LiveSTRONG Challenge – Philadelphia, PA 2008

[tasr]

Register here http://www.livestrongchallenge.org/

Now for me to register. :)

[grahny]

Me too! :beer:

[Jay68442]

I registered today for the 100 mile ride in Philly. This will be my first century and I can't wait.

[tasr]

grahny............Woohoo man! I'm going for that sub 6hr mark again. Maybe we can get a group of BF'ers at a -6hr ride. ;)

[grahny]

I registered today for the 100 mile ride in Philly. This will be my first century and I can't wait.

It's a great ride... you can read up on the course from last year's thread if you like (lot's of good info and various post ride comments):

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=295406

[tasr]

Jay68442.......... Start doing your hills. Last year's 100 miler was over 8000 ft of elevation. But, hey man you can do it.

[grahny]

grahny............Woohoo man! I'm going for that sub 6hr mark again. Maybe we can get a group of BF'ers at a -6hr ride. ;)

I'm down for sure! I think sub 6 is definitely a good mark again... 5:30 with a decent group would be doable (it would be painful, but doable :D)

[Jay68442]

Jay68442.......... Start doing your hills. Last year's 100 miler was over 8000 ft of elevation. But, hey man you can do it.

All I do is hills, Mountain Top, PA. The area by my house where I ride has very few flat roads. 8000 ft is a whole lot of climbing but I will be ready when the day comes.

[tasr]

grahny you blew by me at the end of the 100 miler last year on that beautiful Cervelo R3. :p

I got something new for this years challenge. I'll be riding my new Scott CR1, so yhea I'll try 5:30 mark. Oh the pain...........:eek:

[grahny]

grahny you blew by me at the end of the 100 miler last year on that beautiful Cervelo R3. :p

I got something new for this years challenge. I'll be riding my new Scott CR1, so yhea I'll try 5:30 mark. Oh the pain...........:eek:

Nice! Although I think that Kestrel held up just fine ;)

[tasr]

Nice! Although I think that Kestrel held up just fine ;)

Register completed !

Yeah that Kestrel is one comfortable ride for me. I even upgraded it with some nice Ritchey carbon forks and a FSA wing handlebar. So it’s even nicer now. After last years LAF Challenge I still rode a lot of 100 plus rides with it.

[tasr]

All I do is hills, Mountain Top, PA. The area by my house where I ride has very few flat roads. 8000 ft is a whole lot of climbing but I will be ready when the day comes.That’s cool, Jay. I love climbing. Some of those grades at the Challenge last year were near 20% :eek: at the top and a lot around 12-16%. Read that link grahny posted should be a course lay out or map somewhere in it. The word was the course is the same.

I was reading your blog. I glad you’re a survivor that a good thing. :) I hope we can meet at the Challenge.

[grahny]

I think it would be cool for BF members to meet up at the beginning of the ride this year. We don't have to all ride together 'cause I'm sure there will be varying skill levels, but we can start out together. I'm sure not everyone is going to do the 100 also, so just getting the group in one spot for a picture or something would be cool.

[Jay68442]

I was reading your blog. I glad you’re a survivor that a good thing. :) I hope we can meet at the Challenge.

Thank You. It would be great to meet you at the challenge as well as others from BF.

[grahny]

Thank You. I would be great to meet you at the challenge as well as other from BF.

Just read your blog too... survivors are always inspiring! At the end of the ride, survivors get a yellow rose :)

[morgolf]

Hello all,

Registered last night for the 65 mile ride (been injured or sick since September so I need to get back into shape). Last year I completed the 40 miler and had a great time, so this year decided on a new challenge.

[grahny]

Interesting that they changed the distances this year (10, 45, 60, 100). Last year was 10, 40, 75, 100. I wonder if that means the route has changed, or if they just changed the turn points for the different distances.

[SgtPepper64]

This looks interesting.
I never heard of it before this thread and I'm going to look into how the fundraising part works.

If my parents can confirm that I'll be able to participate (I'm 18 so I'd just need a way to get to Philly :D ) then I'm going to register. I don't think I'm ready to do a century yet, so I might do the 45.

[tasr]

This looks interesting.
I never heard of it before this thread and I'm going to look into how the fundraising part works.

