Charity Events - LiveSTRONG Challenge – Philadelphia, PA 2008

I'll be at the red X come 7:15'ish... area between the lines is the staging area lanes... fast 100 is closest to the start:

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6735/snap1mx5.jpg

I'll be there at 7:15'ish. I'll be wearing a white jersey and riding a yellow and black Scott.

Hope to see all of you.



grahny, you up for 5:30hr finish time? :thumb:


James

This is going to be my first, doing the 70 mile course.
Didn't get any training in this week, but did do 65 miles in the Ramapo Rally last week,
with some nice climbs.

I'll be there, probably by 6:30, closer to 7:00 if I decide to drive down tonight to get my kit.
I'll be the short guy on a silver Trek, white jersey with rainbow circles and ACA 2008 logo on back.

If go I today, I'll probably be walking around in white St. Maarten shark diving T-shirt.

I'll be there at 7:15'ish. I'll be wearing a white jersey and riding a yellow and black Scott.

Hope to see all of you.

grahny, you up for 5:30hr finish time? :thumb:

James

I was thinking about my goals for this event yesterday...

1. Raise money... done
2. Finish the ride safely... God willing
3. Beat last year's time and finish in 5 1/2 hrs... may take a small miracle

I think if I take less time at the rest stops I can do it, but grahny needs his rest stops and cantaloupe :D. Last year my ride time was 5:41, total time was 5:55. As long as there's a medic waiting for my corpse to roll over the finish line, I'll give 5:30 a try :thumb:

I just picked up my goodies... rider # is 558. I decided against the livestrong kit, so I'll be in a white giordana jersey, same as last year. Hope to see you all there!

:beer:

EDIT: Oh, I checked out the staging area and there is only one 100 mile lane this year... 5K lane is closest to the start, then 100, 70, etc...

I'm all registered.

1273

I'm still up in NJ!

Heading down in the next few, but not checking in until tomorrow.

I'll be there - number 1507.

I'll be wearing a LiveStrong jersey (just like a bazillion others) with BikeForums.net shorts, and riding a Litespeed with yellow handlebar tape and saddle. If that fails, just look for the guy with the whitest legs in the peloton.

1244! Have a great one today, everyone!

I'm back... thank God. 5:55hr time... EXACTLY the same as last year. I'll say this - I've never had a worse day on the bike ever - nothing in the legs right from the start... just brutal. If I had a day like last week in Lancaster I could have done 5:30hr easy, but it just wasn't there today. Landis Store Rd sucked the very being right out of me.

Good to see you again Tasr - I lost you at the 2nd rest stop, which was probably good 'cause I never would have been able to hold that pace we started with (had to stop and use the porta john, we can't all be like LA and just piss off the bike :D). When did you finish? You must have had a kick ass finishing time. I know Lance finished in 4:50 or so.

Nice to meet MasterOMayhem too... how'd it go for you?

Cool part of the ride... Tasr and I caught up to the LA group and rode with them for a while. LA took a whiz off the bike while I was behind him and almost nailed me (the f'er) - some lady on the side of the road got a picture :lol:

Some pics here... In the group shot, LA is up front in yellow (where else would he be?)

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii66/grahny/LSC/

I almost had a Frank Schleck moment going over a guard rail on one of the descents - scary moment. Probably 10 of us or so were cruising down and someone up front misjudged the turn (at 45mph) and almost took us all off the side. Brakes were squealing, tires skidding, and I came about a foot from the rail. Luckily no one was hurt though and we all pulled around somewhat safely, but it was close. From that point on I kept my distance from others when bombing downhill.

Sorry I didn't get to see anyone else though - Hope you all had a good time. I hung around with a friend of mine that showed up for support and had a beer at the end... went down smoooooooooth :D

just returned - all i can say is... HOLY HILLS. anyone know the grades of some of those nasty ones?

Sorry I couldn't meet up with you dudes, was a crazy morning and we were rolling around all day!

