We've Been Busy

We've had one or two things going on around here lately, so our blog posts are a little behind but hopefully we can get you caught up on the past few weeks of our training.  Thankfully, we have good news on a a few fronts:

1.  We met our fundraising goal!  I can't begin to express my gratitude to everyone who has donated and supported us through our training.  Thank you!

2.  We haven't had any major incidents in our training rides (although I still manage to fall every once in awhile... I suppose I have to keep things interesting) and we've conquered some hills that I didn't think were possible

3.  There are only two more long rides before we'll be heading out for the big day.  It's hard to believe that only a few short months ago we went out for our first short training ride with the group and now we are ready to hit the 70 mile mark.

A few weeks ago we met in Lancaster at the Landis Valley Museum for our 11th group ride.  After a number of really hilly rides, the coaches decided to take it easy on us and give us a relatively flat course.  Considering we were breaking the 60 mile mark, I think it was a good move on their part!  The course started in Lancaster and took us all over the surrounding county - through Lititz, Ephrata, Paradise, and we even had a rest stop at the Strasburg Railroad before turning back towards Lancaster to end the ride.  All in all it was an enjoyable day, and relatively easy considering the distance.

Kui and Jenelle at the top of White Rock

Of course, we couldn't enjoy the flat riding for very long.  One of our coaches recommended climbing White Rock for some of our mid-week rides.  Prior to getting involved with Team in Training, I had no idea what White Rock was... or the challenge it poses to many riders.  On one of our first training rides though, I remember having a conversation with some of the TNT alumni about the different climbs we would tackle during our training.  They talked about King's Gap and how it would prepare us for the Switchbacks and Spooner in Tahoe (the two major climbs that are part of the ride).  They also pointed in the general area of some small mountains off in the distance and referred to them as White Rock.  I could tell by the conversation that White Rock was no small feat.  They told me I would climb it by the end of my training... and I told them they were crazy.  Well - Jer and I tackled it twice in one week and successfully made it to the top both times.  It was a challenge to say the least but we did it!


Our most recent ride took us back to Lancaster.  We met at the Hans Herr elementary school for a 65 mile ride through more Lancaster countryside.  The first half of the ride was full of climbing (our coaches seem to be pretty big on the climbing!).  Along with a number of good hills they planned for us to climb Welsh Mountain.  Thankfully we had the experience of climbing White Rock earlier in the week so we were definitely prepared.  The second half of the ride was relatively painless.  One of our teammates, Rich, brought his camera along and captured some video of the team.  Hopefully this gives you a little glimpse into how we've been spending each of our Saturdays since the beginning of February.  Enjoy!