now. And this was Peggy's first ride, so we decided to keep it casual and fun. Even though the ride was called the "LiveStrong Challenge," I really didn't think it would be challenging. I'm glad I was wrong.

At 7:45 our wave started the ride. The first 11 miles was a very casual warm up, and what I had expected of the ride route. Nice flat wide open roads and a lot of cyclists just having fun. I'll interject here to say, the road marshalls and police were absolutely fantastic! They had most of the roads downtown totally blocked off for us, and we basically had our own lane on all major streets, and the police were outstanding at controlling traffic to wave us through intersections. So the first 11 miles were pretty flat leading us out of downtown, through Willow Glen, west San Jose, Campbell, to Saratoga where we had our first rest stop.

(Peggy and I at the first rest stop)

We quickly realized just how well supported this ride was. We saw at least one SAG vehicle on every street making sure everyone was ok, and as soon as we came to the rest stop, volunteers swarmed on us handing us food and filling our water bottles for us. One of my old teammates Van was volunteering at the stop, so had a quick chat with him, then it was back on our bikes. As we were pulling out of the rest stop, I started hearing talk about Shannon Rd.... in my head I'm thinking, "what, I didn't think there were going to be any real hills on this ride..."

Shannon road is in the Los Gatos foothills and one of those rides you hear cyclists talking about a lot. It's a decent climb. It's one of those climbs I've always thought that I should go ride sometime, but have never actually gotten around to... well yesterday I got around to it.

Before we actually hit Shannon, we had a short gradual grade out of Saratoga to Highway 9. We got a little downhill pitch, and got some good speed going down Highway 9 through Los Gatos. As we approached Shannon Rd, I advised Peggy it was shot block time, and we powered up to get ready for the climb. It was actually a beautiful climb. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a little work, but I don't think it was more than 7% in any spot, and during most of the 2 mile climb, there were flats inbetween the pitches. When we reached the top, my legs were tired enough to remind me that it does take some work to ride. The pay-off was the descent down Hicks rd into almaden. Peggy and I were both incredibly grateful to our coaches for teaching us good cornering technique at this point. Taking hairpin turns at 30-40 mph on a bike does take a bit of skill (or at least some good coaching). That was a really fun downhill, and is totally worth the work it took to get to it.

(Not the best representative pic, but this is Hicks coming out of the hills.)

So cruising into Almaden I pulled up to a light next to Pinkie (I don't know her real name, but she's an ex-TNT'er who comes to hill repeats on her pink bike and pink gear). Anyhow, she asked Peggy and I if we were doing the 63. We said, no, just the 50. Pinkie tried to talk us into the 63 because she had no one to ride up Metcalf with. Hearing that Metcalf was on the 63, definitely made me think I made the right decision with the 50 this year. Metcalf is one of those bench mark climbs. I've never done it myself, but it's supposed to be a really super challenging climb. Next year...

(a view of Metcalf)

From there we turned off Hicks onto Camden. This is where the 50 milers split from the 63 and 100 mile course. I turned to Peggy and said, "last chance to keep going for a longer ride..." (I was still feeling really strong). She just wanted to get the 50 under her belt so we turned and then breezed down Coleman to the next rest stop on Santa Theresa. Refuel time. We spent a few minutes regrouping, then it was back on the road down Bernal.

After a few easy flat miles, we came up on a women riding by herself. I don't know how the conversation started but she informed us that the "big climb" was coming up. "WHAT??? We just finished Shannon Rd" is racing through my head. The woman quickly adds that she is a cancer survivor and this is her first 50 since her remission, and that if she can beat cancer, she can handle the climb. Peggy and I were quickly humbled and quit griping that there was another climb. Less than a mile after that, we hit a short, moderate pitch. I was relieved thinking that was the "big climb" she must have been talking about because it really wasn't bad. A slight downhill got my speed back up and as we came around a corner I saw a long line of cyclists very slowly struggling to get up a winding, steep part of Silver Creek heading into the Evergreen foothills. My relief was quickly replaced by dread. Time to pull out the ipod and take another shot block or two. I don't know what the grade on that climb was - it felt like 12% in spots and seemed to go on forever. I'm sure it was really only 8-10% and less than 2 miles. I refused to be one of the many cyclists on the road who had gotten off their bikes and were walking up the hill though. Down to granny-gear and slow spinning I finally saw the summitt and pushed my legs as fast as they would go just to get it over with and get to the top. At that point, I congratulated Peggy on finishing the climb without being one of the wusses walking, and we gave a high five to each other on our bikes as we geared back up for the descent. Maybe half a mile into the descent the course took a sharp right turn. As I came around the corner, much to my dismay, I saw more climbing ahead of us. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been a big deal or too bad of a climb, it was more of a moderate grade for maybe half a mile- only at this point the legs hadn't recovered from the climb we just finished. Peggy voiced her frustration at the new challenge and I reminded her that after what we just climbed this was nothing, and we spun it out to the real end of climbing for the day.

