One final group ride.....

Well as we all met on one final Sunday for a very easy and relaxing 38 miles from Solana Beach to Oceanside Harbor, we all gathered around and got a few group pictures taken and a few final words of praise from Coach Pat Jak and we were off.
The ride up was very easy and a bit slow as we gathered in the Harbor and chatted with G2 as they were set to depart. As we made our final trip down the 101 to Solana Beach we all chatted about what to bring to SF so we all had a good idea what we needed to bring. As we approached Encinitas BLVD we stopped at the light at the bottom of the hill and as usual about 4 of us decided to race up the 150 yard hill to the top at the light. I am a perfect 5 for 5 for this contest of speed and I should of just let someone else take a turn at winning. But instead I decided to make it a clean sweep for the year and boy do I regret that.
Half way up I waited for someone to pass me to give me an idea who was the strongest of the bunch, as Mike passed me I pulled up hard with my left leg and out came my cleat. I made a god catch before going over the bars and quickly slammed it back into the pedal and gave it another hard pull upward to catch up with Mike who was just 3-4 feet away from me and I am guessing the chain had slipped off and when I pushed down on the pedal and pulled up on the bars to get some leverage, over the handlebars I went and all over the road I lay.
It all happened so fast I barely remember anything and just I hit the edge of the sidewalk with my left ass cheek and the very back portion of my helmet hit the ground as did the back of my right shoulder blade. Talk about embarrassing doing it in front of all my G# friends and the cars that were coming up the hill. I quickly got up and accessed the damage to myself and except for a few minor scrapes and a broken 4 month old helmet I was going to be ok. The guys checked out my bike and it seemed nothing much happened to it so it was back to finishing off the ride as planned.
Well 3 days later my left ass cheek has a bit of road rash and is completely black and blue from the impact it took hitting the curbs edge. The minor scrapes are really nothing and I have a really slight neck muscle strain but it is really slight. I guess I was really lucky as it could have been much worse and something that could have kept me from doing this ride. Coach Pat told me it was a text book "tuck & roll" and that I did very good considering what happened. Trust me there was no thought about how to fall, I was in autopilot and free falling to the ground and got lucky to end up how I did.
Now the ride will be even sweeter as I have a sense of how truly lucky I am in ALL aspects of life. Just a few hours after the crash Sayaji and I along with 45 family members and friends got together for our 10 year wedding anniversary and to renew our wedding vows. It was really a great time and my lovely wife never looked so beautiful, I really am a lucky man.

And the Winner is.............

Well the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team contest finally came to an end this past Thursday around 6:40am and there were smiles all over the place. I brought Napua and Kiana down along with me as I have done previously as they have been my inspiration for getting back into shape and on the bike after my 2nd back surgery. They got to see me hours after a major 6 hour back surgery and how bad I looked days after the surgery and the look on their face pretty much said it all as they looked scared to see their dad look the way he did. So I wanted them to see 1st hand what a little hard work and determination can do for someone and to never give up.

Even for me not knowing days after the surgery just what was lying ahead but I knew if I worked hard and smart something good would come from it. So about 9 months after the surgery I was back to work doing my old job and also back on the bike with my sights set on doing the Challenged Athletes Foundation Million Dollar Challenge this year. So I jumped in feet first right into the deep end and had no idea what I was getting into when it comes to trying to fund raise $10K in 5 months for the very first time. For someone who has never fund raised before trying to raise just #1K is a tough thing to do, so imagine what I had to do when it came to trying for $10K.

So when the big day came in August and I hit the end of my fundraising there was a sense of satisfaction that there was a job well done and I had helped a few people along the way. Once that day came it was radio contest mode and I tried to focus on trying to get into the final 5 riders and with a little luck into the top 3. As it turned out getting a few immunities and raising a good chunk of funds helped get me into the final 5 and eventually the final 2 riders.

So here we were last Thursday on the air with Scott and BR as they made us squirm a bit going back and forth asking some questions wanting to know how we did it and what winning meant to us. Then the moment came and even then I was still unsure who was going to be the winner and then Scott read the name....the winner is........Chris Glossner!!!!! What a journey this radio contest has been and honestly I can say it was all worth while not so much for being chosen the winner but from all the really nice people I have met this summer. For someone who does not get out too much I really looked forward to each and every Sunday because I knew I was going to meet someone new or get to know someone a bit better.

When I first started this my intentions were to raise the money, do the ride and then retire from cycling to spend more time with the family. It will be tough to just walk away from all these new friends I have met.So I will have to figure out what I am going to do since the winner of the radio contest is supposed to come back and run the team next year, something I am not sure I can do for many reasons.

