Tri-ing Something New

A full year has past since we began training for the 100 mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe. Thanks to all of our family and friends, we were able to raise and donate over $8,000 dollars to help a truly admirable organization of people. It's a new year, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is still out there funding advanced cancer research and supporting families that must fight to keep their loved ones from the grasp of blood cancers. So we must continue to do what we can to help them.

Its in that spirit that we've decided to take on another physical and mental challenge this year, and try something new. Jenelle and I will be training for the Mt. Gretna triathlon (Got the Nerve? Triathlon) this spring, and gathering donations to help the LLS.

Because its a spring event, we've already started our training; Swimming 5ish days a week at the pool, running and cycling with our TNT friends on the weekends. I'm a terrible swimmer, so I need all of the time I can get in the pool. Jenelle's a natural so she won't need much training at all.

Today we rode 21 cold and windy miles with the 2013 AMBBR team in the Elizabethtown area. We were planning on doing a brick run afterwards, but threw in the towel when we realized that our toes were numb when we got back to the car. We're looking forward to warmer weather and regaining the sensation in our fingers and toes.

Please visit our LLS page and donate if you can!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/cpa/nervetri13/teamnace

The Gretna triathlon website.
http://www.getupandmove.org/gotthenerve/index.php

We did it!

We crossed the finish line together with about 6 hours of moving time. It was a beautiful day... Now we can't wait to eat dinner.

Fixing a seat post issue on road from Truckee.

100 Miles!

At the starting line.

Eating lunch at King's Beach.

We Did It!

Tahoe Here We Come

Alright, so we haven't been very good with the blogging lately. We promise we'll do more posts while we are in Tahoe. The only difference is that we will only be able to use the blog app on our phones so the posts will be much shorter.

We've reached a number of ride milestones since our last update. We've had two long distance training rides, one 70 miles and the other 75 miles. The 70 mile ride was called Kings Gap senior. This ride took us up Kings Gap twice (in cycling terms, a hill repeat.) Also, you'll notice I was able to obtain a proper training GPS, which allowed me to ditch the Google "My Tracks" app on my cell phone. The Garmin is pretty sweet. It automatically uploads the data to the web when I get home, and lets me embed the ride stats into the blog post. No more copy and paste! You can click on the "View Details" link at the bottom right to see the elevation/speed/cadence graphs.

King's Gap Sr was really uneventful in terms of mishaps (it's always a good day when it works out like that!). The weather was beautiful and our pace was fast. My mentor Cary even got a quick picture of me on the second Kings Gap descent, hence the big smile. I think Kui is the only person who actually smiles on the ascents. :-)

We started and ended the day at the South Middleton Township Park, with a total of 2,500 ft of elevation gain. I must say, riding in the Boiling Springs area is one of our favorite places in central PA to ride. There is a good mix of farms, forest, and streams to keep the day interesting and fun.

The following Saturday was our last team ride before heading to Tahoe, and we increased the total mileage to 75 miles. In other words, it's like driving from Harrisburg to Allentown. The ride started near the Renaissance Faire grounds. We rode around towns like Cornwall, E-Town, Manheim, and Mt. Gretna.

Again, we had some very good luck with our ride. The only mishap was when Shelly dropped her chain, and bent the derailleur. A quick re-seating of the chain and push on the derailleur to get it back into place and we were back on the road.

It was during this ride that Jenelle and I realized the potential benefits of chamois cream. :-) A long day in the saddle produces friction in some very sensitive parts of your body.  We hadn't taken anyone's advice on using the cream, but after this ride we wished we would have.  We went home and ordered some from Amazon right away and had it delivered here in a couple days (I love Amazon Prime)... just in time for Tahoe!  It's hard to believe that in 14 weeks we went from riding 20 miles to 75 miles... and now we are ready to tackle the 100 mile barrier in a few days!