From there it was a downhill and some flats into the next rest stop at about the 40 mile mark. We rolled in there about 11 (I had anticipated being done by 11, but I also hadn't anticipated the climbs). Oh well, it had been a great ride. We refilled our bottles one last time and hit the road for the home stretch.

Let me say at this point that not only was this the best supported ride I've ever ridden, but also the community support was so cool. All along the route people lined the streets waving and cheering. At about mile 44 we were cutting through a neighborhood and people were in their yards cheering us and spraying us down with their garden hoses. Whoever you were, THANKS! That was awesome. We cruised through the east side and back into downtown from there. Smooth sailing. About 500 yards from the finish line Peggy and I were side by side and I turned to her and just said "wanna sprint?" It was awesome. We both just took off and raced each other to the finish line. They had a huge village set up downtown with the finish line right in the middle. Tons of people on the sidelines cheering. I heard them announce my name and time over the PA as I crossed the line, and thought, "that's it - next year it's the full 100 for me."

After I finished, I tracked down the Galants who came out to cheer me on! Thanks guys, it was really fun to have you there!!! We hung out in the kid's area for awhile so Dylan could play and just chatted while I recovered a little. While I was talking to Emily, my friend Leigh Ann from last years team came over and gave me a hug. Her and another teammate, Colin were volunteering as support staff. It was fun to see familiar faces. She asked what ride I did, and I told her the 50. Her response was, "yeah, I wouldn't want to do Metcalf either..."

(My nephew, Dylan, a future cyclist? I think maybe so...)

The day wrapped up with Lance Armstrong giving a short speech in the middle of the plaza. He talked a little bit about the mission of the LiveStrong organization, and a little bit about how well the San Jose challenge went. He talked about his ride, and said that he wanted to know who picked this course because it was tough. Everyone kind of laughed, and he was like "No, I'm serious, out over Metcalf I was really wondering if this was the Tour of California (a very tough pro ride that this ride actually made me think of in parts) or something. It made me feel pretty good that I finished a ride not only with Lance, but that was challenging even to him.

(Lance giving his speech)

Everything said and done, this was the best organized ride that I've done. It was tough enough to be challenging, but not so tough that it wasn't fun. I toned it done a few notches today since I was riding with a new rider, but it was really fun. Next year I will definitely be doing this one again, and going for speed and distance. Til then, it's time to train on Metcalf, so by the time ride day comes, I know what I'm up against and it actually is still fun!

And one last afterthought: NO FLATS OR MECHANICALS! WOOHOO! I love it when things work the way they are supposed to! :) Good times all the way around!

THE REASON:

The Manifesto of the Lance Armstrong Foundation

We believe in life.
Your life.
We believe in living every minute of it with every ounce of your being.
And that you must not let cancer take control of it.
We believe in energy: channeled and fierce.
We believe in focus: getting smart and living strong.
Unity is strength. Knowledge is power. Attitude is everything.

We kick in the moment you’re diagnosed.
We help you accept the tears. Acknowledge the rage.
We believe in your right to live without pain.
We believe in information. Not pity.
And in straight, open talk about cancer.
With husbands, wives and partners. With kids, friends and neighbors. And the people you live with, work with, cry and laugh with.
This is no time to pull punches.
You’re in the fight of your life.

We’re about the hard stuff.
Like finding the nerve to ask for a second opinion.
And a third, or a fourth, if that’s what it takes.
We’re about getting smart about clinical trials.
And if it comes to it, being in control of how your life ends.
It’s your life. You will have it your way.

