We did it!

We got up this morning and were out the door at 5:45 a.m. to head to the Portland LIVESTRONG Challenge. We loaded two strollers for the girls, just in case they got scrappy in the wide double. I put my bike on the rack and we were off.

We brought breakfast and a DVD for the hour's drive north for the girls and they seemed to enjoy both. The entrance to Nike World Headquarters was backed up when we got there but we had plenty of time to get set. I got the wide stroller set for the girls and put my bike together while Lindsay got the essentials together. Once we had the girls situated, I got into my riding gear and got adjusted for the ride.

I saw the girls and our friends and their daughter at the staging area. It was already heating up and only got hotter as the day went on. Our oldest had to go see Daddy before we set out on the ride and had tears going. A combination of an early morning and a little anxiety, I think, but sweet none the less. We parted ways and I was off.

My legs felt great but I really hurt. I figured I might as well go fairly hard to get off the bike sooner and finished the 40-mile course in 2:13 with two water stops. The 40-mile route is pretty flat so it wasn't a huge problem to get into a good rhythm and roll. I called my wife with 5 miles to go to let her know I was coming in fast but she didn't get the message until I was already back to the soccer field where the post-event party was being held.

The girls did the 5K. Momma had to walk a few times and settle some sisterly squabbles over space in the stroller but they made pretty good time. They walked/ran with our friends for a bit of the way.

We all played and ate at the party. I took some time to get a shower and stop by the medical tent for an ice pack while we waited for Lance to come give his speech.

The Cyclists Combating Cancer team took the jersey competition and it was awesome. Our event raised over $1,000,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I hope the other events do even better and, as Lance said, I hope we see a day where we stop doing this because we beat cancer.

Last ride before the Challenge

I rode a group ride on Monday and forgot to post. We took it easy as many of the group completed the Watermelon Rides the day before. It was a simple 25-mile loop and a good shake out. I felt really good, but between swim lessons with the girls and my little mishap, it will be the last time I'm in the saddle until tomorrow. I'm going to try the 40-mile loop tomorrow but it will all depend on my ability to adjust everything to ride relatively pain free.

My wife is wonderful. She took the girls with her the last couple of days to let me rest and ice in the hopes I could get myself ready to ride. Here's to hoping the extra pain and agony was worth it.

Vital stats:
25.62 mi - 16.1 avg - 1:35:05 rolling time

Drat!

In a cruel twist of fate, I have an injury and was told by my doctor unless I really wanted to hurt and possibly do permanent damage, 100 miles on the bike on Sunday is out of the question. In fact, he recommended not getting on the bike at all until I heal as the pressure of the seat will not help the healing process. I'm on ice, Advil and rest today until I feel good enough to walk around comfortably. If I can move around comfortably, I may try to give the shorter rides a go on Sunday or walk with the girls. Lame!

It's allergy season

I rode last Saturday and Sunday and rode again Friday. I have come to one very simple conclusion: Allergies stink! I rode 18.5 Saturday, came home and my eyes swelled shut. I rode 68.5 miles on Sunday with a bunch of climbing and felt okay afterward but had some itchy eyes and a plugged nose. I rode 42 miles on Friday and came back covered in hives. I could see the pollen coming off the wheat and grass fields in the valley.

I'm excited for the event this weekend but we had a little shirt snafu. It seems my month-early order had a problem. My spam filter caught the notification of the problem and all of a sudden we're talking about how to upgrade shipping and changing sizes that are backordered. I think we're squared away now, but I'll be more comfortable once the shirts are in hand.

In other news, I reached a fundraising milestone yesterday when my donation total reached $500. I'm halfway to my goal but I'm afraid with less than a week to go, I won't reach my goal by ride day. I will continue to fundraise in the hopes I can reach it after, however.

Frank discussions about cancer?

The Seattle Times ran an article today about the talks terminal cancer patients have, or rather don't have, with their doctors. It seems patients actually benefit by being fully educated about their situation and the knowledge allows them to make critical decisions about their care. The patients who have "the talk" with their doctor are less likely to be on a respirator, be resuscitated, or die in a hospital. Further, their loved ones did better, too. Apparently, knowledge IS power.