Last night Jenelle and I starting packing up all of our cycling gear and clothing for Tahoe. We have to pack everything we need for the race in our carry on (we can't take any chances in our luggage being lost!). Since we don't know exactly what the weather will be, that means we have to pack just about all of our gear (it's also tough because when we start the morning of the ride it will probably be around 40 degress, but it will be over 70 degrees by the time we finish).  That means our carry on's are stuffed to the brim with things like our helmets, gloves, tights, arm and leg warmers, pedals, shoes, cleats, water bottles, bike tools and clothing for all of the special events leading up to the race. The bags are definitely jammed packed. I just hope that the TSA doesn't give us a hard time with all of the weird looking cycling paraphernalia.

We are flying out of BWI the night before the rest of the team with Kui and Shelly. The plan is to stay in Reno Thursday night and get some much needed rest (at altitude) before all of the activities start. We just got our intineray and the days leading up to the ride are filled with different registrations, paperwork, team meetings, and dinners.  We even have a practice ride on Saturday to help prepare us for the big day on Sunday.  From what we hear, we pass a Pearl Izumi outlet (Jenelle's favorite cycling outfitter) on our practice ride so we have to leave a little room in our carry ons for the goodies we buy when we are out there!

It really is hard to believe that in less than a week we will have accomplished what we set out to do in January of this year.  Keep checking back over the weekend - we will post as many updates on our progress as we can!

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!

The 50 Mile Barrier

This past Saturday we broke the 50 mile barrier.  The total length of this ride was 56ish miles.  To accurately depict our morning, I'm going to go back a day or two to set the scene.  The day before the ride, I decided to wash the Equinox since it was coated in pollen from the spring tree blossoms. That morning, like every other, was a mad rush around the house to eat breakfast, grab all of our gear, and run out the door.  Jenelle grabbed a Chobani and mixed in some granola, I have no idea what I ate, probably some leftovers.  We get in the car and head down the road.  All of the sudden I hear something land on the roof, I check the rear view mirror and see what appears to be a pterodactyl sized dump running down the rear window.  Come on!  I just washed the car.  Then Jenelle said, oh crap!  Where is my yogurt?  Yes.  Jenelle's Chobani mixed with granola was now running down the back of our freshly washed car.  Nice.  We had some extra time, since we were running around like crazy in the morning. So I stopped by a gas station and bough a gallon of water and some napkins to rinse off the yogurt. I didn't want to be scraping dried yogurt and granola bits off later.

Believe it or not, that was the only mishap of the day for us!  The day only got better.  We all met at a local elementary school in the Elizabethtown area.  Then we found out that this was a special day, because five cancer survivors came to the team ride to hang out.  They thanked us donating our time and money for an organization that is truly saving lives through cancer research.  Thanks again to all of our generous donors. You can see the impact you are having on these guys lives below!

These are survivors that joined us for our ride.

Once we got on the road it was smooth sailing, for most of us. One of our teammates, Loren, finished the day with one blown tire and three blown tubes. Jenelle, Shelly, Dave, Rich, and I got back to the parking lot first. Somehow Loren managed to finish 10 or 15 minutes behind us, which is no small feat given all of the issues he was having. He's a machine.

Rolling through the Etown countryside.

Also of note, I've built up enough confidence on my bike now, that I feel as though I can operate my cell phone/camera at the same time without crashing. See my handy camera work below. :-) Look for more in the future.

Again, I forgot to turn on my GPS until about 2 miles in... so the starting point is not correct.

Click here to see the ride!

Total distance: 90.03 km (55.9 mi)

Moving time: 3:55:22

Average moving speed: 22.95 km/h (14.3 mi/h)

Max speed: 58.00 km/h (36.0 mi/h)

Elevation gain: 1267 m (4156 ft)

Last Week's Saturday Ride

Last Saturday, we completed one of the toughest rides physically that we've faced so far. It was littered with hills and snaked through southern York county. Our day started at a coffee shop by the York Hospital. It was a beautiful ride, that tested every ounce of effort and training that we've put into this endeavor up until this point.

At the end of the day, depending on who's GPS you were reading, we climbed between 3,600 and 4,400 ft. This is extremely close to the total elevation we'll face in Tahoe, over a total of 100 miles. At the end of the day, Jenelle and I hobbled in just behind the fastest riders of our group. Luckily, we made it through another ride without any issues!