My group finished in 6:00 flat (ride time, not including the rest stops), very respectable for both of my brothers' first centuries...it was six hours of me pulling a group of 8 guys around, but we had a blast. Lance signed a few of our "Spin For Nance" tshirts, and we hung out with Doug Ulman for quite a bit during the course of the weekend.

Man, that Landis General Store climb was funnnnnnnnnnnn....it was the punishing kickers that really tired our guys out, the short 18% pitches were killer by the fourth hour in the saddle.

Oh and if you're going to try to cut someone off while riding in a pack, make sure your skills are up to par....on Morris Road on the way out some jackass tried to swerve through our group (who were riding two wide and about 10 deep) and got too close to me, so I've got enough race experience to know how to protect myself. I put my elbows out and sure enough he plowed into me with some good force, to which I leaned my full weight into him and gave him the good-old head ram. I scared the living daylights out of him, and then had some choice words him before he fell back in line. Doofus was going to kill someone, so I'm glad I got to him first.

I look forward to the day when a 5:55 time on a century is a "brutal, life sucking" ride! :D

So LA rode the whole thing, eh? I figured he just did the leadout and then got driven back to address the walkers and runners. Pretty cool that he did the whole thing though.

I'm still waiting on Motionbased to get it's act together to see how I did. I got in around 3ish. Felt pretty good the whole time and cut 30 minutes off my time from last year.:thumb:

Wow! Nice work, Dan! There were quite a few real knobs out there today. The ones I had to deal with were all in Amoroso kit - rode like a bunch of wannabe's. I hate to be negative, but those guys weren't at all up to the task today. I actually had one of them telling me I needed to learn to ride - of course, I left him in the dust and never saw him after the #6 rest stop (after the Oysterdale Road climb). :p And to put that in perspective, I'm about 250 and slow as molasses in January on the climbs.:twitchy:

Sorry I couldn't meet up with you dudes, was a crazy morning and we were rolling around all day!

My group finished in 6:00 flat (ride time, not including the rest stops), very respectable for both of my brothers' first centuries...it was six hours of me pulling a group of 8 guys around, but we had a blast. Lance signed a few of our "Spin For Nance" tshirts, and we hung out with Doug Ulman for quite a bit during the course of the weekend.

Man, that Landis General Store climb was funnnnnnnnnnnn....it was the punishing kickers that really tired our guys out, the short 18% pitches were killer by the fourth hour in the saddle.

Oh and if you're going to try to cut someone off while riding in a pack, make sure your skills are up to par....on Morris Road on the way out some jackass tried to swerve through our group (who were riding two wide and about 10 deep) and got too close to me, so I've got enough race experience to know how to protect myself. I put my elbows out and sure enough he plowed into me with some good force, to which I leaned my full weight into him and gave him the good-old head ram. I scared the living daylights out of him, and then had some choice words him before he fell back in line. Doofus was going to kill someone, so I'm glad I got to him first.

I look forward to the day when a 5:55 time on a century is a "brutal, life sucking" ride! :D

So LA rode the whole thing, eh? I figured he just did the leadout and then got driven back to address the walkers and runners. Pretty cool that he did the whole thing though.

I'm still waiting on Motionbased to get it's act together to see how I did. I got in around 3ish. Felt pretty good the whole time and cut 30 minutes off my time from last year.:thumb:

Just wait until the MS150 my friend... I'm aiming for sub 5 on the day one century. Zero climbing, slight tailwind (hopefully), I think it's more than doable if we get a decent train going and skip the 9am lunch stop - I'll pull :) :thumb:

They made an announcement at the beginning about the person at the LAF that was just diagnosed with cancer (don't remember her name). She was the challenge organizer apparently and this was the first one she couldn't attend due to being in the hospital and recovering from surgery, so LA rode for her.

grahny,

I looked back and you were there then when I looked back again I didn’t see you. I felt bad leaving you. For what’s it worth, I stayed with Lance till the 70/100 split about 35 miles. Then he flew up the hill and left me. :rolleyes:

