LiveStrong 2007 recap

Once again Heather Radcliffe, Gary Worth and I signed up for a LiveStrong Fundraiser, but this year we were joined by Catherine Babin, Buz Tomasino and Gerry Remsen. As a Team we raised $5800.00 in support of a cure for Cancer. This year’s ride was scheduled for Sunday, August 26th, which turned out to be a VERY hot and HUMID day. Great for Catherine who likes the heat, not good for me or Gerry. But so be it. So we all met for dinner after checking into our various hotels and picking up our packets and swag (for those of us that raised over $2500) on Saturday. This is a good time to mention that my number was 666. Needless to say I got alot of attention because of it. We then had a great time waiting over 40minutes for our reserved table. We finally just took the best option which was 2 tables next to one another. No biggie, but this meant less family style dishes to share. After dinner it was off to bed. Catherine, Heather, her fiancé John and I shared a room which was located right across the street from the venue so we were stoked!! After some basic girl chatter, which I am sure cracked John up, although he did not let on, we went to sleep.

6 hours later…..

Our alarm went off, the phone rang and we were up, sort of. It was like deja vu for Heather and I. We all rummaged around for our gear and headed out to the cars to grab the bikes. We were going to grab food over at the venue, which was so close, did I mention that. It was great planning, if I do say so myself. They had bagels and fruit waiting for us which was great. The 4 of us started making the calls to find the rest of the gang and there they were. Shortly after that we heard “Blake, Heather” and we turned around and once again in the midst of thousands of riders, runners and walkers, Joann Plock found us. She was riding with some old friends of Heathers. At this point it is of course picture time, so Catherine breaks out the camera for an assortment of shots. But then the loud speaker comes on and it is time for the cattle, I mean bikers to squeeze into the proverbial pens. Everyone was segregated by route as usual. We were having so much fun at that point I think we forgot about the 100 miles that we were going to be dealing with in just a few minutes. They had set up a very large screen so everyone could see the speeches made by various people and then…..Lance came on stage and did his thing. Then he put his helmet on and headed out for his personalized ride with a special cancer candidate. Then it was our time…100 milers get ready!

The roads started out the same as the year before and then things changed. The 40 mile, 70 mile and 100 mile routes stayed together for the first 20 miles and then the 40 milers split off to head back. Lucky them! It was hot!! We had lost Gerry for awhile. He powered up to the front from the start. At first we hung in there with him, but it was a bit fast for the early stages of our long day. “Pace ourselves” was our motto. The heat was getting to me. But I kept drinking and we would stop and refill our bottles at every other stop, so that helped. We meet back up with Gerry at the second rest stop. It was fantastic how they had it set up. Lots of different options for refueling; banana’s, power bars in ALL flavors, PB&J sandwiches and fluids and gels. Then off we went. Shortly after our departure the hills kicked in. Gerry and Gary decided after the first set of hills that they would take the turn for the 70 mile route and call it a day. Unfortunately we did not know this but we figured it out after making a few calls. So our group of 6 was down to 4. It was a good thing Gerry turned off when he did due to heat exhaustion because the next bit was a killer. Huffs Church road is a 6mile climb….not just a friendly little climb. It’s a cursing, swearing, wishing you were dead kind of climb. BUT we all did it and with some grace still intact. The worst part about the climb was at the top, there were all these chipper people cheering us on. I can honestly say, we all wanted to run them over with our bikes. But then there was a bright side….a rest stop with great food and homemade recovery drinks. There was one more decent climb after that but Buz swore it was smaller so we ventured forward. Buz had analyzed every aspect of the route so he prepared us for all the hills. This was a double edged sword in my mind. Sometimes it is just best to be surprised. Anyway, the last 10 miles were tricky. We were getting tired and our legs were slowing down. But then we saw roads that looked familiar…and then our hotel. (remember how close our place was) YEAH! We did it, we were almost done. Now all we could think about at this moment was how we were going to line up for the finish line and what tasty food we could indulge in at the post event party. Last year the spread was impressive. So we all crossed the finish line together for the photo and then we were cheered on by Gary, Gerry and friends, which was nice. It was a long day and apparently the 40 milers and 70 milers were very hunger because the only thing they had left was beer. I went over to the burger tent to see if they had some buns to naw on and the kid behind the table said they were all out but then I saw it…a cooked burger sitting on the side. It was probably cold from sitting there and no one wanted a cold burger, but guess what? I could care less if it had 4 cold legs growing out of it, I needed food….and a beer. I asked the kid if that burger had fallen on the floor or something, trying the figure out what was wrong with it. He said nothing, but it had been there for a few minutes. I told him to hand it over and I ate it and it was awesome! We were very disappointed by the lack of nourishment available and someone made a stink so they brought in pizza’s. But by this time we were ready to head out and grab a real meal and so we did.