Click here to see the ride!

Distance: 48.41 mi

Moving Time: 3:24:20

Avg Moving Speed: 14.2 mph

Max Speed: 39.7 mph

Elevation Gain: 3,600 ft - 4,400ft

Last night I went for a 16 mile training ride with the team, followed by an attempt at a 2 mile run. I say it was an attempt, because after about 300 yards I collapsed with one of the most painful calf muscle cramp ever. It was one that feels as if your muscle is going to come right through the skin. After some helpful hysterical laughter and stretching tips from coach Shelly, eventually I was able to stand and continue on to complete some of the rest of the run. They call it a Brick when you ride then run... I'm not entirely sure, but I think that must be because your calf muscles turn into bricks if you don't stretch properly. :-)

Anyway... I'm looking forward to our ride tomorrow with the team. Right now I'm on the train back from Philly. Had a great meeting with my east coast AArete family. Chris brought Morning Glories for me to take home to Jenelle! Thanks buddy... you're the greatest.

The view from our office today. Not too shabby.

Riding past TMI at the moment! Almost home.

ENDURE

en·dure (n-dr, -dyr)

v. en·dured, en·dur·ing, en·dures

1. To carry on through, despite hardships; undergo: endure an Arctic winter.

2. To bear with tolerance: "We seek the truth, and will endure the consequences" (Charles Seymour).

To carry on.  To bear with tolerance.  To undergo.  As a cyclist, here is a short list of things you must endure while you are riding:

1. Cold weather

2. Neck pain

3. Back pain

4. Hard seats

5. Rain

6. WIND (after Saturday, I'm prone to say this one is the worst)

I've been told that a century bike ride is considered an endurance sport, and that during the course of my training there would be barriers to overcome and rides I would have to endure.  I can honestly say that prior to last Saturday's ride I had no idea what it meant to be an endurance athlete.  Sure, I've been out of breath a few times, my quads have burned to the point where I didn't think they would ever work again, and I can tell you that it isn't exactly comfortable to sit on a hard bike seat for hours on end.  But I've never had to endure the pain, the struggle, the hardship of riding through miles and miles and miles of a seemingly unending battle.  Saturday's ride permanently changed my view of endurance sports.  It was exhausting, grueling, and entirely frustrating.... but I finished it.  There were plenty of times that I wanted to quit and call it day.  I got mad, yelled at the unrelenting head winds, and with the encouragement of my teammates was able to make it to the end.

You might be wondering where this post is coming from, well, let me give you a quick recap of Saturday's ride.  It was our longest ride to date (48 miles), it was our hilliest ride to date (it felt like all we did was ride uphill), and it was our windiest ride to date (we even had to pedal to go downhill).  In other words, it was difficult.  I don't say this to complain, but to relate the struggle that we overcame as a team and to let you know that it changed my perspective on what it means to endure.  Even though this ride was difficult for me, it doesn't even compare to the trials experienced by those diagnosed with blood cancers.  Enduring physical battles is one thing as an athlete, but the people who really have to endure are those who are fighting a life-threatening disease.

As a blood cancer patient, here is a short list of things they must endure: 

1. Chemotherapy Treatments

2. Nausea

3. Hair Loss

4. Fear

5. Fatigue

6. Loss of Appetite

7. Pain

8. Radiation Treatments

The LLS was formed to help those diagnosed with blood cancers endure.. and to one day OVERCOME all of these things.  We've been so blessed to help this organization with their cause.  And until the day a cure is found, we will persevere.

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats

Total distance: 77.19 km (48.0 mi)
Moving time: 3:42:19
Average moving speed: 20.83 km/h (12.9 mi/h)
Max speed: 55.00 km/h (34.2 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 1297 m (4255 ft)

Seventh Group Ride (Spooner Jr)

Saturday's group ride was postponed to Sunday due to an ugly rainy forecast. I'm so glad that it was, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day in Boiling Springs. Jenelle and I went for the longest ride yet, a 36 mile loop that took us up to the King's Gap Mansion.