I was amazed to be able to ride with him for so long. :)

Some of my Garmin figures were;
5:09 ride time
97.13 miles
18.9 average speed
7037 total ascent

The Garmin also reported 4 peaks in between 14 - 16% in grade. I got to the base of Carls Hill Rd (40 mile) at 2 hr ride time. When I got to Landis Store (55 mile) it was 2:55 hr ride time about 11am. Landis Store was my 2 nd stop and I was feeling really good. That stop was the best! I made a total of 3 stops, in total, with only 14 minutes of stopping time. I am very happy with my ride. So I left at 8:03 am and returned at 1:26 pm.

It was good riding with you. :thumb:

That's super cool that he did that! Shows that he is willing to put his legs where his mouth is, you know? Some people like to say he's just in it for the money for himself. I don't know - getting out there for the whole 100 shows some dedication to the cause.

I'll jump on that train with you! My aim was a 5:30 ride for the first day century - and I don't really stop other than to pick up water - same for the LSC. I carry all my nutrition (liquid) with me. Flats and rollers are my specialty (plus I'm a little wider than most), so I'd be glad to take some pulls! I'll hang in as long as I can.

By the way, here are my stats from the Garmin - pretty happy with my result!
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=110346&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=6597458

Just wait until the MS150 my friend... I'm aiming for sub 5 on the day one century. Zero climbing, slight tailwind (hopefully), I think it's more than doable if we get a decent train going and skip the 9am lunch stop - I'll pull :) :thumb:

They made an announcement at the beginning about the person at the LAF that was just diagnosed with cancer (don't remember her name). She was the challenge organizer apparently and this was the first one she couldn't attend due to being in the hospital and recovering from surgery, so LA rode for her.

grahny,

I looked back and you were there then when I looked back again I didn’t see you. I felt bad leaving you. For what’s it worth, I stayed with Lance till the 70/100 split about 35 miles. Then he flew up the hill and left me. :rolleyes:

I was amazed to be able to ride with him for so long. :)

Some of my Garmin figures were;
5:09 ride time
97.13 miles
18.9 average speed
7037 total ascent

The Garmin also reported 4 peaks in between 14 - 16% in grade. I got to the base of Carls Hill Rd (40 mile) at 2 hr ride time. When I got to Landis Store (55 mile) it was 2:55 hr ride time about 11am. Landis Store was my 2 nd stop and I was feeling really good. That stop was the best! I made a total of 3 stops, in total, with only 14 minutes of stopping time. I am very happy with my ride. So I left at 8:03 am and returned at 1:26 pm.

It was good riding with you. :thumb:

No worries my friend :beer:

Awesome ride stats though! Damn. Next year I'll actually prepare for this and be right along with you.

the woman was Renee Nicholas, I got to know her really well last year...shame that someone so involved in helping other people fight cancer now has to take the fight on for herself. Alas, she is home and recovering well so she will be just fine

Hi guys nice to meet you guys... Well last you saw me i was yelling for you guys to catch up with the lance group. I was able to ride 3rd wheel with him for 3-4 miles then i blew up a bit. went out too fast, then you guys passed me. its was a great day, rebooting my stomach on the first climb.... then trying to rehydrate and eat on a sour stomach for the next 2 hours. I waited for this one guy on many climbs because he didnt look all that good and i wanted to make sure he was ok. I spoke to him and his determination was unmatched. he made 70 miles and put in a huge effort it slowed me down alot but i was able to finish before the course closed. all in all it wasnt about the ride. it was about the commitment people put into the effort. there were many people i saw who just kept riding and made it. particularly a teacher who won one the award for most donations. she just kept moving and rode the whole 100 mile route. she didnt go the fastest but she finished. I spoke to her after the event and told her that she rode like a champ and that i saw her throughout the day. she thanked me and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. that made my day.