It was a truly suffering experience but it was great to say we did it and why. And we all agreed to come back next year. The tradition will continue.

Thanks to everyone who supported us!

LiveStrong 2006 recap

Philadelphia Live Strong Challenge 2006

Once again Heather Radcliffe and I signed up for a Lance Armstrong Cancer fundraiser, but this year we registered for the LiveStrong Challenge. The Tour of Hope ride was not being held this year. As an added bonus, another Skylands Cycling team mate joined us, Gary Worth. As a Team we raised $4440.00 in support of a cure for Cancer. The ride was scheduled for Sunday, September 10^th, which turned out to be a gorgeous day (unlike the extremely wet non-ride last year). So Heather and I planned our trip with the intention of meeting up with Gary the morning of. On Saturday night I had a wedding to attend so Heather met me at my parents house and we reloaded the car with gear and bikes and headed off to Philly. At this point it was probably 10:30pm and we were both so excited about the fact that the day had finally arrived and that the weather man (who normally cannot be trusted) promised us a great day to ride for a wonderful cause. We arrived at the hotel around mid night, and although we were still excited to be there I think it is safe to say we were a bit silly with exhaustion. Heather had already packed in a full weekend in one day and me the same. So we were ready for our 4 hours of sleep. The front desk attendant at the hotel gave us our keys and pointed us to our room. He could do this because the room was maybe 50 ft from the front door. Coincidently, it was also on the outskirts of the post wedding party. So now the silly’s have worn off and the terror of not sleeping, due to drunken people, settles in. “Ok, let’s check out the sound proofing of the room and move on from there”, we said as we plowed our bikes through the crowd of well dressed intoxicated wedding guests who are now just staring at us. We open the door to our room to find a large board room table and 6 very nice leather board room swivel chairs. “I get the table” I say…..Where are the beds? Panic sets in, knowing the hotel is over booked. Heather notices a door beyond the board room and to our surprise it is a bedroom. We are saved. And it was sound proofed!!!!

4 hours later…..

Our alarm went off, the phone rang and we were up, sort of. We had laid out our gear and food the night before so we didn’t have to think too much at this point. We headed over to the restaurant for our free continental breakfast where we met a bunch of other riders preparing for the carb feast which was about to begin. After breakfast we packed up the car and headed over to the LAF parking lot. Once we unpacked the car we rode over to the registration tent where we picked up our numbers, favors and my fancy backpack (fundraiser qualification), which I love. Then we headed back to the car to reassess what we needed to bring and pin our numbers etc. All of a sudden we hear, “Blake, Heather” and we turn around and in the midst of thousands of riders, runners and walkers, Gary finds us. Ok, it helped that we were wearing our Skylands kits, but still what are the odds. So we met up again at his car and headed back over to the lineup area. Unfortunately we didn’t get further than 100 ft. when I realized I had a flat. Back to Gary’s car we went to check out my tire. Once that was fixed we headed over. The crowds were amazing. It’s 6:30am and everyone was excited and chatty. Then it was line up time for the 2900 participants that attended. They broke it down into 3 groups for the riders. Gary, Heather and I were riding the 70mile category so we were in group 2, next to the 100milers. There was what seemed like thousands to 100milers. Then the time came for us to head out. It was thrilling!

