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.

Week 17 CAF Training Ride

Well here I am finally getting to relax after a busy weekend on the bike. Yesterday was the XX1090 39 mile Poker Run and then today was 82 miles of what seemed like endless climbing as we went from Solana Beach out past Pala and up to Fallbrook and then back. They said it was not the longest of climbing days but it sure felt like it as it seemed one hill came after another after another.

Spent another day riding with Group 3 along with fellow XX1090 radio riders Danielle, Mark and Dave all which did a great job and if you ask me Danielle is BY FAR the most improved rider of the group as she is a very solid Group 3 rider no longer hiding in the back or getting dropped on big hills, she is taking after her old man "Radio Joe" and is beginning to put the hurt on the rest of the group. I also got a chance to meet some new people while out there today as I helped pull Ted back while on the 78 bike path after he got dropped back some 200 yards and I went back to help him get back with the group, that was fun pulling someone back from that far out so he could join us in the windy conditions. Also I finally got to meet co-chairmen of the MDC Scott Rhodes and Dean Roeper who are both very good riders and my guess Group 2 riders. I also spent some time talking with John after meting him on the hills of Fallbrook, a great guy who was very interested in how I was doing in the contest and also in the fundraising. Seems he is a lawyer in Carlsbad and a really nice guy and one of the few guys I can hide behind when the wind starts to pick up as he is about 6'3" and maybe 215lbs so I can actually hide from the wind while sitting on his wheel for a few minutes.

All in all a great day and I also learned something new today, it is OK to eat donuts while doing an 82 mile bike ride. During our 2nd SAG stop at a church in Fallbrook they had donuts outside the front door and a donation jar, so I took a donut and left a $1 as asked, when everyone saw me walking back to the group eating a donut it was if it was a cardinal sin to do such a thing. But as most people know I LOVE DONUTS!!! SO I am happy to report that donuts and cycling can coexist in my world.

Also it seems the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team will be down to just 3 riders after this Thursday. Looks like either Wed or Thur we will be asked to go into studio and there they will announce which 2 riders will be cut from the team. FOr me that is tough and I would rather just hear it on the radio and not live on the radio with us sitting there. I really do wish there was some way to get all 5 of us down the coast, anything at all. But unless there is some individuals out there who hears a great story on the radio and is willing to sponsor a rider it seems just 3 of the team will make the trip when really all 5 of us have worked hard and deserves to go.

Poker Run

Well here it is Saturday evening and I am relaxing after a fun day with the XX1090 cycling team while doing the XX1090 Poker Run to raise money and awareness for the CAF. It looked like a very god turnout and we had a number of CAF/MDC riders and even a few riders from outside our usual riding groups which was nice to see. We even had CAF challenge athlete rider Fred come out to inspire all of us with his riding ability and words of inpiration while out on the road.
I think most of us hung out in the parking lot for an hour or two chatting it up and planning the next move and then Brian and I hung out until 2:30 chatting even more about everything else that needed to be talked about from riding to team work to inspirations to getting the blog going.
The ride itself was very nice and a very nice and easy pace keeping everyone together. Good friend Ben came out to support the cause and we tried to stick together as much as possible, he lost me on the down hills and I pushed hard on the uphills, then we got back together on the flats. Good weather and good friends out on the roads made for a nice ride.
Tomorrow will be a much tougher test as we will ride about 84 miles with some good climbing out in the East county. One more week of ball raffles and then it is all training everyday as I try to make a final push for getting in better physical condition for the ride down the coast. But first there is a matter of getting through the next elimination cut on the XX1090 Scott & BR show which may be either this week or next week. I just hope they don't have us in studio when they announce the cuts, that would be too tough.
Well better end this and get some sleep, long day in the saddle after a week of zero miles. Should be a good test, but looking forward to it.

Fundraising

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Well here we are with another week of no riding but instead I am doing my XX1090 Scott and BR team fundraising. I am raffling off 3 bowling balls over the next 3 weeks to help all of us out to get as many of us on the trip as possible. This week I am spending about 2 hours per night at the bowling alley after work hitting all the 6pm leagues. My goal was to raise between $400-$500 per ball. With one day to go I am at $555 with ball #1 from the Kearny Mesa leagues. The bowling community has really stepped up big and helped out a lot, it is good to see my people want to help out with such a great cause. With a big Friday ($145) I can actually hit the $700 mark which was NEVER in sight at the start. So here is to a good and final day tomorrow and if it means I stay an extra 30 mnutes to get to that magic mark so be it.