Well I didn't make the 100. Around mile 60 I started to develop pain in my left knee. I continued to push until around mile 75 when the pain on each stroke became unbearable. It just sucks because outside of the pain I felt pretty good and know I could have finished. I can say that I never walked a hill, I climbed every hill on the bike. I had a sag vehicle drop me off 2 miles from the finish so I could ride across the finish line. The last 2 miles hurt like I can’t even put in words. I just hope I didn’t do any long term damage. To say the course was a challenge is an understatement. My hats off to all of you that completed it, Job well done.

Every one of you is making me jealous. Since I am still rehabbing my elbow, I did the 5K walk/run (mostly run...with some walking). As I saw all the cyclists going to the staging area, I was excited for all of you and the *cough*fun*cough* times ahead. Congrats on your rides, and hopefully next year I will join you.

Well, I can breath again ...:D

My ride was excellent. I cut 30 minutes off of last years time. Finished in 7 hr. 30 min. Not bad for a Clydesdale ... I didn't walk a climb this year either. I figure, if I make it in before they sweep the coarse, I've won (so to speak).

Sorry I didn't catch up with anyone at the start, but the traffic coming in was terrible. I ended up parking at a shopping center about a mile and a half way, and riding in for the start. I did pass "higher ground" while climbing up to Landis Store (sorry I couldn't chat HG, I had momentum, and wasn't about to slow down) ... after that climb, I felt like I was pushing cinder blocks around the crank.

This year had a lot more participants. I saw a bunch of riders in up to there ears ... and yes, those Amoroso boys were funny to watch all day. They'd come blowing past me on the flats, and then I'd catch them at the climbs ... funny, me, at 235 catching the boys with the fancy kits on the climbs. I didn't see them much near the end. One, by himself, passed me in the homestretch on Morris Rd., but that was it. I saw a lot of people suffering though. There seamed to be a lot of riders cramping up. For some reason I never got my second wind. Maybe it was the heat. I felt pretty good at the end, but couldn't hammer the last 20 like I did last year. That might have shaved another 15 or 20 off my time ... but it's not about the time, it's about the effort.

Sounds like you had great rides Grahny, Dan, uncandan8 ... isn't this a great event. I don't think I'll ever have the times that you guys have, but I try and better myself each year. I can't wait for next year. I'm starting my training today ... a nice EASY 20 miles.:lol:

Great job everyone :thumb:

Here I am post-ride, getting the biggest prize of all ...

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff100/gabworx/Theprizefortheride.jpg

OK. Here's my report.

I was able to finish the whole thing without a problem. I started getting tired around mile 50 but a gel and a banana kept me going. I started slowing down in the last 10 miles because it flattened out a bit and I started to feel a bit of burn from lactic acid.

I paced myself from the start as was suggested in here and I suppose it worked. There was a bit of confusion though at the start because they didn't separate the 70 and 45 people so it looked like nobody was moving when the 70s went out. I think I was one of the last ones out.

Anyways, I rode up all the hills and only had to dismount once before crossing that really busy highway. I stopped at every power stop to update a podcast that I was doing via phone so people who visited my blog would know my progress. But when I was on the bike, I stayed on the bike.

It was awesome this year and I hope to do it again.

Sorry I didn't catch up with any of you guys. We'll have to try again next year!

Ok, here's my report.

My whole plan for Sat, went to @#$%, and I didn't get out there until much later than expected, and since I heard it's impossible to get a room without booking way in advance, I crashed in my car in some office parking lot.

Got there nice and early, though, and got a really close parking spot.

At the first stop, I met up with another solo rider, and we pretty much stayed together for almost the entire course, except for the last few miles, when he just pushed through as I was hitting a wall. Although, I did at least get that one last wind and flew on the last few miles.

Hit every stop mainly just to fill up. Would have liked to spend a little less time, but damn those water/gatorade lines were long. Finished in a very unimpressive 5:25 I think, but not bad considering this it was the most climbing I've done since my mini tour in CO back in 2000 and my laziness when it comes to REALLY training. I'm happy that I was at least able to climb every hill. I saw a lot of people walking on that 70 mile course.