The roads were wonderful and hilly, but good hilly (Long with 5-12%grades). We actually powered up them pretty well. I never thought I would say that but I am. I don’t know if it was the company, the roads or the spirit but we had a natural high all day. In the beginning we were riding with everyone as a long huge pack. But after the first rest stop, which we passed, the group started to thin out. We rode through back roads, main roads, parks/forests and around the center of Philly. We stopped at the 2^nd and 4^th rest stop to refuel and deal with mechanicals. Heather got a flat at the worst part of the ride. We had just finished riding around the river, which was flat and free of traffic. After we crossed over the bridge we were back on main roads which were under construction. They were grading the road so it was somewhat scary riding on, in a large group, with people who may or may not be comfortable on a bike. Anyway, we were finally off the main road and headed up this steep, curvy residential hill. At the top was rest stop #4 which we had decided ahead of time to stop at. I reached the top first (weird right?) and waited for Gary and Heather. Now this in itself was odd to me. But then I saw Gary. Then we waited. Again, this was strange for me to be this far ahead of Heather who is much stronger than I. So now I was beginning to worry. Gary thought she may have had a mechanical. Then we saw her, she looked exhausted. It turned out that she rode the whole hill with a tire that was almost completely flat. Does she rock or what!! Anyway, the mechanic at the rest stop hooked her up with a new tube etc. while Gary and I replenished her water bottles and grabbed some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I don’t think I have ever had a better PB&J in my life. Then we were on our way to the finish line. The last part of the ride was rather hilly but fun none the less. At this point we were passing a number of people who were now pushing their bikes up the hills. I would have to say that this part of the ride was definitely too hilly for the 10/40 mile group which was said to be easier than the 70/100 mile route, but apparently ended on the same path. Everyone still had a smile on their face knowing the end justifies the means. As we crossed the finish line we were still so excited. We did it and we did it together from start to finish. We finished in about 4 hours, including rest stops.

Afterwards we had various people come over to us and compliment us on our kits. We also ran into people who knew us, the club or Bob Cary. We finally sat down with our pasta and salad and drank a free Shiner Beer and then called it a day. It was Great and I think I can speak for all of us…we will be back next year. The only bummer was NO LANCE, but it’s not about Lance is it!

Thanks to everyone who supported us!!

Tour of Hope 2005 Recap

2005 Tour of Hope Charity ride

The weekend began with heather Radcliffe and me driving down to Washington DC on Friday night during rush hour. Not our brightest moment, but we did what we had to do. Taking in to account the torrential down pour of rain and the waves of traffic, we actually made decent time. We arrived at the JW Marriott at 10:30 when Heather dashed in to pick up our ride packets from the front desk. Then we were off to our hotel .5miles away. After checking in and setting up our gear we were off to sleep….until 3:15am when 3 alarms went off with the hopes of waking us up. Once downstairs we grabbed the car and dragged our bikes out onto the pouring rain. There were 3 other riders at the front of the hotel with us at this time. They asked to borrow our bike pump which we of course said yes to. After they finished pumping up all their tires they then did ours with out even a hesitation. (we didn’t ask) They tried to ask us in English/Spanish to wait for them and their 2 other friends before leaving to go to the Marriott. We decided this was a good idea since it was still raining heavily and it was very dark. A pack ride sounded wise. So off we went in to the dark cold morning with 5 fellow riders.