Well I wanted to take this time to try and thank everyone who had a little hand in making all this possible. But as anyone who tries to do something of this magnitude knows it is impossible to do it alone and the list of people from Facebook friends to the folks at Pepsi to friends to all the bowlers in San Diego to Bill who donated 2 bowling balls to Jim and Robert who got me ball #3 to my lovely wife who put up with all my sleepless nights and countless hours away from the family while training and fundraising, thanks Sweetie!!!

I am not sure if the winner of this contest has any special perks once we hit San Francisco but either way I am looking forward to a ride of a lifetime and it is now less then 2 weeks away.

An epic 208 mile weekend!!!

Well it all started about 7:00am on Saturday as we got together in our usual meeting place for the CAF/MDC weekend roll out. Once again I was in group 3 as the conversation there is much better with some decent tempo in areas. The ride was going to be 104 miles from Solana Beach to Rancho Palos Verdes and the Terranea Resort. The ride was pretty standard for a while and we went through plenty of beach cities which was nice considering the temps were going to be well in the 90+ range all over southern California. While we were in Long Beach it was the worst, some folks said it was 99 degrees and others said their GPS read 105, it felt like 105.

I thought the pace up there was pretty decent considering we still had another 104 to do on Sunday so when we got to Palos Verdes we had an 11 mile hill to climb which I had never seen but since I had some unused energy and it was just 11 miles I decided to empty the tank and let it loose and crank up the hill. It was a really nice climb with lots of level areas where you could crank prior to the next climb. Once getting to the resort Gag was there waiting for me and we were heading to an Italian street festival in Hollywood after cleaning up at his place in Redondo Beach.

Well Sunday morning came and I was a bit tired from my FIRST CENTURY the day prior. But after some early morning stretching and a 3 scrambled eggs with toast and juice I was ready to tackle the day and another 104 miles. This day was going to be much different then Saturday. First off that 11 mile climb was now an 11 mile decent and a nice way to start the day. Plus the temps seemed a bit cooler, maybe lower 90's most of the day with not a cloud in sight.
After our 1st SAG stop in Huntington Beach we headed through Laguna and we had what looked to be a major 1 bike crash. Second year CAF/MDC rider Chintan Turakhia took an awful fall going over the bars and landing on the backside of his helmet as his body was putting all his weight on his head. Picture a WWE wrestler doing a pile driver to someone with feet in the air and head hitting pavement, that is just what it looked like. I was chatting it up with Kelly all the way in the back and he was next bike up maybe 5 feet away from us so we both saw the whole thing. They took him away in an ambulance with a neck brace and backboard, very scary stuff.
So Kelly had mentioned that she wanted to get in early to take her some who was riding in group 1 back up to college in the LA area so she asked for help and I said sure. So as it turned out no one else wanted to hammer so I pulled the last 65+ miles all by myself and she was riding in the rear enjoying the pull and staying out of the wind. She is a VERY strong rider and was with me as we were easily doing 21mph+ in some areas. We got in a full 31 minutes ahead of the rest of group 3 which rolled in together and Kelly was long gone by then, mission accomplished. And when we get to the finish in Solana Beach who do we see but Chintan sitting there smiling and laughing about the whole thing....wow who would have guessed it was just a sprained neck and no over night stay for him.

So what a great weekend, my first 2 century rides in the same weekend. An Italian Street Fair with Gag and some great food. Great conversation with some amazing people and some of the most beautiful coastline on the planet to look at all weekend. We are less then 3 weeks to the start of the Million Dollar Challenge and if this weekend is any indication of what to expect I am looking forward to an amazing time and can't wait.

Morning of the Double Century

Well I am going to try and keep this one brief and save everything for when I get back on Sunday from what should be a very epic weekend for me. Having NEVER done a CENTURY before I will be doing 2 this weekend as the CAF/MDC group heads north from Solana Beach to Rancho Palos Verdes which is 103 miles. Only to turn around on Sunday and head back down the coast and do it all over again, sounds like fun.

Up at 4am to prepare for a 6am departure with Sayaji as she will be dropping me off at our starting point and picking me up on Sunday afternoon. Girls are at mom and dads house doing a sleep over there and I know they are enjoying the time with grandma and grandpa.Trying to make sure I have everything packed for the weekend that I will need for 2 days of cycling and a day/night at Gag's house.

On a side note on Thursday Scott and BR announced the 2 names on air of the 2 individuals who were to be cut from the team and they were Danielle (4th) and Brian (3rd), which means all that remains is Mark Estrada and myself from the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling team. I am guessing they already have a winner in hand and this week it is just about laying low and don't do anything stupid and have a good ride. I am not sure if they will have us in studio this coming week or now as I thought we were going to be in studio this past week or even a call but there was nothing, so we will have to wait and see how this coming week plays out, either way it has been a great experience and I have met a bunch of really great people during this journey.