We’re about the practical stuff.
Planning for surviving. Banking your sperm. Preserving your fertility. Organizing your finances. Dealing with hospitals, specialists, insurance companies and employers.
It’s knowing your rights.
It’s your life.
Take no prisoners.

We’re about the fight.
We’re your champion on Capitol Hill. Your advocate with the healthcare system. Your sponsor in the research labs.
And we know the fight never ends.
Cancer may leave your body, but it never leaves your life.

LIVESTRONG

I'm in LOVE

2008-07-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't met "Mr. Right," but I have found the bike of my dreams...

I test rode some bikes today just because. I cannot even believe the difference between the bikes I rode and the piece of junk I'm on now!!!! I never wanted to get off this thing. I tried to trade my car for the bike and the salesman just laughed at me. Now, if I can figure a way to pay for it I will be a very happy cyclist!!!

It's a Felt Z15. Dura-Ace everything including wheels. The whole bike only weighs 14 lbs. Some of the pro teams ride this bike, and after being on it I understand why. Fortunately, I have some connections and can get the bike for about $1700 below mrsp. (Yes, it's an expensive bike). But, on the upside if I have this bike, I would ride it everywhere all the time. I would get a lot more miles on my legs, and I wouldn't have to worry about buying a new bike for many many years.

LIVESTRONG

2008-06-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

So and member of Team in Training and I have decided to ride the LIVESTRONG race in San Jose in 2 weeks. Should be good times all around. We decided to enjoy the ride and just do the half century (5o miles) instead of the full 100. Can't wait. It's been like 9 months since I've rode in an event. And rumor has it that Lance Armstrong will actually be riding this ride as well. How cool is that? I'll have all the cool details for everyone after the ride.

That's How I Roll...

Cancer Sucks!

2008-06-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

That is one of my favorite catch lines concerning cancer - simple and to the point. A kid at packard coined the phrase and I forgot about it til I saw someone with a cancer sucks button yesterday.

I was just talking to a hematologist I work with about Myelodysplastic Syndrome. One of her family members was just diagnosed, and she remembered that that's what my dad had. We were talking about prognosis' and treatments, and she said there is actually a pretty sucessful treatment out now. A chemotherapy type drug that from what she has heard is pretty good at wiping out MDS. It's very much a bitter-sweet thing to hear. It's a little sad to think that if this drug had been discovered a few years earlier that my dad might very well still be around. But on the flip side, it's awesome to realize that research is progressing. It's cool to know that money I've been fundraising with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society funds most of the research going on in this field and that it actually is saving other people's lives!

Success at the Car Wash!!!

2008-06-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first fundraiser of the season. Ron and I organized a car wash at Sports Basement. It was awesome. Despite the insane heat, it went really well and at least the hoses kept us cool. We had lines of cars lined up most of the day, so it went really well. And sports basement is going to donate a portion of their proceeds from yesterday to us! Woohoo!

For everyone who came out to our car wash yesterday, THANKS!!! It went really really well. When all is said and done, we raised almost $1500 for Leukemia research yesterday!! :)

I just wanted to thank Mike Wu and his wife for bringing us lunch and hydration and for being so rad. Mike, you inspire me with all you've been through and your positive attitude, and your generousity amazes me!!! And Matt, Marlon, and Mihaela thanks for your eagerness to help us out. It was great to have a few extra hands, and I don't think we woulda done as well without you guys!!

It's just a hill - get over it

2008-06-18T09:00:00.001-07:00

Well, I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I actually think I LIKE hill repeats!!! It took me a season to say that, but I am saying it now.

Four climbs up Mount Eden last night and my legs were burning, but it was awesome! Beth said the coolest thing last night as well. We were coming up to the last 100 yards or so of the last climb of the night, and she pulls up on my side and said "we're almost done, you wanna go all out for the rest of this?" I was a little reluctant and said that I thought my legs were about done. She then told me that when she first met coach Patrick, she told him she "liked to ride until she cried." Of course crazy Patrick who does insane things like 450 mile rides just laughed and said "I think I'm gonna like you."

I may have not cried last night, but it was an awesome work out. I finally believe all the "hills are are friends" and "this is good for you" banter from the coaches. I even found myself saying that to a few of the newer riders last night. Who woulda guessed?

