Hot Wheels

My new BFF

Earlier this week I had the sheer pleasure of picking up the beauty you see to the right.  She is a Cannondale Synapse 5 105.  To be honest, I still don't really know what that means.  What I do know is that my bike is pretty. :)  It's different shades of purple with some white and silver accents - it has girl written all over it!  


To those of you that know me and the current level of my cycling ability, I realize this bike ride might sound a little crazy; slightly insane perhaps.  As I've started telling people that I signed up for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride with Team in Training, the conversations have gone a little something like this:


Me: Hey, Jer and I decided to sign up for a 100 mile bike ride!
Them: Wow! That's pretty far. You must be a serious cyclist.
Me: It definitely is far... but no, I'm not a serious cyclist. I haven't been on a bike in years.
Them: *Weird look on face* Oh, have you lost your mind??

Measurements at my final fitting

Again, I realize it may sound a little rash to some. Let's consider the facts: I haven't actually ridden a bike in years; I don't know how to change gears, when to change gears, or what gear to be in when; I'm scared to be clipped into the pedals; I'm a little nervous about going crazy fast downhill; and when the bike shop owner explained the difference in Carbon vs Alloy frames and Compact vs some other kind of gear system I totally tuned out... however, I have serious motivation.  My motivation is this: to help better the lives of the individuals who have been diagnosed with blood cancers, to support their families, to help raise money to find a cure, and to finally one day rid the world of these diseases.


You may be asking, just how does a 100 mile bike ride do that?  WELL... along with the training it will take to get ourselves to be able to ride that distance, we are also fundraising for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  Our goal is to raise $8,200 that will go toward the fight.  We won't be fundraising alone either - the entire Central PA Team in Training group will be fundraising as well (along with all the other Team in Training chapters across the country).  As a team we will bring in tens of thousands of dollars for this cause.... and that's what this bike ride is really about.


So, while we will blog here about our training and our rides, we will also be introducing you to our honor teammates.  We will be riding for them - as they have already fought, or in some cases are still fighting, some type of blood cancer.  I look forward to those posts!  I also look forward to our final post... once we have completed the ride... and telling you all, that with your help and support and donations, we did it!


Here we go!
Jenelle
Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things - Joe Paterno


P.S. - This blog was originally going to be about my experience getting fitted for a bike, picking one out and all that good stuff.  I got a little off track... I guess we'll save that story for another time. :)

The Countdown Is On

I added a new countdown clock to the blog. I thought it would be appropriate, given the event and short timeline. Also, it got me thinking about the task at hand, so I did the math. We need to raise over $50 per day to meet our fundraising goal by the day of the race. Wow, that's a long way to go. We'll need all the help we can get from our friend's and family to make it happen.

Jenelle checking out her bike with Buck, the shop's watch dog

On another note, we've picked up Jenelle's new bike from World Cup Ski and Cycle in Camp Hill. They have been great to work with, we're lucky to have such a great local bike shop. Stay tuned for Jenelle's blog post about the experience.

We've been training hard at the local gym, using our free time for swimming (Jenelle), and weight training (me), and spin class (both of us).

Can I see your ID?

We got our Road ID's today (another Kui suggestion / requirement). These little tags have emergency contact information engraved, in the event that someone finds one of us unconscious on the side of the road. Let's hope we never need them, but good to have just in case someone needs to ID us. All kidding aside, it's important for emergency responders to contact your family in the event that you can't tell them whom you would like them to call, or so they know what medical conditions you may have. If anyone would like to purchase one, and needs a $1 coupon, give me a shout. They send you more coupons after you purchase anything. If nothing else you'll have your loved one's phone numbers handy when you lose your smart phone.

Specialized

Here is the bike I'll be riding over the next four months, a 2006 Specialized Roubaix.
Kui convinced me to buy this baby about five years ago. Looking back now, I know his plan was to one day get me to sign up for one of these crazy bike rides.
I've never ridden it more than ten miles at one sitting. I guess you could say I'm a newbie when it comes to endurance cycling, but I'm an expert compared to Jenelle.
We're picking up her brand new bike from the shop on Monday. This will be very interesting. I don't think I have ever seen her on a bike that was actually moving before (spin class doesn't count). Pretty soon she'll be riding around the neighborhood with me in sub-freezing temperatures.