More Fundraising

Well there is no riding to report for this week as I am taking the coaches advice and using this week as a scaled back rest week. Plus the fact that work is killing me and there just is no time to hit the roads this week until maybe Saturday morning. So I will spend 2 nights in the garage doing some leg workouts trying to strengthen the quads and hamstrings for the bike.
I have been very busy brain storming on how to help the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team raise some extra $ so more then just the winner can make it down the coast. So with the generous help of two friends Jim Lewis and Bill McAlister I have gotten 3 bowling balls so far to take to the lanes and raffle off for the league bowlers. I was told they could each fetch about $400-$500 each if I hit all the leagues at both Kearny Mesa and also Mira Mesa. So if so I am looking at about $1,200 from the balls and another $1,000 to $2,000 from a bowling challenge a friend of mine John Sowell has been most generous about putting up $1,000 to the winner of who can beat me by the most pins in a single heads up game. If I can manage to beat all 10 bowlers in a single heads up game then the $1000 prize goes to CAF along with the $100 that each bowler will be required to pay CAF just so they can bowl the 1 game match. I am looking forward to helping out in any way I can for a group of people who are very remarkable, Brian, Danielle, Keith, Mark and Dave all are simply great people doing great things for a great cause and I hope all 6 of us can make the trip south next month.

Awesome ride!!!

Well today was the 83 mile San Clemente ride basically straight up the coast after leaving Solana Beach about 7:15 am. The weather was overcast and eventually the sun did come out but temps stayed very cool and just a great day to be on the bike.
Today we had a few extra radio riders with us in group 3 as Brian and Keith both decided to join the "fun" riders and relax after hammering on Saturday. Keith is planning a 24 hour ride to help raise $$ for the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team,which will happen this Wednesday and finish up Thursday morning around La Jolla, so just a slow relaxing day for him and Brian took a bit of a fall riding with a group down in the South Bay yesterday so he was not up to his normal group 1-2 faster paced ride today, so we had some god conversation while doing the coastal thing.
The first part of the ride went by what seemed to be really quick as we hit the 1st SAG at mile 30 in no time at all. Some of the scenery out by the water is just great and it really does take your mind off all the miles being covered.
We hit the turn around in San Clemente and I think at that point the group had 3 flats so not too bad considering the roads and the mileage. THen radio rider Mark got 2 flats within 30 minutes and the group leader came back after the last one and said "you guys are SAGGED out", which basically means no one will wait for you and we are heading on without you. Well after hearing that I was like "I don't think so" and told Brian and Mark let's hammer and catch them and blow right past them. So once the tire was changed and we got going we took turns at the front and did everything to make a run to catch up. The last flat occured right as we came out of Camp Pendelton so we had a few miles to catch them but they had a good 5-7 minute jump on us, but I know we were determined to catch them.
As it turned out all the hard work really did help out and with me and Brian pulling hard and Mark giving it everything he had after flatting 4x today we saw them in our sites and finally caught them in Carlsbad and finished the ride with the rest of the group. Nothing like really getting to hammer for a while in a chase group after 65-70 miles, great job Mark and Brian!!!!! Brian looked at his Garmin when we finished and said we averaged 18.8 mph for the 83 miles, very nice!!
Well all in all it was a lot of fun from 6:15 for the immunity challenge which was won by Mr Brian Myers, who now gets to add his own flavor to the immunity helmet/person, all the way to chatting it up with Brian and a few riders from Group 4 after everyone had gotten in, the CAF/MDC riders REALLY are a bunch of really nice people.
Well it looks like this week will be pure hell at work so I am guessing there will be zero hours on the saddle this week until maybe Saturday. I am going to try to get in the garage after work and do some weights and stretching to help strengthen my legs for some upcoming mileage.