This week we had the opportunity to ride with our good friend, Chris. He is training for a 500 mile ride that goes from Virginia, through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, ending in New Jersey. He kept us moving the entire ride, and at times I struggled to keep up with him. I certainly would not have finished as quickly as I did if it wasn't for Chris creating a nice draft that helped pull me back to the parking lot.

King's Gap Climb

This ride was intended to prepare us for Spooner in Tahoe. King's Gap is a 3.5 mile climb to the top, while Spooner is a bit steeper, about twice the distance, and occurs at mile 81 on the course. Gulp. After this gruelling ride, its hard to believe we'll be climbing the mountains of Tahoe in 61 days.

We are making progress on our fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We knew going into this, that fundraising $8,200 would be a tall order. As of this morning, we only need to raise $1,700 more for the LLS. Thank you everyone who has helped us get to this point! We know its not easy to write that check, and we appreciate all of your generous donations. We need to meet this minimum before the end of May! So, if you haven't donated yet, please do in the next couple weeks. Click here!

Gabriela at King's Gap

Coach Kui

Enjoying the view after a long climb

Boiling Springs

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats
Total distance: 58.14 km (36.1 mi)
Moving time: 2:23:36
Average moving speed: 24.29 km/h (15.1 mi/h)
Max speed: 48.00 km/h (29.8 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 722 m (2369 ft)

Sixth Group Ride

TNT 2012

This past Saturday afternoon we went out for our sixth team ride... it's hard to believe we only have eight more to go before the big day. This was a special group ride because all of the TNT 2012 members (cyclists, runners, walkers, and triathletes), met in Colebrook for some group training followed by a picnic in the park.

We hit the road quickly and headed to Mt. Gretna, and unfortunately the rain started shortly after. It was our first time riding in the rain and it was a learning experience. The first thing we quickly learned about "wet riding" is that you cannot draft in the rain.  If you are drafting all you get is a face full of water and dirt from your partner's rear wheel. Second, don't slam on the breaks. You need to ease onto the brakes and give yourself plenty of time to come to a stop. Third, make sure you bring food with you. Luckily our friend Denise was kind enough to offer me her Luna bar during our short break at a random stop on the side of the road.

The rain kept coming during the entire ride, and only decided to stop once we got back to the cars.  It's hard to tell in the picture below, but we were drenched!

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats

Total distance:  44.90 km (27.9 mi)

Moving time:  1:56:10

Average moving speed:  23.19 km/h (14.4 mi/h)

Max speed:  61.00 km/h (37.9 mi/h)

Elevation gain: 683 m (2242 ft)

This week we already did two shorter training rides in our area. Both were roughly 13 miles long, and took us through the local farms along Limekiln and Sheepford roads close to our house. We even had Kui and Shelly join us for one of these rides. One of the benefits of riding is getting a chance to see beautiful farms along the way.  I never would have known that these guys live just a few miles from us if it hadn't been for riding. 

During on of the shorter training rides I managed to avoid a catastrophic crash. I was cruising down Slate Hill on Lisburn road going roughly 35+ mph, when my front wheel began to shake uncontrollably. I almost lost control completely. I instinctively veered off into the grassy field. If I was going to crash I wanted to do it in a field, not on the pavement.


My decision to go off-road turned out to work very well. The long grass in the field slowed me down and I was able to regain control, without crashing at all. It all happened very quickly, but needless to say it was extremely frightening since I was moving so fast. At first I thought I blew a tire/tube, but there was nothing visibly wrong with my bike. After a slow restart, everything seemed fine. I took my bike to World Cup today, and it turned out that my tires needed to be re-seated and the wheels weren't exactly true. They fixed me up right away and now I'm ready to go again on Saturday when we will climb (and descend) King's Gap!