Below is a view from the top of Mt. Eden. It's worth the climb. Even better if I get that helmet cam, the descent would be an awesome video clip!!

Gene

2008-06-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

My teammate Randy has been pretty good about documenting some of the season this year. Here is another video clip he got of one of our team Honorees, Gene. Also, all of this video taping has given me an idea. I think I'm going to look into getting a little camera I can mount on my helmet and tape some of the century ride this year!!

25 miles and still kicking

2008-06-15T19:22:00.001-07:00

So, much to my relief, I was still able to ride 25 miles after a break from any serious riding. A group of my ex-teammates/coaches do a casual ride every weekend around stanford. I actually showed up to it for once. It was a great ride. 25 miles, which used to be an easy no brainer for me. One climb up Arastadero hill just past the wild life preserve, and a bunch of rollers down Juniper Serra and Foothill. Because this was a group of experienced riders, I think I was able to maintain about a 20 mph pace average. FUN! Going down Junipero Serra after Arastradero, I didn't get on Ruth's wheel quick enough when they decided to pace behind the tandem coach George and his wife were riding. I did about 28 mph solo, sure I'd be able to catch up and grab their wheel. Never happened. They eventually stopped and waited for me. I was shocked I was riding so fast and couldn't manage to catch them. Apparently, they got a 35 mph pace going behind the tandem! Crazy. I was laughed at when at about mile 20 I confessed that this was the longest ride I've done in over 6 months. Good times, and my legs survived.

team ride #2 and interview with Matt

2008-06-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

This is a mini interview one of my teammates taped of our head coach, Matt, about what Team in Training is, and what we're doing this summer...

So today was our second team ride! I'm proud to announce, no flats! I love it when that happens. My new tires are doing their job.

Our ride today was a loop in Portola Valley just north of Stanford. Beautiful ride, though the air quality was a little crappy from the fires. It was just a 12 mile ride that served as a time trial to divide the team up into appropriately paced ride groups for the season. I had a solid ride. Not my best time for this loop, but pretty solid. I think I did the 12 miles in about 41 mins. With a few hills in the mix, I think it averaged out to about a 17 mile per hr pace according to my sketchy math (my bike computer was on the blitz though).

After the ride, we had a brief skills clinic to help new riders with things like steering over obstacles, quick breaking, ect. Then it was off to Mike's Cafe for breakfast. I'm really bad about eating breakfast before rides (I need to work on this) so breakfast was more than welcome!

Breakfast was a good time. It was nice to socialize with and get to know some of the people I haven't really ridden with yet. My coach from last season, Patrick, works in the Math department at Foothill college. It seems as if he has recruited the whole math department for the team. I think he has 4 other teachers, and one of their spouses riding with us this season. I was sitting between all of them at breakfast (aside from pyschotic Patrick who is in South Dakota doing a 450 mile ride!). One of the Math professors, Gene, is an honoree for the team. I think he had CLL which is in remission. Anyhow, he asked me if I'd done team in training before, and if I'd done the Honolulu century before and stuff like that. Rick, another teacher in their department was sitting on my other side and interrupted to inform Gene that even if he didn't know me, that he knew who I was. He went on to say, "this is that participant from last season with Patrick, you know the one he told everyone about..." Gene, indeed knew who I was from that description. I guess all my mishaps from Hawaii last season has unfortunately gained me a little fame amoung the team-- still not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing! This year's ride is NOT going to be like that again though!!!!

Note to Self:

2008-06-09T10:10:00.001-07:00

Uhhh... I'm very embarrassed to say that my legs are rather sore after that short, easy ride yesterday! I think they forgot it is cycle season... To avoid further build up of lactic acid, I definitely must not let myself go that long again without being on my bike!

Kick - Off Ride

2008-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

So, this morning, we had our easy 15 mile kick-off ride in los altos. Weather was perfect, mid 70's and sunny- gorgeous day for riding. It was great to meet my new teammates, and see all of my old ones. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a mini-Honolulu all over again for me! 4 flats, and one blown tire. I sucked it up and just bought new tires today on my way home. I don't want a whole season like this for sure!!! From what I was told by teammates/coaches, the brand tires I got have a great reputation for not getting flats, so I'm stoked about that!