An easy Spin & Sit day

This morning I decided to head out for an early (6:45am) ride to clear the head and try to figure out how I am going to tackle today's tasks. I have a full day and figured I would head out on a very simple "sit and spin" 2 hour ride using once again just the small chain ring, so ho hammering today just a lot of spinning and bonding with the saddle.
It is very strange not to see anyone sharing the bike lane when riding. Today I got passed by no one and passed no one, very odd but great for getting things done mentally for the upcoming week. Also on a lighter side I decoded to wear socks for the 1st time. I see all the roadies wearing them every Sunday and since I grew up here in SD and never wore socks off the bike it just sort of migrated to when I was on the bike so I never used them and then when I started doing triathlons I noticed none of them wore sock either so I felt pretty good about not wearing them. But after noticing I was maybe the only one on Sundays NOT wearing them I wanted to see what all the hub bub was all about. I want to report it ws ok, nothing special and think it may have to be pretty cold out there for me to do it again.
OKay enough about all this. I have a flyer to get done, a funds request letter to draft up for a foundation that may help out, a challenge letter for my bowling challenge that will net $1K and a few more things for the CAF/MDC XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team.

Taking a day off

Well after a pretty busy week at work and the fact that I had a r appointment this morning I decided to take a much needed day off of work and get in some much needed saddle time and run a few errands. I did the Mira Mesa To Fairbanks Ranch out to RSF and back to the beach by the track and then over to Pepsi for a SAG stop and some Mexican BBQ that Pepsi was supplying for all the employees...yum-yum.
Then it was of to San Diego Bowling Supply to see what goodies Bill had for me to use as raffle gifts to help the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team. Looks like we are at 2 balls and counting which is nice to get and also I talked with another friend who looks to donate $1K, but there is a catch, I have to bowl him heads up for 10 games first. Win or lose he will still put up the money for the cause, some bowlers are just AWESOME!!!
All in all it was about 67 miles as I road from 10:45 to about 3pm with a few quick stops along the way but a VERY productive day off and it looks like it might turn into a few thousand dollars for the team with little to no effort from me, just a few calls and hand shakes, oh and 10 games of bowling.
Should be a good weekend as I head out first thing in the morning for an easy 40 miles up and down the coast. Followed by 93 with the CAF/MDC group on Sunday, can't wait.

77 mile Circle R Loop

Well here is it 8pm and about 7 hours after Group 3 finished our 77 mile Sunday CAF/MDC ride. There was plenty of climbing and the heat was in full effect. I tried to lay back and just have a good time for the first 56 miles and then push the pace for the final 21 miles from SAG #2 to Lomas Santa Fe. It seemed to work as planned with the exception of a few hills that I decided to push the pace a little but nothing crazy.
We had plenty of flats along the way today and I am guessing the number might be around 20 or so which is a lot I think. I was lucky and avoided all the mishaps along the way. Today there was no cloud cover at the coast as we rolled out at 7:15am and you could tell it was going to be a tough day in the saddle from the get go. I am guessing our group was a bit smaller then normal maybe 25 riders or so and I was towards the rear for the first 25 miles chatting it up with Mike Henderson and a few others.
The 2nd 1/3 of the ride there were some decent hills for climbing and I did move up a bit during the climbing phase of the ride. After getting to the 2nd SAG in Vista you could tell there was some carnage going on as people looked really tired and a few even dropped out. I actually felt pretty good and had a very good time in the heat just wish there was a bit more humidity and less dry air.
The final 1/3 of the ride was kind of the same as most Sundays as a small group of about 6 riders decided to take off and I felt pretty fresh since holding back the first 2/3 of the ride. Had a chance to chat with Brian and Adam afterwards with regards to fundraising and how to judge if one is a success or not. Seems we (scott & br cycling team) have our work cut out for us.
Sitting here my legs are actually pretty sore and I am pretty tired and hope to be sleeping by 9pm to get lots of rest before a busy week at work. I hope to make it to Fiesta Island tomorrow after work to log about 35 miles or so just to get ride of some leg stiffness, but we will see how work goes.
Well today was a different immunity challenge and we played spin the bottle, so just a random luck winner. Keith was the last one standing only to find out he had to gift the gift he just received to one of the remaining 6 riders. Keith decided to gift his immunity to Danielle who is a very good pick, she works hard on the email front sending and keeping everyone notified just what is going on. And I am guessing she is also the most improved rider going from a group 3 riders barely hanging on to the back of the pack to a group 3 riders hanging out in the front pack most of the time. So she is a very deserving immunity winner and I am sure she will do good things with the immunity helmet.
Well depending on work I am hoping to get in about 150 miles during the week and then about 60 on Saturday then another big one on Sunday. Let's just hope work is good to me and I can get out there a bit.