BTW - does anyone know who the photographer was? They don't it anywhere in the rider pack or on the website.

My report...

I finished the 70 mile ride with my MTB & 10lb pannier without too much aches & pain, but I'm not ashamed to say that i did have to walk up a few of those hills. My muscles felt like a ton of bricks on some of those inclines but no cramping or spasms, otherwise. Thank god for those low gears, never had to use them before on my MTB. Not bad considering, 0 training with recreational rides once/twice a week with no hill training. Now, I know better for next year. BTW, I saw a few riders with 1 gear in amazement!!
I saw a few riders in the ditches on some of those 30+MPH descents with the ambulance in assistance, hope everybody was OK.

Photographer: http://www.kreutzphotography.com ... the pics are usually up within a week or so.

Sucks about the knee Jay, but you made it over all the hard climbs which is an accomplishment in itself. Sgtpepper, congrats on finishing the 70! Next year it's the 100 for you my friend ;)

Glad to hear everyone reporting back in and no major casualties. Congrats on a successful event for everyone. :thumb:

My report...

I finished the 70 mile ride with my MTB & 10lb pannier without too much aches & pain, but I'm not ashamed to say that i did have to walk up a few of those hills. My muscles felt like a ton of bricks on some of those inclines but no cramping or spasms, otherwise. Thank god for those low gears, never had to use them before on my MTB. Not bad considering, 0 training with recreational rides once/twice a week with no hill training. Now, I know better for next year. BTW, I saw a few riders with 1 gear in amazement!!
I saw a few riders in the ditches on some of those 30+MPH descents with the ambulance in assistance, hope everybody was OK.And no reason you should be ashamed.

I was really debating hopping off on a few of those hills. There were some guys who appeared to be in better shape than me, who were blowing past me and then hoping off on some those of bigger climbs.

On the very first descent someone hit a rough patch and went into the rail. And at the after party someone showed me a picture of one of her friends who actually fell into a small creak!

Sucks about the knee Jay, but you made it over all the hard climbs which is an accomplishment in itself. I just really wanted to complete the 100. It figures I get hurt after all of the hard climbing was over. Or maybe I should say, all of that hard climbing hurt me. Anyway. Nice job on your ride grahny. 5:55 is a damn good time on a course that hard.

Here I am post-ride, getting the biggest prize of all ...

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff100/gabworx/Theprizefortheride.jpg

I'm thinking we must have been yo-yoing with one another quite a bit of the ride; you look familiar. I also did the ride in about 7.5 hours. Moving time was 6.5 hours. Congratulations on the ride!

I'm thinking we must have been yo-yoing with one another quite a bit of the ride; you look familiar. I also did the ride in about 7.5 hours. Moving time was 6.5 hours. Congratulations on the ride!

We may have been ... I remember seeing some of the same faces all day long. I finished around 4 o'clock or so.:D

I did a search in the thread but can't find an answer to this question:

About how many feet of climbing were on the 70 mile route?

I did a search in the thread but can't find an answer to this question:

About how many feet of climbing were on the 70 mile route?You really think they'd put that on the route map.

Hahahaha the gummi bears were hilarious...i highly doubt they didnt anything to help nutrition-wise, but damnit did they make great comfort food after the Landis Store climb hahah.

"The spirit along the way was palpable" <--- I could not agree more, I miss it already and can't wait for next year. If you survived the 45, you'll be fine on the 70 if you can log some more miles in the next year. As for the Manayunk Wall - I climb the wall at least once or twice a week being in center city phila, and I've gotta tell you there were some kickers on sunday that were more than comparable to Manayunk.


Btw I think the 70mi has around 6000 feet of climbing, maybe a tad less.

How great is it to just roll through almost every single intersection with someone there holding up traffic for you? The volunteers & police were awesome as usual. Now if only I could get that type of service on my usual rides I'd be all set :D

I saw a packet of gummi bears on the side of the road at one spot and I was wondering 'who's eating gummi bears?'.... I didn't go for any of the food other than a banana at one stop so I didn't realize they had them - gummi bears sure are original :)

The people directing us were great. They almost didn't even have to bother mark the route.