Fifth Group Ride

This past Saturday afternoon we went out for our fifth team ride (only nine more to go), affectionately called the Cornwall Cannon Ball loop. According to coach Tom, the name has something to do with the fact that George Washington's cannon balls for the Revolutionary War were made along the route. I was a little curious if he was just making it up, so I checked it out on Wikipedia (also an extremely valid source). It turns out that Wikipedia backs him up, apparently Cornwall Furnace was operated during the revolution and was a major arms providers to George Washington.

It truly was a beautiful day in the Palmyra and Lebanon area. With temperatures around 70, and the sun shining, it was great to get out there and enjoy the summer weather in mid-March. We were missing our good friends Kui and Shelly but they were in D.C. with TNT running a Saint Patty's day half marathon. Luckily for them and for us, the chance of thunderstorms didn't materialize and I actually got a slight sun burn during the ride. You typically don't think about needing sunscreen in March, but we do this year.

We rode through acres and acres of Pennsylvania farm land. The smell of the freshly plowed soil was in the air, which brought back memories of living on the old farm growing up. Some of my first memories are from living in the Fisher-Crouse house in Hanover. It was right in the middle of a large farm at the end of Wilson Ave. Anyway... back to the ride. Farmers were plowing their fields using equipment from another era. As we rode past the fields, every so often you could hear a large stone hit one of the tilling discs.

Thankfully there were no major mishaps with our ride this week.  Jenelle's bike is running smoothly again. No matter how hard I tried to lose her every time I turned around to check on her she was right behind me, except in a few instances where she ended up in front of me. I have no idea how that happened. :-)

I can really say my only issue was a mild sunburn. Don't forget the sunscreen next time!

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats

Total distance: 52.77 km (32.8 mi)

Moving time: 2:19:34

Average moving speed: 22.68 km/h (14.1 mi/h)

Max speed: 52.00 km/h (32.3 mi/h)

Elevation gain: 608 m (1996 ft)

Fourth Group Ride (The ride that wasn't)

Yesterday afternoon Jer and I met the team at Fort Indiantown Gap for our fourth official training ride.  It was the coldest day we experienced yet, with highs only in the upper 30's and a little wind to boot.  Thankfully the sun was shining.  We arrived at our meeting point earlier than usual and team members and TNT alumni started pouring into the parking lot.  By the time we were ready to leave we had around 15 people with us, our largest group yet.

We started off at Memorial Lake, and the plan was to meander our way around the Fort Indiantown Gap and Jonestown area.  I realized early on in the ride that my bike was making some new noises from the rear gears but I was determined to keep with Jer this week and ignored what I heard.  I just kept pedaling (I'm proud to say that I was staying with the fast group) through the hills and was figuring out how to shift properly during the elevation changes.  I noticed when I was going uphill that my gears weren't exactly cooperating with me and finally about 10 miles in, my chain came off the rear gear.

Now, for those of you who have read previous blog posts you will know that I have a little problem when it comes to stopping.  I must have made some progress though, because when I felt all my bike gears seize up I quickly unclipped and came to a stop without crashing. :)  Up until that point I was hanging tough with the lead group and I was so disappointed that I was now going to fall behind.  My friend Adam stayed with me until our mentor Chris arrived a few minutes later.  He checked things out, made a quick adjustment, and off we went.  The rest stop in this ride was only a couple of miles down the road so when we got there we caught up with the fast group and all was right with the world again.

Fast forward 2 miles: my bike went crazy.  Even though we thought the adjustment Chris made earlier would work, it wasn't meant to be.  My chain dropped again, and Chris fixed it again.  After another mile, my chain starting moving gears on its own.  So I stopped again, and Chris fixed it again.  After about another half mile, my chain started skipping (acting like it wanted to change gears, but it wouldn't).  So I stopped again, and Chris fixed it again (starting to see a pattern here?).

It was such a frustrating experience - I had been doing so well and I just wanted to keep up with the riders but I couldn't.  Over the next 7 miles Chris and I must have stopped and started 88 times... tweaking this, twisting that, trying anything to make my gear system cooperate.  Finally Coach Kui caught up with us and we all determined that I wasn't going to make it back without doing damage to the bike or myself.  Jer was basically finished with the ride at that point, so he came and picked us up on the side of the road and drove us back to the finish.  While we were waiting for Jer to come, I had some time to think about the ride and why I was there in the first place.  As frustrating as it was for me, I had to put it in perspective... it doesn't even compare to the frustration of those diagnosed with and undergoing treatments for cancer.  Or the frustrations their families experience.  And frustration isn't even the right word - what they go through is so much more.