mid week ride

Well it seems like it is getting harder and harder to get out of the house mid week due to longer hours at work. Normally I would try to get home around 5:15 and roll out at 5:30 and do a nice 2 hour ride somewhere locally. So yesterday was that day as I rolled out at 5:30 and decided to do a TT to Chino Farms and beat my post work ride time of 51 minutes. It was hot and a bit windy but felt strong on the bike and made the 15.5 mile trip in 47 minutes, just 2 minutes off my best Saturday morning time. Finished the loop by heading over to via de la valle and up to the 101 and then south back to Carmel valley road and then home. In total it was about 31 miles and I covered it in 1:50 which was a good ride even with the heat.
Things are going smoothly with the training as I start to get a little gym time in here at home, maybe 2x a week to strengthen the legs. I also stepped on the scale thig morning and am my lowest weight since the '98 Honolulu Marathon weighing in at 181 lbs. If I can get the legs stronger and get down to my desired 178 I think it will work out for me on the bike in training and also coming down the coast. And to think I was weighing in at 193 after returning from Japan on July 19th, so in one month I have lost 12 lbs, with no paid diet. Of course I do have an in house Nutrisionist with my lovely wife Sayaji making sure I get all the right stuff to keep me lean and strong for the bike.
Well today is normally a bike day but not sure what I will do after getting the girls. Possibly a very light ride or maybe some cross training is in order, we will see. Today is another elimination for the XX1090 Scott and BR Cycling Team as we cut from 8 riders down to 7 riders. With winning the immunity challenge last Sunday I am safe from this weeks cut, which is a great feeling as the group gets smaller. I will also be on local radio station XX1090am around 8:45am to talk about what has been going on thus far, should be fun.

Well today was a very tough day in and out of the saddle. We started in Pine Valley and rode straight up to Mount Laguna and then to Lake Cuyamaca and then back to Pine Valley. It was about 52 miles and seemed we never spent more then 15 minutes before there was a giant hill right in front of us. The ride up to Mount Laguna was about 10 miles and brutally tough as it was on a fire road with little shade if any.
The air out there was hot, maybe mid 80's and super dry. Trying to keep your mouth moist was tough to do even with constant drinking. The uphills were steep and long and since it was my first time out there I had no idea what lay ahead and how long some of these hills were so hard to know just how hard to push. Group 3 was the perfect pace today as I was out on the lead for almost all the way when I was not chatting it up with Danielle to see how the XX1090 team fundraising was coming along.
Going to try and get in another 50 miles in tomorrow morning up the coast where is will be much cooler then today. Some of the views from todays ride was really nice from the sunrise as I drove in to some of the mountain valleys we saw from atop of Mt Laguna. All in all it was a great hill climbing day but don't think I want to repeat another one of those for a while.
On another great note, today the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team held another immunity challenge. With 8 riders left getting the immunity is huge as it keeps you safe from the Wednesday single rider cut. Today we needed to figure out how many calories were in a plastic jar containing a bunch of gels and like product. After some quick math calculations I came up with about an average of 125 calories per item and guessed there were 27 packets in the jar, for a total of 3175 calories. After talking to everyone I felt like I was way low since everyone said about 4 or 5K calories. Well as it turned out the number was 3180 and I missed by just 5 and won the immunity for another week. So gotta keep going and log some miles and figure out what I am going to do with the immunity helmet.

Great weekend!!