I pretty much just grabbed gel at every stop, throw in a power bar, some nuts, and one PB&J to get something solid in my stomach and for a little salt.

I saw this written on the side of a car at the LSC.

"Why do we ride??

Because our sweat is nothing compared to their tears.
Because our challenge is nothing compared to their fight.
Because we are all on one journey with one destination, one goal:
to conquer cancer in our lifetime"

Did anybody see the helicopter landing at a church along the 70 mile route? There were a couple of fire trucks there too. I hope it wasn't one of the riders. I did see a couple of cyclists who had gone down, but I haven't heard about any serious wrecks.

there was a bad wreck. helicopter was hovering over some trees on part of the course where there was a sweeping fast downhill right turn. Hill on the right, guardrail on the left. there were people cautioning everyone to slow down and I look over. There was a biker on the ground wrapped in the foil blankets. looked like he was in bad shape. I kept trying to find a story on the news but there wasn't one. Don't know how he's doing.

A white chevy pickup also caused a wreck behind me on the uphill after the second (3rd) power stop. There were other riders behind to help so I pedaled as hard as possible until I reached the next intersection with an officer and notified him of the incident.

This was my first ever ride over 25 miles and man, I paid for it but I did finish!

The rider had a compound fracture of the arm - not sure which one, but is apparently doing okay.

there was a bad wreck. helicopter was hovering over some trees on part of the course where there was a sweeping fast downhill right turn. Hill on the right, guardrail on the left. there were people cautioning everyone to slow down and I look over. There was a biker on the ground wrapped in the foil blankets. looked like he was in bad shape. I kept trying to find a story on the news but there wasn't one. Don't know how he's doing.

A white chevy pickup also caused a wreck behind me on the uphill after the second (3rd) power stop. There were other riders behind to help so I pedaled as hard as possible until I reached the next intersection with an officer and notified him of the incident.

This was my first ever ride over 25 miles and man, I paid for it but I did finish!

Well, I think I probably had the most unusual "preparation" for the event...

I felt great on the Sunday prior, during the Covered Bridges ride in Lancaster. By the middle of the week, I was having problems with being exhausted, and having restricted breathing. My doctor ended up putting me in the hospital Friday afternoon for observation. By Saturday afternoon they had ruled out cardiac problems, so I was released from the hospital. I rode to the expo area to pick up my packet, and it felt sooo good to be on the bike! It seemed like the problems of the past few days were behind me. Unfortunately I had problems with an "intestinal jihad" late Saturday night, but a maximum dosage of some over-the-counter medicine got it under control.

I wasn't worried about setting any kind of record pace during the ride. Considering the previous week and the course profile, I just wanted to finish within the time limit. I knew I would have to pace myself in order to ride well towards the end. The first 50 miles went pretty well, and I was ahead of schedule. A bee stung me at about the 45 mile mark, but I was lucky because I didn't have a reaction. (I am allergic to some kinds of bee stings, and I carry an epi pen on rides.)

The killer hill before the sixth rest stop came a little earlier than I had expected, so I was kind of freaked out. If that was the second to the toughest hill, I'd be cooked on the worst one! I had to stop to rest on the hill (around the 55 mile point), but I made it up without walking. By the sixth rest stop I was pretty beat, but I attributed it to the severity of the hill and I hoped to recover.

The second half of the ride was much different than the first half. I was cramping and having problems on the climbs. On one gradual uphill, my hamstring locked up and I had to stop on the edge of the road. There were a lot of climbs where I had to stop and rest, which is unusual for me. I'm not the fastest climber by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm usually fine as long as I pace myself and ride within my limits. I think the problem was that the medicine I had taken to calm my stomach had slowed down my digestive system to the point where I wasn't absorbing food, water, and electrolytes nearly as fast as I normally would. The first half of the ride was done on my body's reserves, and by the second half, the tank was empty.