Getting ready to go put them on my bike now and maybe ride a few more miles. Can't wait for some more rides. It felt fantastic to be on the bike again. I was going an easy 30 mph down some turns by Arasterdero road asking myself why the heck it's been so long since I've really been out on my bike!

As always, our Honoree breakfast was great! We have one of our Honorees from last season, Mike, who is really cool, and got to hear a little bit more about 2 new (at least to me) honorees. It's really surreal to hear about their battles with Leukemia. I can remember things my family personally went through when my dad was sick, and it is really motivating to try and do something towards helping others with blood cancers.

Our Honorees:

Gene and Irene, and Mike

Now, I got some tires to change...

Honolulu '08 Approaching

2008-05-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

So, now that winter is over, I am actually getting back in the saddle!!! WOOHOO! Just gave my bike a good once over and it's ready for some serious riding this summer. I rejoined Team In Training for Summer season as a mentor for the Honolulu Century in September. (A mentor basically acts as ride support for the team.) I'm so stoked for the season. I haven't posted anything on this blog for awhile, cuz I really slacked with my riding over the winter. However, I've been running about 10 miles a day at the gym and am in better shape than I have been for years, so bring on hill repeats!!!

If anyone out there is looking to support a fantastic cause, I am doing this with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society to raise money for blood cancer research. I have seen first hand the good it does, and it is a charity that needs and deserves the help. If you'd like to consider making a donation, check out this link or email me!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/honoride08/nbrinkerhoff

GO TEAM!

winter duldrum

2008-01-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for the recent comments and all of the support.
Winter has brought on a sort of stagnation as far as my cycling goes. On top of going to school full time and working 2 shifts at work, let's face it, riding in the cold and rain just kind of sucks.

I need to suck it up though. Just received an email yesterday from a teammate about a charity event in Los Altos on Feb 10 to benefit cancer patients and their families. It a short 25 mile race along the Portola loop. I have ridden this route numerous times as it is our usual recovery ride. The event is called Breakaway from Cancer and will be put on by 10 time Tour de France veteran George Hincapie. Now to take my bike out for a spin or two to make sure it and my legs still work....

cyclists are good seeds

2007-12-02T07:36:00.000-08:00

So, overslept for the buddy ride yesterday morning... needed the sleep. But I slacked all week and knew I needed to get on the bike...I had some errands to run, so decided to go on my bike.

Going down almaden expressway on my way out, got a rear flat. No prob. It was quickly fixed. Only as I was filling up my tire, I realized I was using the last C02 cartridge I had on me. (I thought I had 2 which is why I neglected to take my frame pump.) No prob, as long as I don't get another flat, and it's a short ride...

I should KNOW my luck with flats by now... On the way home coming back up Almaden Expressway, I of course got another flat... I was about 2.5 miles from home at that point, so instead of calling for help, just started walking my bike down the bike lane.

A mile down the rode, 2 cyclist rode up and asked if I was Ok. Said I was fine, but just ran out of C02. They were quick to hand me some. I was way thankful, and offered to pay for it. They wouldn't take the cash, but instead just checked to make sure I had a spare tube and everything else I needed.

Like I said, cyclists are good seeds.

solvang prelude

2007-11-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!! Just had my personal best ride this weekend! I am so stoked. I went down to Solvang, Ca for the Solvang prelude and rode a metric century (63 miles). It was a great warm up for the Solvang Century in March which will be a full century. The course is rated as difficult and the prelude had about 4,000 feet of climbing. (The full century has around 5,000 feet). This was a major challenge for me. My personal drawback with cycling has been "hills." And believe me, there were plenty of them in Solvang. If I don't say so myself, I think I'm over my hill phobia now. I completed the metric century in just over 4 hrs, which is a great time (my personal best) when you take into consideration the amount of climbing involved.

This ride, I had 0 flats, 0 blown tires, 0 crashes, and 0 busted rims. It was so nice just to be able to actually ride. Though there was a lot of climbing, I can tell I'm becoming a stronger cyclist because the hills didn't really even bother me. Although the last hill they threw in was about 6 miles from the finish line and was kind of a dirty trick if I don't say so myself. Everyone thought we were done climbing and with 13 miles to go, we hit a gradual grade for about 4 miles. Then at the end of that grade there was a hill with between 12-15% grade (probably the steepest of the ride) that went for about 2.5 miles. That was just low down and mean. But I did it with no problem aside from diminishing the last of my water supply. It felt good to be able to make it over that type of a climb when I already had 55 miles on my legs.