Well after a very slow start to the weekend with what seems like a mild case of food poisoning from some bad tuna fish that kept me off the bike on Friday and Saturday it ended up very nicely. I used the time off the bike to do a little studying up on the MDC and the CAF as well as some time on the XX1090 Scott & BR website just in case the immunity challenge was going to be on these topics sooner then later.
Well as it turned out Sunday was the challenge that had to do with all 3 and I felt pretty good when I saw the test, but as usual once I got the test and started to write down the answers my mind went totally blank. Now I remember why I did so poorly in school, all that studying and then forget everything when the test arrives. But lucky me I got just enough right answers correct to win the immunity for the week and this was a critical week to get it as there were 2 guys cut from the team today to take us down to 8 riders. The 2 Jesse's who won the immunity last week with the Internet voting are the 2 guys who were cut today. I hope this is not the trend this coming week since I have immunity now.
After a nice 48 mile ride during our recovery week we were lucky enough to have CAF line us up with breakfast at the La Valencia Ranch Santa Fe Spa which is one top notch place to hang out. We as radio contestants got to hang out with all the other CAF riders on what was a beautiful day in San Diego. That is where we learned who won the immunity and my breakfast tasted a little bit better. Now I need to figure out how I am going to decorate the immunity helmet.
This was the 2nd time in a week the CAF group got together as we also got together at Dean Roepers house in RSF which is one of the nicest houses I have been in. The radio group got together each time to discuss what we will be doing as far as fundraising and mapping out a nice game plan for raising funds for CAF.
After leaving the Rancho Valencia I headed to the Del Mar Race Track to meet up with Sayaji and the girls as well as another 5 families for some fun in the sun with great friends. As it turned out the last race we stayed for I hit a $433 exacta which made our weekend just a little more special.
Well going to try and get in some much needed mileage this week as our Sunday rides will be getting longer with more climbing and the heat is on its way which will make for some long days in the saddle. Feeling good about where I am as far as fundraising just need to get one more decent sum from that one special person to get me over the top. So far I am on track with funds raised and also fitness. Today weight is 185.5 with my goal to be at 180 come October 16th.

recovery week

Well we were told to use the recovery weeks as a time to rest and let the body recover from 3 weeks of intense riding. So that is just what I did not touching the bike since the long tough ride last Sunday. However the time has come to get back on the bike first thing tomorrow morning and do a light and easy 2 hours. Just want to loosen up the legs a bit and then if I feel up to it I will make my first journey to Group 2 on Sunday for the 48 miler with the CAF/MDC riders.
I am battling a bit of the stomach bug I got from what I believe was some bad tuna. My stomach has been in knots all day and I have not eaten since 1pm and it is now 11pm. So the ride tomorrow will depend on how the stomach feels in the morning.
Well if all goes well and I can get some time with the bike I am hoping to have a big week riding on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday most likely getting in about 200 miles or so those 4 days if all goes well. But we will have to wait and see what the plans are for getting the girls from YMCA camp.
Ok short and sweet today as a kind of busy Saturday is planned.

Ramona ride

Well here it is Sunday night and relaxing after a very hilly and warm day on the bike. I believe it was a bout 75 miles with about 3900 feet of climbing and it started from early on and seemed we were never far from another uphill climb. I can't remember the last time I rode my bike in that much sunshine for that long a period of time. It got pretty warm and with all the climbing it was a pretty tough day in the saddle as I am still feeling the pain in my quads from today's efforts.
Had a good chat with many of the XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team riders today getting to hear what went on during the Thursday meeting that I missed due to a late YMCA bus pickup. It seems that we will be meeting again this Thursday at one of the MDC co-chairman's house for a social and some fundraising idea help. As the clock ticks on fundraising our window on team fundraising is getting smaller by the week. Seemed one of our fearless leaders Mr Scott Kaplan from the XX1090 morning show was there after getting an epidural shot to help with his bulging disc which is causing some sciatica issues. Good to see him back on the bike and with the group.
Well seems I will have a tough week trying to find time to ride this week. As we get further along in the Sunday rides we need to up our weekly mileage and this week might be a bit tough to do so with so many things going on around the house. As much as I hate it I may be forced to jump on the trainer for a few hours late at night....ugh!!!
Well back to today's ride, we all pretty much stayed together for the 1st 22 miles which is where the 1st SAG was at. After that it was into Ramona and up some pretty good hills so with about 10 miles to go before the 2nd SAG I decided the guys were going a bit slow up a hill so I took off and worked the hill pretty good taking Dave and John along with me for the next 10 miles as we worked together and got to the SAG about 5 minutes before the rest of the group. Then again after the 2nd SAG we were all together and when we went up a hill about 3 miles past the SAG the group which was in mile 58 just seemed tired so I stepped it up a bit and this time I dragged 4 others with me, Dave, John, and 2 other guys and we all worked pretty good together all the way to Solana Beach finishing about 10 minutes before the rest of group 3.
Next week I will give group 2 a try to see how it goes since it is the beginning of a new cycle and we are going just 40 miles so I should be able to handle the shorter distance with the higher speeds. Since I will be on the lower end of training mileage this week it will be a good time for a short ride. Looking forward to a new challenge and some higher speeds, just hope I am up to the challenge.