If my parents can confirm that I'll be able to participate (I'm 18 so I'd just need a way to get to Philly :D ) then I'm going to register. I don't think I'm ready to do a century yet, so I might do the 45.It’s a great experience, very moving. To see that many people come to gather for a cause is really cool. I did the 100 milers last year. The ride starts with the 100, 70, 40, 10 and the runners. I was in the back of the 1st group of 100 milers and when I got out into the first few miles to see all of those cyclists. It was so awesome. I truly enjoyed it and the facility was the best.

[tasr]

Interesting that they changed the distances this year (10, 45, 60, 100). Last year was 10, 40, 75, 100. I wonder if that means the route has changed, or if they just changed the turn points for the different distances.Hey grahny I didn't even noticed. I was so excited to register all I saw was that 100.

Yeah make me wonder too were it was shorten at. Probable do to the ride feed back survey. It really doesn’t mind me as long as the 100 miler is the same.

[grahny]

This looks interesting.
I never heard of it before this thread and I'm going to look into how the fundraising part works.

If my parents can confirm that I'll be able to participate (I'm 18 so I'd just need a way to get to Philly :D ) then I'm going to register. I don't think I'm ready to do a century yet, so I might do the 45.

You have a $50 entry fee (there's a $10 off coupon right now - LSC2008 - to get it down to $40). Then you raise $250 minimum. Best way I think is through email request for donations. People can donate to your personal page that you get after registering.

I've raised around $2K the past 2 years and the goodies you get are pretty nice. 1st year was a livestrong backpack... last year was a large livestrong duffle bag, which I've used many times since getting it. Of course T-shirt & water bottle just for meeting the minimum.

It's a great event. I highly recommend it (if you hadn't noticed :D)

[tasr]

Hello all,

Registered last night for the 65 mile ride (been injured or sick since September so I need to get back into shape). Last year I completed the 40 miler and had a great time, so this year decided on a new challenge.Hey morgolf! What a better way and reason to get back into shape. Help yourself and helping others. You got my vote! :)

[morgolf]

Thanks tasr. Last year when my wife, children and I went to registration there was a boy around 8 yrs old that was writing out one of those livestrong posters (those that said "LiveStrong means ......." and you fill in the blanks). The boy wrote "LiveStrong means...my daddy is alive". My wife started crying when she saw that. Very moving experience for all of us.

[Little Darwin]

I am registered, and will attempt the 100 mile ride. My first real attempt at a century will be in June at the Tour de Cure on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I will definitely not be going for speed, but consistency. My steed will be a 1986 Schwinn Voyageur with Shimano 105 ten speed upgrade... definitely built for comfort, not speed (like me).

I look forward to meeting some more Bikeforum members.

I also plan to do a good "warmup" ride for a casual metric at the Lancaster Covered Bridge Metric. It is a week or two before, and there has been a Bikeforums group at that ride for the past few years It would be a good ride to meet others going to Philly's Livestrong ride in a more casual environment and all ride at a similar pace, then we wouldn't feel so bad as us slow guys watch you speedsters head off into the distance.

[dan.lavelle]

Three things:
1) When you select the option to register for yourself or a new team, there is a woman in the picture at the top of the page holding up a "Livestrong Means...No Wallowing" poster. Thats my mom! She is still going through treatments but was so happy when we told her about that, so everyone reading this better register

2) I just sent an email to the guys I know who will have the down low about the new distances and route changes, i'll let you know what i find out. (however, last i heard the 100mi course was the same)

3) I'm doing the 100 mile this year, last year I was too busy with course coordination to ride but not this year! Our team raised $8000 last year and we're looking to expand and hit $20,000 this year....if anyone is interested in joining the team we're putting together to support my mom, send me a PM!

Dan


Edit: Grahny I was just looking at your 08' page, thats my mom at the top! On a more embarassing note, Liz Kreutz (photog) actually caught me and my girlfriend crying in the background of that picture, it was an emotional moment....haha.

[tasr]

Very moving experience for all of us.As for us too, my wife a I really took it all in. While I was out on the ride she was making all kind of new friends.


I am registered, and will attempt the 100 mile ride. My first real attempt at a century will be in June at the Tour de Cure on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I will definitely not be going for speed, but consistency. My steed will be a 1986 Schwinn Voyageur with Shimano 105 ten speed upgrade... definitely built for comfort, not speed (like me).

I look forward to meeting some more Bikeforum members.

I also plan to do a good "warmup" ride for a casual metric at the Lancaster Covered Bridge Metric. It is a week or two before, and there has been a Bikeforums group at that ride for the past few years It would be a good ride to meet others going to Philly's Livestrong ride in a more casual environment and all ride at a similar pace, then we wouldn't feel so bad as us slow guys watch you speedsters head off into the distance.The 100 mile challenge is a tougher than normal century, if they keep the same course. For me it was good, NO awesome I loved every hill, turn and straight. Landis Store was one of the rest stops atop a 20%ish climb. It was rock’n.