Solvang is a cute little Danish community. I will post some pics later today. Very cool. It's like you stepped into another world. The ride was all through the country side around Solvang and was gorgeous. The weather was picture perfect. I finished before noon, so I didn't have to worry about the heat or the wind very much at all. The other riders were a breath of fresh air after Hawaii. Hawaii was a lot of fun, but full of inexperienced cyclists that would pull bone head stunts in the middle of the road. I think because this ride is so much more difficult, the majority of riders had a lot of experience. It was a pleasure to ride with them. Everyone on the road called cars out, passed on the left, let you know they were there-- in short had good road etiquette.

Can't wait til the full century!!!! For now, off to train some more. E team watch out- here I come!!!!

Great view of a winery along a ride...

Somewhere along Ballard Canynon

more scenery along the ride

even more along the route

Downtown Solvang

more of Solvang

I dunno, there was a "tarantula crossing" sign infront of M. Jackson's ranch?!?!?!

my award...

2007-11-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

so we had a wrap up party last weekend for those who did the honolulu century. i was sick as a dog with the pneumonia i undoubtedly caught at the rainy pasta party. it was cool to see my teammates, Ron had framed photos of each of us crossing the finish line and a disc of various photos for us, and we had awards.

Joseph Wall is one of our honorees. He has able to go to Hawaii with us at the last minute because someone else couldn't make it. Joseph suffers from non-hodgkin's lymphoma, and they have just discontinued his chemo because of side effects. He is terminal. Joseph, not only has the misfortune of this disease, but also is not fortunate enough to have what most of us have. He has no family (they are in Peru) , no medical insurance, no job, (he was homeless before he got into disabled housing through the county) but you'll never hear him complain about a word of it. He is also one of the sweetest, most humble people I have ever met. He actuallly reminds me quite a bit of my father. Sitting on the plane to Hawaii wearing his mask another passenger asked someone on our team what our group was, and about Joseph, ect. The passenger donated some money and asked that we use it to get Joseph some souvineers in Hawaii. We all signed them and gave them to him at the wrap up - that was great!

My award is quite silly compared to Joseph's , but Ron put together a few comical awards about things that happened in Hawaii. For instance, Ben went surfing the day before the ride and didn't wear a rash guard. Well, as a result his chest was very tender the next day, and he had to ride the race with bandaids over his nipples to keep his jersey from rubbing. So, Ben of course received the "best use of a bandaid" award.

My award was the "I'm through with my bike, but not with cycling" award. If you don't know the story it's because by the end of the ride, I wanted to through my bike in the ocean. As I crossed the finish line, that's what I yelled as I threw my bike!!!

upcoming events

2007-10-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Sooooo, despite the setbacks in Hawaii, I am ready to jump into some more major rides. I did love it. The Honolulu ordeal has only inspired me to work harder and be more prepared next time.

I just registered for the Solvang Century in March in southern California. I will be doing this event through Team in Training as well. In the meanwhile, I will be competing in the Solvang Prelude on November 3rd with a few friends. This will be a metric century (63 miles) along the main route for the Solvang Century.

I have also decided to do the Seattle to Portland race this spring. This is a little over 200 miles, and I am going to attempt to do it in one day. I am really looking forward to that ride. I love Seattle - it is one of the most beautiful cities I have been too. I am looking forward to seeing Portland and enjoying the scenery inbetween. I am planning on taking a few cycling friends I've made from TNT to that event with me as well.

Next matter of business will be a new bike. My sister's father in law has one he is willing to sell to me. I am way excited. It is a trek as well, but a much nicer one than the mangled pile of carbon I have lying in the gargage. It is complete with all durace compenents (top of the line) and race lite tires! I can't wait to get on that baby. I hope to have it by the Solvang Prelude.