2 days in the saddle

Well as the girls start daily YMCA it is going to be a bit tougher to try and figure out what days I can ride and what days I have to pick them up at Toby Wells YMCA which would mean no riding that day. This week my ride days were Monday and Tuesday so I took advantage of it and headed out on my Chino Farms ride on MOnday which was about an hour and forty minutes and 30 miles round trip. A nice little spin after 68 miles on Sunday and a few little rollers to get me out of the saddle. It would have been a bit longer but got I got a late start chatting with the girls prior to them all going to the driving range.
Today I wanted to do a little hammering down at Fiesta Island and I invited the XX1090 radio group but it might have ben a bit late when I let them know as no one wanted to circle the island with me. So I headed out as a solo rider promply at 5pm and planned on doing 2 hours and 40 miles. Well the wind was howling more then I had seen before and it was a tough ride but I wanted to get some miles in so I put the head down and set out.
I noticed a gathering of other riders during the 5 o'clock hour and it seemed there was going to be more riders sharing the island with me. As it turned out there was a very large group of about 50 riders who all started around 6pm and were doing the small loop as I was doing the larger loop. They were all roadies and much faster then I was but not as fast as the Thursday night "world championship" ride which is usually about 80 riders and just blazing around the island. If the guys on Thursday are doing 27-28 then these guys were doing 24-25. I wanted to try and joing in for one lap to see if I could hang but we never seemed to meet in the right spot, oh well.
Well today my goal was to do 4 laps each harder then the previous and ending with the 4th just balls out all on the big loop. Followed by a 1/2 speed cool down lap on the smaller loop then repeat the 4 large laps again hopefully faster then the 1st set. Well to get loose I did the 1st lap in 14 minutes and finished the 4 laps in 50:30, which means the final 3 laps were in 36:30. Not sure if that is good or what but it seemed pretty fast considering the wind.
During my small loop cool down I was trying to figure out what I was going to do time wise for the next 4 laps. I picked 12:30 for the first 3 laps and then let it all go on the final lap to see if I could make it under 49 minutes. Well the first 2 were right on the money and the 3rd was a at 12 even and the final lap was at 11 minutes for a 48 minute total. The final 4 laps were very consistent and I could really feel it in my legs the final 2 laps. After some quick calculations it seems I was about 21mph in the windy conditions and all alone with no drafting, so mission accomplished for the day.
Final #'s were:
Watts average; 196
1st 4 laps: 50:30 with a 14:00 warm up 1st lap
2nd 4 laps 48:00 with an 11:00 final lap
Total miles riden: 36
Total ride time: 1:48 with a small loop cool down between sets

Back on the road again...

Well here it is July 25th and my first day back with the CAF MDC group after a 4 week absence for our 3 week trip to Japan. I know I had lost a lot of fitness and gained about 8 pounds during that 3 weeks away from the bike and had originally decided to join group 4 today. But after seeing about 6-7 radio contestants in group 3 this morning I felt that was where I needed to be and jumped in with them. I am glad I did as it was a good pace and actually I felt pretty good during and now 3 hours after the 68 mile bike ride.
Today's weather I am sure had a lot to do with it as the cloud cover was great most of the way as we covered the 68 miles in 4 hours heading from Del Mar out to Bonsil and then to the 76 bike path to the coast and down the coast back to Del Mar. I will be doing 1 more week with group 3 and then giving group 2 a try as I am guessing once I get back into better shape that is the right group for me. And who knows maybe one week during one of the 40 mile weeks I may even give group 1 a try, but that might be a few months away.
The radio contestants had a chance to chat during and after the ride to discuss fundraising and if there is something we can all do as a group. We got a few ideas and will meet either this week or next week locally here to discuss what, when and where we will be doing something. This seems like a very ambitious group this year and all I can hope for is to make it as far as possible in the radio contest before having to switch jerseys to my CAF Alumni jersey. This week the radio vote will be announced on Wednesday morning during the XX1090 Scott & BR radio show between the hours of 5am and 9am pst. I am hoping to get enough votes to get the 2 week immunity that comes along with the person who gets the most votes, but not sure if I can get it or not.
Okay that may be it for now. Going to try and get in 3-4 days of riding this week prior to Sunday which I believe will be about 75 miles but with lots of hills.