Well time to start getting ready.......

Reaching New Heights

Well the CAF/MDC XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team did a very hilly 93 miles on Sunday and it was my farthest ride to date. With all those hills (4,400 feet of climbing) I was not too sure what to expect or how my body was going to hold up. The pace was pretty slow I thought and I wore my heart rate monitor for the 1st time all year just to get an idea what I was doing while riding.
There were 4 major climbs and those were really the only places where I decided to hit it harder then normal. The rest was just an easy group ride with lots of chatting among the riders. We finished in just under 6 hours of riding time and I had an average heart rate of 134, which I am not sure what that means but it is a good starting point.
On Tuesday I headed over to the island for my 1st weekday ride in 3 weeks. I met up with Brian and we rode F.I. for about 90 minutes and joined in a group of maybe 25 riders in a good rotating paceline for maybe 40 minutes give or take. It started off pretty nice but at the end it was really going and I could not finish the whole hour ride. After downloading the info I noticed my top speed was 30.4 mph and i averaged around 19 for the whole ride. I will be heading back tomorrow to do my 1st FTP test for 30 minutes and looking forward to seeing what I can do for an all out effort.

Well tomorrow is going to be a big day for the XX1090 team as they will be cutting 2 riders from the team which will leave just 2 riders left. I am not sure how this will unfold and there are a few scenarios which are easy for the station and a few which can make it tougher so we will just have to wait and see how this whole thing unfolds. I really wish there was a way to get all 4 riders down the coast and not leave 1 or 2 not to go. THey will have something on the radio at 6:55am so I hope I can listen as that is prime time for chasing the girls around to get ready for school so we will see.

Done Fundraising

Well I have sold my last ticket for the bowling ball raffles that have been going on for the last 2 weeks thanks to Bill McAlister of San Diego Bowling Supply who was much smarter then I was and came up with a great idea to raise $ for a great cause. Bill made a few phone calls and came up with 2 very high end bowling balls each valued at about $215-$225 and said I can raffle them off at 2 different centers and make $ that way. Since I am in no way a sales oriented person I was a bit nervous going up to people to ask for $ for a raffle. But with the help of Kearny Mesa Bowl manager Johnny Humble and Mira Mesa Lanes manager Gary Burke who made great announcements to the bowlers spelling out to them just what I was doing and who I was and what the cause was the bowlers just opened up their wallets and REALLY helped out.

All in all we raise a total of $1,984.00 for the CAF in just a 2 week span. Being a bowler of more then 35 years and knowing what kind of people bowlers can be it really warmed my heart to see what bowlers really are when it comes to helping out others. Many of the bowlers I had never met but knowing I was one of them and what I was trying to accomplish and where the $ was going was all they needed to hear to want to help out. So to all the bowlers who wished me luck, asked questions about the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and made a donation I just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

Today I was down at the beginning of the Trek group ride as they prepare to get ready for the Tour de Poway Century (100 miles)ride in a few weeks. I met up with Danielle and Brian as they were doing their own raffle as they were raffling off a new pair of sweet looking Spinergy wheels to the group. I think those wheels would look really nice on my bike, but since I can't buy any I may have to start saving my bowling earnings next year so I can get a pair, if I am still riding.

Well I have some thinking to do about this banner thing we all have to do for the radio show. I have a few ideas but not sure what will work and how to pull them off. Tomorrow is supposed to be the toughest day of training for the year and we will cover about 93 miles with a load of climbing. If I can make it through tomorrow I should be ok as it will be my first time ever going over 90 miles.

Today at XX1090

Well today was the day where we were supposed to cut 2 members from the final 5 riders left on the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team. However they threw us a little twist this week and when we went into studio and were live on air they played a little game and cut each of us one by one until all 5 were gone. Then they decided to reinstate us all as member and give us a task to do for the upcoming week.

We were all given XX1090 Sports Talk Radio banners that we need to us to promote the station out in public in some fashion that will draw some attention to it and also for the station. Not sure just when I can do what I want to do or even have an idea just what I will do, but guessing it will come to me this weekend.

Just 2 more days of fundraising for the cycling team and I will be done. The 2 balls I have gotten from Bill @ San Diego Bowling Supply have been a huge eye opener for me as to the generosity of the league bowlers in San Diego. They showed me that even though we are a different breed then most other people we DO have a heart of gold and will help out when asked for a great cause. And for that I thank them very much.

Well better start getting ready for a Thursday selling of tickets and a good workout later tonight as I get ready for what is called the hardest ride of the year for the CAF/MDC group. It will be something like 93 miles and about 4400 feet of climbing, can't wait.