I distinctly remember one time when I stopped to rest. The course crossed over a busy intersection where the State Police were controlling traffic. Traffic was backed up in both directions. I stopped at the intersection to rest, as the climb continued straight up. I was straddling my top tube, slumped over my handlebars, head resting on the back of my hands, staring at my front wheel. Somebody in a waiting car said, "Come on buddy - if Lance can do it, you can too!" :thumb: I continued up the hill, and still had to stop again to prevent my legs from locking up.

I knew I was cutting it close to the time limit, but I did the best I could. I knew the last part of the course was easier than the middle, and that gave me hope. Between the eighth and ninth rest stops, I was informed that the course was officially closed. I was so close to the finish! I pulled in to the last rest stop and asked one of the volunteers to remove my number. I said that I was a Montgomery County resident who was going out for a ride, and that the LAF was off the hook for any responsibility or liability - all of which was true. It was just a coincidence that my ride happened to go past my home and towards the college. :D

It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, how hard could the remaining 10 miles or so be? Well, if the second half of the ride felt like the lights were off, the final 10 miles were like the plug was pulled out from the socket. I felt okay (relatively speaking) for the first few miles, but the remaining ones were spent crawling along in my 39 x 25. I blew up so hard that I'm surprised that no one reported seeing a mushroom cloud on the course! When I had to pull over on an uphill to allow the police escort for the sag wagon to pass, I was really reconsidering the wisdom of my decision! The final hill on Morris Rd., right before crossing Rt. 202, felt like Alpe d'Huez. I made the turn in to the college, and pedaled towards the black banner. When I got close enough to see "Finish - 350 yards", it felt like a cruel joke! When I made it to the end, my dad was still waiting there for me. I was not an official finisher, but I completed the whole course without walking or giving up. A volunteer asked if I wanted to get checked out at the medical tent. I took her up on the offer, and I was glad that I did. Those towels soaked with ice water felt so good!

I'm not saying this to brag, but I've done some really tough rides over the last 25 years, including the Assault on Mt. Mitchell and riding up Alpe d'Huez. All things considered, I think this one was the most challenging. I was almost certainly DFL, but I'm still proud of it. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer a second time, what was supposed to be a one week stay in the hospital became a month and a half. I know how stir crazy I was after just one day in the hospital, so I can't imagine how tough it was for her to be there for six weeks. She made it through that, so I was determined to finish this as well. I'm going to participate again next year, and to come back stronger.

Wow, HG! What a week you had. It's no wonder you ran out of gas. Sounds like you were depleted from the very beginning.

I'm thinking now that I have no excuse NOT to do this ride next year. :)

Beth

Kudos, HG! I know what it feels like to be grinding along in that lowest gear and still keep hitting that shifter hoping for a lower gear. Great job on finishing! Now get some rest and spin easy for a while.

:twitchy:

Uh oh...

:twitchy: :twitchy:

This can't be good...

I just realized... I did laundry on Monday night when I went to visit my parents. However, I didn't take my cycling clothes because I let them hang dry. That means my jersey and shorts have been festering at the bottom of the hamper all week. :cry: And I thought I was suffering before - just wait till I open that lid tonight! :cry:

And thanks to uncadan8 and to Beth for the compliments - I'll expect to see both of you there next year! I promise to use a few gallons of Febreeze on the jersey between now and then!

Wow HigherGround... I was just thinking the other day I wonder how your ride went since you hadn't posted yet... hoping all was ok. Glad to hear you made it through as tough as it was. Finishing under those physical conditions is a victory in any book :beer:

That course is a b*tch for sure... last year that 2nd climb didn't leave any real lasting impact on me, but this year, feeling like crap myself, with no gas from the get-go, I feel like that climb was the hardest, roughest, most painful time on the bike in my entire life, and several times I had to look deeper than I ever had just to make it up. I can't imagine how tough it must have been for you, but you obviously showed depth of character and some serious will to see it through to the end and should be proud of that fact for sure. We make that small sacrifice for a few (long) hours on the bike, knowing how hard it is for others that can't be out there, and that means a lot to everyone.