Well here we are July 22nd and my 1st week back from 3 wonderful weeks in Japan with my family. As I thought there was very little riding or physical activity as the temps and humidity were way up there and just a lot of walking and eating. So 7 pounds later here I am trying to get this body and these legs and this ass back into some form of riding shape for this Sunday's CAF ride.
This week I have ridden 3X, Monday was a "get to know your bike" day around Fiesta Island, slow and easy averaging about 17mph. Wednesday was a bit more as I went a full 2 hours around Fiesta Island with 2 laps pushing real hard going 11:12 and 10:51 on laps 4 and 8. Felt a bit better but a long way to go to bet back the form I had prior to leaving for Japan. Then today was a hill interval day between Sorrento Valley and Fairbanks Ranch doing that loop 2X for about 26 miles and little flats, just up and down the hills so it was good to actually get out of the saddle.
While coming home I heard my rear tire losing air and will take the bike to TREK tomorrow to have them replace the wheel tape and give me a new tube. Also I need to get a few things for this coming summers rides while I am there. I will be joining Group 4 this Sunday which is the slowest of the 4 groups so I can get back into some decent shape and also to mingle with a different set of people since we are not sure who gets to vote on who stays and who goes with each weeks eliminations, so better to suck up and meet everyone.
My Pepsi CAF donation/raffle is coming to an end with the final drawing to be held on July 29 where I will be giving away 11 great prizes that were donated. I am not sure how much has been raised so far but I am guessing maybe $1,000 which is great cause Pepsi will match that $1,000 and turn the total donation to CAF at $2,000+. That will put me right around $5,400 which is just over 1/2 way there to my final goal of a lofty $10,000. Not sure just how I am going to get the rest but hoping for good things to happen somewhere.
Well it is late and Napua is having her 8th birthday party tomorrow so I better get some rest as it will be a long day. Hope to get my bike back the same day so I can do a little ride on Saturday before the big ride of 63 miles on Sunday.

Last day riding for 3 weeks

Well it was very nice to finally get back on the bike today after a very a very hectic week here at home and also at work. I had panned a sort of big week of riding but sometimes the best laid plans just never happen. So I got out on the road early today at 6:30 and decided to meet up with the TREK group up in Carlsbad at the Coaster Stop off Poinsettia. A few minutes into my ride I realized I was going to be going past NYTRO and decided to see if I could beat my personal best of 58 minues from garage to their place. Well maybe it was me or the lack of traffic that early but I made it in 50 minutes flat. So that was kind of nice, took a few minutes to find the TREK meeting place but once I did I saw Mike and Adam from the CAF Sunday rides.
I decided to ride with their "C" group which is their fastest group and I think there was just 10 of us and it was maybe 19 mph so nothing too tough. The TREK riders are or at least seem more like weekend riders compared to the Sunday CAF riders who seem more experienced and spent more time in groups. But it was good to get out and stretch the legs as my last ride before heading out on vacation and spending a few weeks off the bike.
Yesterday at work one of the warehouse night guys asked me if I was selling tickets to our PEPSI/CAF raffle and I told him he needed to go to the front office to buy them and he said he was too busy. So I told him I would walk up there and bring the tickets over to him while he was working. Most guys who work the 2nd shift at Pepsi do a lot of heavy lifting so almost all of them are under 25 years of age and usually NOT the type who are interested in helping a cause. But as the one guy was filling out his tickets next thing I saw was a line forming and by the time the last guy was done I had sold $200 worth of tickets in about 15 minutes. Those guys really surprised the hell out of me by stepping up and wanting to help like that. I have no idea what my total is so far after 2 weeks of starting the raffle but with 4 weeks left my goal of $1000 is for sure in sight. I guess it helps that I have about 11 pretty nice raffle prizes to give away.
As most of you know I am a very stress free guy and most stuff just does not affect me. But I have to tell you this fundraising is by far and trust me nothing comes even close, the most stress I have EVER felt. Getting married, having and dealing with kids, 8 surgeries, finding and buying this house, nothing even comes close to the stress of tying to raise $10K for CAF. But remembering that Sunday morning back in October '09 and seeing all those smiling faces of the CAF kids and soldiers at La Jolla Cove makes me want to finish this thing regardless. So when I come back from vacation I will make that final push and try to get over the hump and finish my fundraising sooner rather then later.
The radio contest for XX1090 Scott & BR Cycling Team, I am not really worried too much about this as it is all out of my control and all I can do is be me and do my best and if it happens so be it and if not then I switch jerseys and keeping showing up on Sundays. Plus being gone for 4 weeks will not help my cause.
Well not sure when I will get a chance to update this, maybe just a few small posts while in Japan and possibly a few pics too. But since this is all about the journey to the MDC I will try to keep it all about the bike.

