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

iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=0453a46b2e3a1a91b9bfd527e0e9297f&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0">CAF Poker Run, Sep 11th
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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.