When we got back to the parking lot we called World Cup right away and they told us to bring my bike right over and they would check it out.  I was hoping they would be able to fix it, so I could ride with the Lancaster team on Sunday and still get my training in for the week.  As soon as we walked into the store, they took my bike and came back with the diagnosis.  I had a trifecta of issues:  my wheel was bent, my chain was bent, and my rear arm hanger was bent.  Since they are SO AWESOME, they fixed everything right away and my bike is 100% ready to go.  Our best guess is that everything bent when I fell a couple of weeks ago coming to a stop.  Note to self: if I am going to fall, try to fall to the left side to avoid harming the gears on the right side.


On a positive note, for the first 10 miles of the ride I was hanging tough, I managed to stop quickly when my chain dropped twice without falling, and since I had to stop and start so many times when Chris was trying to make all of those adjustments I think I'm pretty comfortable with that process now.  OH - I also managed to drink and drive (see earlier blog post for explanation).  So, even though I wasn't able to finish this week, I definitely learned a lot and have even more admiration for my local bike shop. :)


A quick update about Jer's ride:  He finished our longest and hilliest ride with flying colors and still managed to come to my rescue by the side of the road.  Not too shabby.

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats
Total distance: 44.76 km (27.8 mi)
Moving time: 2:01:55
Average moving speed: 22.03 km/h (13.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 55.00 km/h (34.2 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 600 m (1969 ft)

Maggie

We went out for another 12 miles today (1,100 elevation gain). Then we came home, cleaned the house, did the laundry, and cooked dinner. We know exactly how Maggie feels right now.

Third Group Ride (Jekyll and Hyde)

Yesterday afternoon Team in Training gathered for the third group ride of the season, the South Middleton loop. When we woke up that morning, we thought it was going to be a beautiful day for a ride around the beautiful farmland in the Mt. Holly Springs area. The forecast showed a high of 60 and plenty of sunshine, with some wind at times.

They were right, it was almost perfect riding conditions. The one exception proved to be those winds. They were stronger than we ever experienced. When the ride started we were facing (what felt like) 20mph winds which makes going uphill extremely difficult.  We had to fight against the wind for the first half of the ride, through Mt. Holly Springs, pushing against head and cross winds while moving at a snails pace (<10mph).

We stopped at the Kings Gap General Store for a much need break. Good thing we did, because Jenelle still can't drink and drive (especially on a day like that, where the wind is really blowing you around). In order to drink while moving on your bike, you need to have enough confidence and balance to keep your bike upright while only using one hand. She will get there eventually.

The rest stop was the beginning of the end for the wind. We turned north after leaving the Kings Gap General Store and got blasted with some cross winds from the East. After about a mile of that, we turned the corner, and finally felt the winds to our back.

We crested the first hill with amazing ease, barely pedaling up to a 20mph clip. Soon we hit some of the smoothest and longest down hill sections all day. At one time I looked down and saw my speedometer say 40mph. It's an amazing feeling to ride at those speeds, and still feel the wind on your back.

I think we need to rename it the Jekyll and Hyde Ride.  Riding against the wind for the first half of the ride was a challenge even for the experienced riders in the group, but the second half of the ride, when the wind helped push us along, it was a breeze. :-)

Click here to see the route!

Jenelle and I at the end of the ride.

Ride Stats
Total distance: 40.20 km (25.0 mi)
Moving time: 1:47:16
Average moving speed: 22.49 km/h (14.0 mi/h)
Max speed: 61.00 km/h (37.9 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 520 m (1705 ft)

Second Group Ride

This past Sunday afternoon we went out for our second team ride, the Boiling Springs loop. Normally the team rides occur on Saturdays, but this Saturday it was in the 30's with wind gusts near 50 mph...luckily for us our coaches decided that it would be best to move the ride to Sunday instead.