Thanks

Fiesta Island

Well just wanted to make notes about certain rides and Thursday was Fiesta Island. The goal was 2 hours and 40 miles and I was like 2 hours and 40.15 or so and I took one toilet break around the 45 minute mark. I used both laps, the big loop for the 1st hour and the smaller loop witht he World Championship riders the 2nd hour. They are good motivation to keep one going and I felt prety tired afterwards but pretty sure I can still hit it harder.
Trying to get some last minute mileage prior to being off the bike for 3 weeks while on vacation. I don't want to lose all I have gained during the 3 weeks in Japan so some creative workouts will have to do. Looking forward to some quality time with Sayaji and the girls while away and hope to take tons of photos to post everywhere.
Fundraising at Pepsi is going nicely as I am up to 9 donated prizes to give away with a chance to get a few more. My goal for $ raised at Pepsi will be $1K with a company match of another $1K so a nice $2K goal would be nice and that will get me to the 1/2 way mark of my lofty goal.

Reflecting on 1st month of CAF riding

Well here is it the 1st 4 week block completed and getting ready to start the next 4 week phase of our CAF/MDC training program. Met lots of really nice people and gotten in some good riding and a nice gym workout with coach Patrick Jak from Fitness Quest 10.
So far the fundraising has been the toughest part by far and since this is my 1st time giving it a try I seem to be learning a bit each day, but still very hard. I am not the kind of person to ask people for help and would rather fail 10x and then finally get it right before asking for help, that is just me. So when it comes to asking people to donate that is tough or asking people to help out and donate a gift to my Pepsi fundraising that is also very tough. I wish I could say it is getting easier but really it is not. But seems the Pepsi fundraising is going okay and I have collected 8 gifts so far to give away to those who buy raffle tickets and will be lucky enugh to get the # drawn. My goal at work will be to raise $1K and to have Pepsi match it with another $1K for a $2K total from work. This fundraising raffle will last for 6 weeks and hope I can meet my goals. I have some great help from a few ladies there Nurse Monica and Becky North who have done this in the past and are giving me great advice.
Today I was reflecting on just why I am doing this and how it has motivated me to really work hard and knwing how someone will personally benefit from all the hard work and sleepless nights I am having trying to figue out just how to make all this work. When I think back at the last San Diego Triathlon Challege held at La Jolla Cove back in November and I was there doing the 56 mile bike ride just 95 days post spinal fusion #2 and all the people who were out supporting this great cause. But what rally got me was the stage presentation of the Operation Rebound folks and also the young kids whowere getting their very first CAF devices and to see the smile on their faces, just got to me, and that is why I am here today doing what I am doing.
I am really touched by the number of people who have donated that I have never even met before all through Facebook. They are all great people and I am glad to have them in my corner and will try very hard not to let them down.
Well since this my 1st attempt at a blogging I better end this now. I hope to get on here once a week to tell what all has been happening on my CAF/MDC journey.