Now please, for the love of all that is holy, get a gas mask, and get that kit into the washing machine :eek:

Better yet, HG, burn the kit! New stuff can always be bought.

I'll definitely be there next year. I just learned today of a friend who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about a year ago. She was just able to get back on the bike this January. I had been out of touch with her for that entire period, so I had no idea that she had gone through this. This is a woman who bikes everywhere - she has never had a driver's license, and doesn't ever intend to get one. She was a mentor to me when I was just starting a job at a gym and always amazed me with how she rode the bike no matter what. In fact, it was on the bike that she realized something was very wrong and that she needed to get checked out.

She has been through the chemo and is riding again, but ovarian cancer is a nasty one and has a reputation for coming back. I pray it doesn't, but it certainly gives me more motivation to get on the stick with the fundraising for next year.

I haven't counted up all the people I know who are affected directly by cancer, but I know it is a high and growing number. We need to fight hard on this one, folks.

HigherGround, When I passed you on the hill before stop #6, I had no idea how badly you were feeling. We spoke a few words, and you didn't let on ... great job at getting through. I was surprised at how many riders I saw cramping this year. Seemed liked a lot more than previous years.

I'm am changing my RD, Cassette, and Chain to a Deore XT group. I'm gonna love that 32/11 cassette on those killer climbs. I have a triple Ultegra now, and adding lower cogs to go to (instead of 27t being my lowest), is going to save these old bones, and Clydesdale knees from excessive fatigue.:D

I have plans to do some New England hill climbs next season (including Mt. Washington, if I can get in). The new set-up is not just for LAC, but to give me a better chance on some of those major Vermont and New Hampshire road climbs as well.

Congrats to everyone who had a successful LAC ride ... some of us, worse for wear, but if you rode a complete ride, under any circumstances, it was a success.:thumb:

:twitchy:

Uh oh...

:twitchy: :twitchy:

This can't be good...

I just realized... I did laundry on Monday night when I went to visit my parents. However, I didn't take my cycling clothes because I let them hang dry. That means my jersey and shorts have been festering at the bottom of the hamper all week. :cry: And I thought I was suffering before - just wait till I open that lid tonight! :cry:

And thanks to uncadan8 and to Beth for the compliments - I'll expect to see both of you there next year! I promise to use a few gallons of Febreeze on the jersey between now and then!

Use that Febreeze and/or some Clorox2 on that kit, and I'll be happy to hang onto your wheel next year.

As soon as the date and details are posted, I'll get it firmly on my calendar :)

Beth

Use that Febreeze and/or some Clorox2 on that kit, and I'll be happy to hang onto your wheel next year.

As soon as the date and details are posted, I'll get it firmly on my calendar :)

Beth

Ok if you are doing Philly next year I might have to do both Philly and Austin. :thumb:

grahny: Hopefully having our mail forwarded to the Pain Cave will not be necessary during next year's event! It's tough to dig so deeply in to one's reserves, and not something you want to do too often. ("Thank you Captain Obvious", right? :)) Having dug so deeply will give me confidence for when the going gets tough in the future, either on or off the bike. Thanks for the kind words.

uncadan8: Best wishes for your friend. It sounds like she's pretty tenacious to begin with, which can only help. I hope she has a complete recovery and can join us on the ride next year.

the engine: I recall that we had spoken briefly during the ride. I think it happened just as I was starting to feel bad - but I'm sure that's purely coincidence! :)

And to everyone else: No need for one of these

http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50006918/MF14_Type_Gas_Mask.jpg

The jersey and shorts appear to be safe! However, I am thinking of getting one of the new jersey (http://www.store-laf.org/sg-4000.html) designs, and having it modified with a full zipper. Either way, you'll be safe from the funk!

Pictures are finally up.... http://www.kreutzphotography.com/