Just like last week, we started at the Mechanicsburg High School and rode through Boiling Springs farm country. The main difference this week was mileage. This loop was a beautiful 25 miles through plowed fields, dairy farms, and for a time followed one of the world's best trout streams, the Yellow Breeches. I wish I could stop and take pictures, but with the group moving at an average of 15 mph, I'd get left behind in a hurry.

I learned the importance of drafting during this ride. It's something you hear about in cycling all the time, but until you try to ride in front of the pack, you don't realize how nice it is to tucked behind the person in front of you and let them push the air for you. There were a couple times that I drifted back off the lead pack, and I really had to fight my way back.

We only had a few mishaps on this ride, Jenelle is still working out her favorite way to come to a complete stop. She managed to have a low speed crash, caused by the fact that she un-clipped her left foot before coming to a complete stop (as you should), but then leaned to the right side where her foot was still clipped in the pedal. I would blame it on nerves and the fact that she's still getting used to the whole stopping procedure. It sounds simple, but when your feet are clipped into the pedals and you can't touch the ground when seated, it's a bit like walking and texting with your shoelaces tied together.

On another note (and the reason for all the training and rides), we are looking forward to sending out our fundraising letters this week. Because of you we can say that we only need to raise $4,100 more to reach our fundraising goal for the LLS. This is our way of giving back to the community and helping those who struggle with a life threatening diagnosis everyday. We know by raising funds for the LLS we are directly contributing to research that will one day find cures for blood cancers.

The stats are a little off for this ride, due to the fact that I forgot to turn on the app until a mile into the ride. Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats
Total distance: 38.00 km (23.6 mi)
Moving time: 1:32:50
Average moving speed: 24.56 km/h (15.3 mi/h)
Max speed: 48.00 km/h (29.8 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 543 m (1780 ft)

First Group Ride

We just finished with the first group ride! It was a beautiful day to ride the "Churchtown Loop" with the Central PA LLS TNT. With the temperature hovering near 50 degrees and the warm afternoon sun, we only needed a few layers to keep warm. The ride was a mild 19 mile loop through local farm country that started at the Mechanicsburg High School.

Jenelle did extremely well (for the record I'm not surprised at all). She even got some compliments on how strong of a rider she looked for being her first time out on the road. I'm not counting the ealier ride since that was on a bike path in the park. At first she was a bit nervous on the road, dealing with traffic and the elements, but by the midpoint she felt much more comfortable in the saddle.

We stayed with the fast group for most of the ride, and Jenelle got to ride alongside Pete, who is a cancer survivor himself. Luckily he knew the route, because I think I got lost about three quarters of the way in.

I recorded the ride on my Android with Google's app "My Tracks". Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats
Total distance: 30.73 km (19.1 mi)
Moving time: 1:25:04
Average moving speed: 21.67 km/h (13.5 mi/h)
Max speed: 48.00 km/h (29.8 mi/h)
Min elevation: 82 m (269 ft)
Max elevation: 138 m (452 ft)
Elevation gain: 594 m (1950 ft)
Max grade: 22 %
Min grade: -22 %

Milestones

I know we will have a number of milestones to report over the course of the next few months, but today I'd like to talk to you about two milestones we reached this week.

This first one might not sound like a milestone to some, but for me it was the official start to completing our 100 bike ride in June... I took my bike out for its first ride :).  Jer and I met our friend Shelly for a chilly 12 mile ride around City Island and along Front Street. 

Jer and I before the ride.. there is a smile under there. :)

I was definitely nervous, and even though I had a little bit of a rocky start, 12 miles flew by and was much easier than I thought it would be.  I know there's a huge difference between 12 miles and 100, but you have to start somewhere. :)

Biker chics

Now, for our second, and much more exciting, milestone... we are officially HALFWAY to our fundraising goal!  Thanks to some very unexpected and generous donations we were able to reach the halfway point today.  I am so very grateful for the support we have been given already.  Only $4,200 to go!