I am also looking at that Lancaster Covered Bridge century. It is the 17 Aug a week before the challenge. That would be nice metric century (62 miles) to warm things up a bit. I keep you posted or if there is a thread on this ride I’ll post.

[grahny]

I'll be at the Lancaster CBM too... last year's ride was a blast (minus the pace line crash :eek:. I think we learned our lesson though :)). That metric was a good ride, with very little climbing. A nice warm up to the LiveSTRONG challenge for sure.

[HigherGround]

I'm in for the Philly 100! :beer:

[HigherGround]

A word of caution: Be careful when you're sending e-mails to request donations. I had modified one of the sample letters, saved it, entered a few e-mail addresses of family members, and sent the messages on their way. I also entered my own address, just to see what the final version looked like.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the e-mail to see a message about when I was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago! :eek: Fortunately I have never had cancer, so I sure didn't want to be sending that message out to all my friends. Some how my selected message had defaulted to one of the samples, so check twice before hitting the "send" button! :o

[SgtPepper64]

Count me in for the 60! (Or 70? Says different things in different places.)
:)

[HigherGround]

Any idea how many people rode the 100 mile course, and how many total riders there were (all distances) at the Philly LiveStong ride last year?

[grahny]

Any idea how many people rode the 100 mile course, and how many total riders there were (all distances) at the Philly LiveStong ride last year?

If I remember correctly there were 4,000+ participants (including walkers/runners). I'd say at least 1,000 did the century, maybe more since they ended up splitting it into two start times (fast & slow). If they do it again, sign up for the fast group.... which really just means you're in the first group to go out (behind Mr. Armstrong) :D

[CoventryJeff]

This is a fantastic event. It is over 8,000 feet of climbing with the new route. I saw a lot of suffering on the climb at 55 miles. I finished in 5:53 and I have 97.59 miles from my Garmin 305. There are two big climbs between 30-35 miles and between 55-60 miles. I can't wait to do it again this year. The roads are nice and scenic.

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=262613&lis=1&kntae262613=3EA68EF5541147F1AABEBF009FAE46C0&supId=161941099

[HigherGround]

If I remember correctly there were 4,000+ participants (including walkers/runners). I'd say at least 1,000 did the century, maybe more since they ended up splitting it into two start times (fast & slow). If they do it again, sign up for the fast group.... which really just means you're in the first group to go out (behind Mr. Armstrong) :D

Thanks for the info grahny. If I do select the fast group, I will be sure to demonstrate my proud heritage as a citizen of Offthebackistan!

[grahny]

Thanks for the info grahny. If I do select the fast group, I will be sure to demonstrate my proud heritage as a citizen of Offthebackistan!

Seriously, the "fast group" was just the first group allowed out, immediately followed by the "slow group". I saw some very, very slow people out there ;) No worries. I think the purpose was just to get those who wanted to try and blast through it, out ahead of everyone who wanted to take the ride at their own pace. The good thing about going out first was that everyone was so pumped, the bulk of the group got through the first 20-25 miles in under and hour (a nice long drafting warm up) - then it was time to climb and everything changed after that :)

[TheJackMove]

I'll be there again this year too (assuming my knee holds up). It's definitely a fun ride.

One major change I am making, though: I'm breaking down and switching to a compact crank for this ride this year. I doubt I will be alone in making that change.

See you there, keep posting your thoughts as the ride approaches-it's good to hear some excitement about this so early in the season.

[SgtPepper64]

I got an E-Mail saying that they "inadvertently" did not collect emergency contact data, and the link to the form they tell you to update on only has space for ONE contact person. What happens if that person can't be reached? Wouldn't it be better to have two contact people in case one can't be reached? :eek:

[grahny]

I got an E-Mail saying that they "inadvertently" did not collect emergency contact data, and the link to the form they tell you to update on only has space for ONE contact person. What happens if that person can't be reached? Wouldn't it be better to have two contact people in case one can't be reached? :eek:

What do you normally do when you go on a ride? ;)

If you're concerned, you can always carry something on you (like a Road ID, piece of paper with contact info, cell phone with "ICE" contacts, etc). I believe your jersey number, that you pin to you, has an emergency contact info area on the back side you can fill out too.

http://www.roadid.com <-- never leave home with out it :)

[roadrider63]

I'm very interested in this ride but since I just started riding last summer and don't really have any hills to climb/train on I may have to put it off till next year and make that my goal. I've never even rode a century so I guess I best start off small.