I am currently trying to kick some pneumonia I picked up in Hawaii. (It must have been the rain at the pasta party and along the ride.) As soon as I am well my next adventure in cycling will be trying the velodrome track in San Jose. A little different than what I'm used to- but sounds like fun!

Honolulu Century 2007 - the innagural century

2007-10-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Hawaii! I was sad to leave, but had such a great experience. I would love to live there- but am afraid I'd never get anything done! So I have take a few moments to share some of the amazing experiences I had over the last 5 days.
We arrived in Honolulu Friday afternoon. After checking into our hotel we picked up our bikes and got them back together. Friday evening was spent socializing and spending some time with my teammates from TNT. I have been training with this group for the last 4 months, but once we got in Hawaii I had the opportunity to truly get to know them. What an amazing group of people they are! Everyone of them has such a great heart and I developed a bond with nearly every one of them.
Saturday morning was our "shake down ride." This was just a short ride with the team around Honolulu to make sure that our bikes were in working order and ready for the race after being shipped 2500 miles. My bike seemed to be doing great. (But keep reading!)
Saturday afternoon I spent the day down at the beach on a surf board. Those that know me, know I love to surf, so it was a fun time to be able to do so in Waikiki. I did have a minor set back while surfing - I was stung by a sea urchant. (OUCH!) FYI: Vinegar is a lifesaver if you ever find your self in the same situation. (Though a few people at the beach did offer to pee on my foot, I just opted for the vinegar.)
Saturday evening we had a pre ride pasta party. This was a carb loading exercise and social event for all the TNT participants. There were quite a few chapters from TNT doing the Honolulu Century. We had our Silicon Valley team, and teams from SF, Napa, LA, Washington, Alaska, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Florida, and Indiana. It was a cool event. A cancer survivor on our Silicon Valley team who rode in the race was the guest speaker. There was a down pour of rain right in the middle of the banquet (which was on a hotel patio) which made for an interesting, but fun dinner.
Sunday morning was the big event. We met in our hotel lobby at 5:30 am and rode to the start together as a team. I had any and everything that could go wrong on a bike happen to me during the ride. But I started out to accomplish something and I eventually did -- 11 hours later. It became comical by the end of the day. First off, the ride is an international event. It is a huge tourist event for Janpanese riders as JAL is one of the sponsers. There were a lot of local riders, a few hundred TNT participants, Canadian, Austrailan, US, and Japanese riders were among the 4000 participants.

Silicon Valley Cycle Team Summer 2008

me before all the drama started

my ride group

My ride group again - we had squirrel tails on the back of our helmets, cause we had an affinity for running over the dang things on the road!

Here are a few of my escapades in the course of my ride.:
At about mile 10 I ran over some glass in the road and got a flat tire. My ride group stopped with me to fix my flat. (We broke off into ride groups of about the same pace. We had 6 partipants, a coach and a mentor who was our ride support in our group.) Just after my flat was the biggest climb of the ride. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated it would be, and the view at the top made it all worth while. Then came what I thought would be the fun part-- the descent. After taking a photo op at the top, we got back on our bikes to start the descent. Going about 40 mph on a ride bike down a steep hill is quite an adrenline rush. Only as soon as I got up to speed going town this hill, I realized I dropped my chain and blew my rear bike tire. (Scary.) I must have had someone watching over me because I somehow managed to get to the side of the road unscathed. So I was on the side of the freeway at mile 15 fixing my second flat tire when I heard a lot of commotion. I looked up to see that an inexperienced rider had suddenly hit his brakes in the middle of the high speed desent, causing the rider behind him - a girl on the LA TNT team to hit his rear tire and go flying over his head landing on her head in the middle of the freeway. I ran over and my coach who had stopped to help me started directing traffic around the crash. I took care of the injured rider until the ambulance got there. Luckily, the other rider had no major injuries. (That in itself was amazing as she had cracked her helmet in the fall. But I guess the helmet did it's job.)45 minutes or so later, the she left in the ambulance and I went back to working on my flat. After changing the tube, the tire blew out again. At this point my coach and I realized that the problem was actually not the tube, but that I had blown out the side wall of my actual tire. I had plenty of spare tubes, but no extra tires. I was way bummed because it was only mile 15 and I wanted to finish this dang ride! My coach, Patrick, took the tire off his bike and told me to finish on his tire and he would drop out because he had done this ride before. When all was said and done, and my tire was fixed I was a good hour to hour and a half behind the rest of my ride group. We usually pace line about 16-18 mph on the flats. Sometimes 20. I paced into the wind with no pace line at 25 mph over the next 30 miles and actually caught my ride group shortly before the 50 mile mark!