The Klein is out of commission

So I built up my blue Klein Aura XV myself. Turns out, that may have not been the greatest plan on a couple of counts. I popped in an outboard bearing bottom bracket and crank I got on the cheap used, but did not face the bottom bracket shell. Basically the procedure cleans the paint off and makes sure the part of the frame that interfaces with the bottom bracket bearing cups is perfectly flat, preventing sloppy wobble when you pedal. The wobble can apparently cause nasty noises and destruction to occur at the bottom bracket. Two thousand of my miles on the crank and bottom bracket caused an intermittent creak to become a royal scream. I walked into the shop today to talk about a fresh problem to have the mechanic show me the crank stop at exactly the same place, going only once around on its own. That's friction, folks, and that's bad. Really bad.

Tomorrow, I pick up the bike with a new (to me) Ultegra crankset and bearing cups. That should free up one problem but it leaves me with another: a broken rim. One of the spokes on my rear wheel is pulling through the rim. I'm actually really lucky it didn't give on a ride because my frame probably would have been completely hosed. It's almost indistinguishable but once you see it, you notice the cracks in the metal. After having the front wheel trued a couple of weeks ago, we decided to cash in the warranty toward an entire replacement set. We already knew the front wheel wasn't long for this world (after a certain rolling under the car tire incident) so it just made sense. Someday, I'll get the fancy upgrade wheels but I'm sticking with the basics for now.

I'm just counting the hours until I get to run screaming from the school building and ride (almost) whenever I'd like. It's coming soon...

Hat Day

My friend and colleague went through her second round of chemotherapy late last week. She and her husband made the decision to shave her head over the weekend and the phone tree got started. At school, as a show of solidarity with her, over 40 of our teachers and staff wore hats. She requested a picture, but not everybody could make it.

Just a quick shopping trip

My training took a huge hit this week. I got sick. Very, very sick. I came down with a fever on Wednesday, in the middle of the day. I fought through the rest of my classes and after school time with students before coming home and sleeping until my wife had to go to work. Trying to take care of the girls while I was shaking was not really that enjoyable.

When I woke up in the morning, I was at 102. I usually run around 97.8 so this was a pretty significant spike for me. I got sub plans in and then slept all day Thursday. My wife took the girls out of the house for most of the morning and even took them to work at a care center in the athletic club down the street (for her first day, no less) so I could sleep and try to recover to deliver my finals. She really deserves a medal because her first day didn't go very well.

My fever finally broke sometime during the night Thursday, but I still didn't feel like eating much. In fact, my appetite didn't come back until today. I finally felt good enough to ride today, a week after my last ride.

I rode up the the factory stores north of us. It was about 42 miles round trip on a very pleasant day. The allergens are out and my allergies were acting up the whole day. Sneezing on a bike is a bit sketchy. I bought some new socks and a shirt, stuffed them in my jersey pocket and rolled on home. It felt good, but I will need to have the bike worked on this week. I'm having problems with the left crank and pedal.

C/D Ride - Oh, yeah

So we decided to send me on my merry way to the Sunday morning club ride. It was advertised as a C/D ride, which is the most difficult ride the club does, as near as I can recall.

We rolled south then traversed the hills, with repeated climbs and descents. I suffered like a dog on every climb, trying to keep up with the fast group. I have a bit of heft helping me catch them on the descents. I bailed to get water from a teacher friend whose house is on the route and never caught back on. I caught another club member and rode back in to town with him. I basically had cramps from the top of the last hill all the way home.

I have a lot of work to do before the Challenge at the end of the month.

Stats:
60.11 mi - 16.3 avg - 3:41:12 rolling time
HRM - 4:02:52 total time (w/ rests) - 3075 cal - 35% fat - Max 219 BPM - Avg 145 BPM

C/D Ride - Oh, yeah

So we decided to send me on my merry way to the Sunday morning club ride. It was advertised as a C/D ride, which is the most difficult ride the club does, as near as I can recall.

We rolled south then traversed the hills, with repeated climbs and descents. I suffered like a dog on every climb, trying to keep up with the fast group. I have a bit of heft helping me catch them on the descents. I bailed to get water from a teacher friend whose house is on the route and never caught back on. I caught another club member and rode back in to town with him. I basically had cramps from the top of the last hill all the way home.

I have a lot of work to do before the Challenge at the end of the month.

Stats:
60.11 mi - 16.3 avg - 3:41:12 rolling time
HRM - 4:02:52 total time (w/ rests) - 3075 cal - 35% fat - Max 219 BPM - Avg 145 BPM