[Jay68442]

I'm very interested in this ride but since I just started riding last summer and don't really have any hills to climb/train on I may have to put it off till next year and make that my goal. I've never even rode a century so I guess I best start off small.

They do have shorter rides at this event. The ride distances are 10, 40, 70 and 100. It's a great cause and a wonderful event. If you think a 100 miles is too far chose a shorter route but don't miss out on the event.

[grahny]

They do have shorter rides at this event. The ride distances are 10, 40, 70 and 100. It's a great cause and a wonderful event. If you think a 100 miles is too far chose a shorter route but don't miss out on the event.

+1... The 100 is a tough route that I think people need to be prepared for. So for those that are either newer to cycling, recovering from an injury, or just not sure of their own capabilities, do a different length route this year and then you can gauge where you think you might stand for 2009.... Just don't miss out by not going at all!! :D

[SgtPepper64]

I'm still sticking with doing the 70. I'm going to give it a shot. I have to get back into shape after a winter of inactivity though. Shouldn't take me long to get back up to good performance levels.

Anybody checked out the new Challenge site yet? It looks really nice.

How's everybody doing with their fundraising so far?

[CelticTraveler]

I'm still sticking with doing the 70. I'm going to give it a shot. I have to get back into shape after a winter of inactivity though. Shouldn't take me long to get back up to good performance levels.

Anybody checked out the new Challenge site yet? It looks really nice.

How's everybody doing with their fundraising so far?

Man, oh man, that was a killer 100 mile ride last year! Last year was my first year cycling seriously (as an adult) and that was my second century, the other being the Ride for Missing Children (raising money for producing the posters of missing and endangered missing children) that happens in May in Central NY. But I managed the hills even with one of the screws having come out of my clip on my left foot and a painful hot foot for the last 20 miles or so (fortunately the course gets flatter by then).

The volunteers did an amazing job at traffic control - I felt like the president or something blowing through intersections and around corners! It got dicey as we got closer to the college again since I was getting a bit brain dead and realized that there was no traffic control any more on the main streets. I was NOT a sub 6 hour rider - my goal was to stay out of the SAG wagon, not get a flat and finish before the cutoff. I finished in just under 8 hours. And that was with only riding in a "group" for about 25 miles. I'm hoping I can get some people to group up this year - so much easier. Except the hills will blow us apart, probably. It's a truly beautiful part of the country, but be prepared to suffer!

As my RoadID says: Start with your head, finish with your heart! It takes guts to face the cancer challenge (my mother lost her battle w/bladder cancer two years ago) and it's having witnessed that struggle that has inspired me to challenge myself. You can do it . . . if I managed to train for it (at 50 years of age) as a new cyclist, others can too. One more thing, though, the longer you're out there on the road, the less you participate in the activities at the college (there's presentations and stuff). I was thinking about doing a shorter one so I could feel more a part of that but for now am signed up for the 100 (no guts, no glory). I submitted a photo of my mother (her graduation picture) and that was put up on the huge screens several times - my husband got a photo of that - it was AWESOME!! She was with me!!!

The fundraising part . . . just about everyone has been touched by cancer in some way. Encourage people to visit the website and inform yourself about the Foundation and some of the programs. At another participant's suggestion I ordered several of the Survivor Notebooks (full of info) to keep on hand and (unfortunately?!) have given away all five of them and am ordering more (they're free - just have to pay for shipping). It's my way of spreading the good the organization does. Pass it on. It'd be nice to NOT have anyone to pass it to. Maybe some day. Good luck all!

[Jay68442]

4 Months till Philly. How is eveyones training going?

[grahny]

4 Months till Philly. How is eveyones training going?

I'm about ready to go :) Last year I over trained and between that and illness I was off the bike for about all of July and part of June so I had to quickly come up with a plan to be able to do this ride. I thought I'd put down what I did below for others if it'll help. Remember this is me though, and how my body reacts, so it's just what worked for me.