Bethann, Colin, and Mike

Chris, Gloria, and Naomi- I was still somewhere miles behind jamming on my own at this point...

Needless to say after pushing that hard, I was beat by the time we reached the 50 mile mark, and I little discouraged that I still had another 50 miles to go. I got back on my bike after the 50 mile rest stop and just hung in the back of my group to try and recoup. They were trying to pick up the pace and I was burnt out at this point, so I told them I was going to take it easy on that leg and meet up with them at the next rest stop.
At about mile 63 we were crossing over a narrow bridge that was uneven and wet and muddy. I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow, my tire slid out from underneath my and I laid my bike down on my left side. This was my peak of absolute FRUSTRATION! I couldn't hold back anymore and just started crying more out of frustration than being hurt. A man fishing on the bridge helped me up and said that I was the 4th rider he had watched crash in that spot. I got to the side of the road and started to evaluate how badly my bike and my body were hurt. As I was putting pieces back together on my bike, I watched another rider crash in the same spot. I took a breather in the grass on the side of the road and tried to recompose myself. I had some bruises and road rash but no major injuries. In absolute frustration, I tried to decide whether or not to keep going with the ride. I then thought of my dad and the reasons I signed on for the ride in the first place, immediately started crying again only to look up and see my ride support, Colin ride up to check on me. He hadn't known I had crashed, but was checking on me since he hadn't seen me in a few minutes. Once again I was being watched over. He helped me back on my bike and we rode into the next rest stop together.
To my surprise, at the next rest stop, my coach, Patrick, showed up on a new tire he had gotten at one of the aid stations. (I had left him with my worthless one.) From that point on, Patrick rode by my side knowing how frustrated I was and said that he was going to see to it that I crossed the finish line if he had to carry me across. We rode for 10 miles or so with no problems. Then I got my 4th flat. I was out of spare tubes at this point, but Patrick saved the day by giving me his last spare. Back on the road we picked up the pace until mile 80. Somehow, I must have hit a rock or something and broken the spokes on my front tire. Because of the broken spokes, I had to do the last 20 miles at a 10 mph pace. That sucks when you're used to riding a 20 mph pace! But by 80 miles, there was no way that I wasn't going to finish. Patrick and I slowly made our way toward the finish line. Then about 100 yards from the finish, I got my 5th and final flat! Patrick and I sat down and laughed so hard that we cried! We contemplated just carrying the bike over the finish but decided that since we had picked up another tube at the last rest stop "just in case" we might as well use it. We were now quite inept at quickly fixing flats and got back on the bikes and rode across the finish line at 5:22 pm with a lai of busted bike tubes around our necks! By that point we just laughed and I quickly handed my bike to someone and asked them to get it out of my site for awhile.
I celebrated actually finishing by going for a swim in the ocean in all of my bike gear. I then disassembled my bike to by shipped back to the mainland and got some interesting looks as I walked down the street back to my hotel in my bike gear soaking wet from my victory swim.
Sunday evening we had a team victory party. Dinner and music. It was a great time. You wouldn't believe how much food a group of cyclists who have just rode a 100 miles can consume.

my ride group at the victory party (minus one wet slightly behind rider who was still at the hotel changing...)

Monday a group of us rented mopeds and did our recovery ride on bikes with a motor! (So much less work!) We just rode around the island and had a good time together. A group of us went snorkeling at Haunauma Bay which was amazing. We had lunch at cheeseburger in paradise, went riding around the island some more and hung out as a team that evening.

the TNT biker gang: Scott, Me, Hilton, Ron

Tuesday morning we took our mopeds for one last spin and packed up and headed back to the mainland. All and all it was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had, even with the set backs. I worked hard to accomplish what I set out to do, raised 4200 for Leukemia reseach, and made 40 great new friends who I plan on continuing to ride with!
Thank you to my family and friends for all the support throughout this summer. I wish everyone of you could've been there with me.
*