Once we arrived at the Marriott we blended in with the other 350-400 riders waiting to pack into the Maryland bound buses. We all lined up and then handed our bikes onto the Budget rent a trucks and then jumped on a bus. Heather and I had the special seats which came with interior leaking, so we didn’t need to take off our rain gear. The hotel had put together breakfast bags for us so we began to eat while waiting to drive away. During the drive to MD we had the opportunity to listen to some of the other passengers who ended up being 2004 National Tour of Hope team members. They entertained us for the next hour and a half with various stories of Lance, Sheryl, and the ride from LA to DC. And then it happened….we arrived at the Howard College campus where the ride was to start from. Instantly the bus was filled with sounds of excitement and anticipation. Then the doors opened and a woman boarded. She spoke but no one really heard what she had said due to our overwhelming amount of exuberance until she commented on how well we all took the news. Apparently the other buses were rather upset with her when she had finished talking to them. Then she walked off the bus. Now the confusion set in and we are all trying to piece back together the words which she had just spoken. Then it hit us, the ride was cancelled. A few counties had pulled their permits due to road flooding and hazardous conditions. The fun festival at the Ellipse was cancelled as well due to it being submerged under 5 inches of water. It was as if we had all eaten a large chocolate cake and was crashing from the sugar rush. There wasn’t any anger just true disappointment from not fulfilling our promise to ourselves and to those who supported us financially. The ride home was much longer or so it seemed but we still enjoyed the stories that others were telling.

The question now was what we were going to do next? After 3 hours on a bus with various gels, tubes and other accessories shoved in your back pockets the only thing you could do was stretch and walk around looking for our promised shirts. At this point that was all we were going to get. The ride was gone, the party at the ellipse was gone but we still had our shirt. The light at the end of our dark tunnel. Rumors started flying about a ‘something’ at 1pm in the hotel ballroom for people who were registered to ride and family members of the National Team. Unfortunately the hotel could not guarantee space for all of the riders so it was going to be on a first come first serve basis. The question was space for what? So Heather and I had 4 hours to kill, so we changed into our jeans and went to breakfast. We had been up for over 6hrs with only 3hrs of sleep so any food would have looked and tasted amazing but we the hotel did have a nice restaurant for us. Here we met some guy from California who flew out just for the Tour and although it didn’t work out for him the way he thought, he still plans to be back again next year. Everyone that we spoke with had the same sentiment, disappointment for the day but anticipation for the upcoming years Tour of Hope. Breakfast really didn’t take as long as we had hoped so we decided to slither back into our wet and cold bike shorts and socks and go for a ride over to our hotel where we will check out and grab the car so we can return once more to the Marriott, change back into our jean and wait for whatever they are in the midst of planning.

So our adventure continues with us sort of misplacing our hotel. The sad thing is the hotel was up 3 blocks and over 5 and I somehow messed that up. I have an excellent sense of direction! So as we pull up the driveway a piece of Heathers equipment pops off and the valet attendant starts flailing his arms around and screaming while running towards me. Keep in mind that since the ‘accident’ I am a bit more sensitive, so this is making me nervous to say the least. Then you hear a crunch……a car ran over Heathers equipment. (Nothing that can’t be replaced but lame none the less) We finally make our way down to the bottom of the hotel where we stake out a nice area to wait with some new friends. Then it happens, the doors open but not for us. The family members of the National Team are allowed in first. Heather and I have never seen so many family members! Each NT rider had at least 20 family members enter the ballroom. So now I am calculating that we have just lost at least 480 places in the ballroom. But luckily Heather had scoped out the best area to wait in because we were right in front of the open doors. Then it was our turn to enter and I swear it was like a concert for the most popular band of the year. The old, the young, the big and tall all began to push and rush into this room which only contained a stage and 2 large flat screens. So now we are blindly waiting and rushing for what? Well they successfully put on a really nice show and presentation which included Lance and the National Tour of Hope Team. It was so exciting to see so many amazing and strong people and to hear their stories while being surrounded by other people who have some understanding of what they have gone through as well as have a deep passion for cycling. Once the presentation was over we had the opportunity to meet 3 of the Discovery Team members and get their autographs. Then it was over. Heather and I packed back in the car and headed home after making a quick stop at my uncles for a brief visit. At this point we are basically slap happy but at least we were having a good time. Rain or shine we will be back next year for another run at the ride to help the cause and fight the fight!