3 week plan I started in August:

I did this each week for two weeks:
- 2 tempo rides (35 miles, fairly flat)
- 1 20-25 mile hill ride (zero flats other than warm up - all hills greater than 7% - up and down, up and down, etc - basically did it until I was questioning my sanity, which means ending with the manayunk wall about 4 times in a row and almost puking a couple times.
- 1 recovery ride (25 mile spin)
- 1 longer ride (minimum 4-5hrs in the saddle)

3rd week:
- Started with the Lancaster CBM which was a slow 20mi ride saturday followed by the metric on sunday
- 2 tempo rides (35ish miles, fairly flat)
- 1 recovery ride (very, very easy 20-25mi spin) fri early, early am
- Saturday before the ride just chill (meditate, pray, sit with legs crossed chanting 'ooooohhhhmmmmm' - whatever works :) ).

That's what I did with over a month off the bike prior and I finished in under 6hrs with plenty of energy to spare. Ran a 53x39 w/ 12-27 cassette. Plan to run a 12-25 this year on a heavier bike :D

Nutrition wise for the ride I used all Hammer products and I highly recommend them. Heed, Gels (vanilla), Electrolytes, and Anti-Fatigue caps.... and lots of cantelope at the rest stops :)

Good luck everyone. Happy training :beer:

[dan.lavelle]

See that beautiful woman holding the "No Wollowing" sign at the top of all the 08' Philly pages? She's my mother "Nance", and she passed away this week after a four year battle with cancer....that me in the background, a very proud son now on a mission to kick the living **** out of cancer if its the last thing I do.

Here is my team's link: http://philly08.livestrong.org/spinfornance
I'm $3100 in so far with no end in sight...I made a promise to my mother to unite a community this year against cancer, we're going bigtime with our team this year.

If anyone wants to join our team or donate...please do! More members means more power, more power means a bigger fight. I've worked with the LAF for the last few years, met Lance, been invited to Austin, etc....but 2008 is going to be bigger than anything, in honor of my mom

[HigherGround]

4 Months till Philly. How is eveyones training going?

I've got my work cut out for me. I had settled in to a decent routine of riding, weight lifting, and yoga... until I had a crash just over a month ago. It was the first crash in about 9 or 10 years, so I guess it was due sooner or later. Fortunately nothing was broken, but I had some decent-sized road rash on my left leg and right elbow. The bigger problem was the amount of swelling from the knee down to the foot. I was limited to wearing flip flops for about 3 weeks, which also ruled out riding and weight lifting. The road rash also would have prevented swimming. I remember driving past one of my chain-gym's locations last week and thinking, "I used to go there..."

On the bright side, I was able to get out for two rides of about 17 miles each last weekend, and I went to the gym last night. I was wearing regular shoes this week also, although I had to break out the flip flops again this afternoon; I don't know if that's related to the gym session last night.

I have only 450 miles for the year. I know my body composition is improving, even though my weight is still about the same. I'm bummed, because I had wanted to be out of the Clydesdale Division by now. I'm at approx. 215. About the only bright side is that the time off the bike gave me a chance to let a nagging over-use injury calm down a bit, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

I'm also just $5 shy of meeting the minimum pledge requirement, which is where I've been stuck for the last month. However I'm pretty sure I can nail that down in the next 20 weeks or so. After that, only $2,250 to go to my goal. :)

[HigherGround]

Dan, I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom. I remember you explaining about her picture on the Philly '08 page, and I thought of her every time I checked the web site that tracks my pledges. Perhaps I should have been thinking of her sign when I wrote my post above. :o I am sure that she will be with you in spirit.

[grahny]

Dan, very sorry to hear about your Mom. The Livestrong ride has taken a whole new meaning to me since losing someone close last year, and I don't plan on stopping my efforts in doing what I can to help raise money for research. I do a few charity rides each year but this one is the closest on to my heart and the one that I do fundraising for.

Is there a way to join your team even though I'm registered already? I haven't started fundraising yet this year but the last two years I've gotten $2,300 & $2,000... aiming for $2,500 this year.

EDIT: Scratch that... I found how to join an existing team! I'm in my friend :beer:

[Jay68442]

See that beautiful woman holding the "No Wollowing" sign at the top of all the 08' Philly pages? She's my mother "Nance", and she passed away this week after a four year battle with cancer....that me in the background, a very proud son now on a mission to kick the living **** out of cancer if its the last thing I do.
I'm truly sorry to hear about your mom passing. I too remember your post explaining the picture on the LiveStrong site. I'm sure your mother is watching all that you do and is honored by your actions. As a cancer survivor of almost 20 years now my only wish is that one day I get to see cancer get the living **** kicked out of it. Best of luck to you in exceeding your goals.