RAGBRAI 2012 - It's ON!

I am now signed up for this year's ride across Iowa and will again be joining Team LIVESTRONG, fundraising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).

I'm really looking forward to being able to ride the full week again this year, having only ridden two days last year. RAGBRAI is a fun and challenging way to push myself to be healthier and stronger than I have ever been. (For example, my Cycling For Life post documents the improvements in my health since I started riding in 2010.)

RAGBRAI
The Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa is a week-long adventure. This year, the 40th edition, is scheduled for 477 miles from Sioux Center in the NW corner of the state to Clinton on the Mississippi. The week looks to be challenging with three long days (75+ miles each) sandwiched between two shorter days to start and to end the week. And then, there's the Karras Loop, an optional loop of additional miles to bring one of the days up to about 100 miles. The reward for completing the Loop is ... a patch. But well worth it!

But really, it isn't as daunting as it sounds. The key, I think, it not think of it as a 60, 70 or 80 mile day, but rather 10 or 15 miles to the next town. And the next town always has at least two things: PIE! and BEER! And while the beer is not always the best, the pie always is!

This year, there is a new event to coincide with RAGBRAI. There is a Gran Fondo ride from Sioux City to Sioux Center the day before. The feature ride is a 100 mile timed ride. This would be a fantastic way to kick off the week. (And will likely result in the first day or two of RAGBRAI being ridden at a more leisurely pace.)

If you are interested in RAGBRAI, I encourage you to check it out. The website is http://ragbrai.com/. Info about the Iowa Gran Fondo can be found at http://igranfondo.com/.

Fundrsaising for the LIVESTRONG.org
And, as in the past, I am using this opportunity to fund raise for the LAF. In the last two years, thanks to the generous support of my family, friends, colleagues, and readers, I've raised over $7500. These funds are used to support programs and services dedicated to serving cancer patients and their loved ones as they fight like hell against this scourge.

As you likely know, the reason that supporting efforts to fight cancer and support patients fighting cancer is important to me is that my sister died at age 21 of cancer. Hard to believe but it will be 30 years ago this summer - not long after I finish this year's ride.

The reason I chose LAF was easy - it was an obvious connection between cycling and fighting cancer. Only after I signed up in 2010 for the ride did I learn that there was a team of riders from across the country doing the same thing.

I'm proud to be associated with LAF and be a member of Team LIVESTRONG. After camping with the team for the days I did ride last year, I know that the work LAF does is helping people. And that's what it's all about. (You can read more about my experiences with the team last year in this post, scroll down to the "Camp Life" section.)

If you want to support my fundraising efforts and support the work of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, you can make a donation on my fundraising page, here. Thanks!

Pay It Forward ... w/ Blood and/or Platelet Donations

This post was kickstarted by a tweet from a virtual friend, Darryl (@lovingthebike). Darryl linked a blog post from his website called "Pay It Forward." (Great read - go get it here.) Two guests write about how they received from others who pay it forward and now try to emulate that in their lives. That got me thinking. How can, and how do, I pay it forward? Below is one way I do....

Ok, time for a plug for the American Red Cross.

As you know, you can do blood donations through the Red Cross - at blood drives like the ones we periodically have at work, or by going to your local Red Cross office.

You can make blood donations every other month (56 days, or 8 weeks to be precise). And the actual donation part only takes a few minutes. (Getting from the reception desk to the table where you actually donate takes a little longer.)

Another way to give is to donate platelets. Platelets are used by patients fighting cancer, have undergone transplants, or otherwise have weakened immune systems. A single donation can provide up to three therapeutic doses. (In contrast, it takes up to six whole blood donations to provide enough platelets for one dose.) Follow this link for more information from the Red Cross.

After donating at the first office blood drive (last June) since I started last February, I was notified by the Red Cross that I am an ideal platelet donor candidate. My count is very high and they need A+ donors. I have made three such donations in the last two months.

My goal for 2012 is to make a donation either platelet and/or whole blood at least once a month. I'd like to do more, but it does take a lot of time.

In addition to the screening process you go through for every donation (which can take up to an hour), it can take up to an additional two hours for the donation. And the preferred method is the double-arm, where blood is drawn from one arm and returned (sans platelets) in the other. Of course, you can't use your arms during that time, so plan on bringing an iPod to listen to tunes, an iPad to watch a flick, or be at the mercy of whatever channel they have on the tube that day.

The Red Cross staff and volunteers are the BEST! while you donate. They will get you anything you need - a blanket, something to drink, adjust your pillow, etc. The ones I have worked with have all be awesome.

A couple of hints:
1) When they go to stick you, if you hate needles (like I do!), wiggle your toes - it focuses your attention on your feet and away from your arm. And do try to relax. When you're tense, your blood vessels constrict and it just makes it harder.
2) Eat something a couple hours before you donate. If your stomach is too emplty, you won't have enough blood sugar in your system and you may feel light headed afterwards. True for either blood or platelet donations.

Giving blood and/or platelets is an easy way to help out in your community. A way to "pay it forward" if you will.

Thanks for reading.

January Draws to an End

Well it is now January 30th. I am happy to report that I have not let the weather put the kibosh on my riding. And while I wish I had more time in the saddle, except for a couple of days, it hasn't been because of the weather.

As of today, I have been in the saddle 16 days, with today and tomorrow to go. Eight days of commuting between work and home; eight days on the trainer in the basement; and one day where I drove part of the way to work and rode the rest of the way. I "lost" some days when I was out of town at a conference, a couple to snowy weather, and a few to being sick. My guess is I rode at least 250 miles this month. Not bad for the middle of winter.

The weather, for the most part, has been very cooperative with bike-commuting. While the morning low temp that I rode in was about 10°F, there were a few afternoons when the temps were in the 40°s and once it was 53°! Is this Wisconsin in January?!?

A great thing about the end of January, in addition to temps getting ever so slightly warmer, is that the RAGBRAI route for the year get announced at the Iowa Bicyle Expo in Des Moines. This year's route is 471 miles from Sioux Center, in the NW corner of the state, to Clinton, just north of the Quad Cities. There are three days (Tue, Wed, Thu) that are each over 75 miles. It's a pretty flat route (11th flattest in the 40 years), with 16,125 feet of climbing over the week.

I would love to be able to ride the full week again. And encourage my readers (both of you) to consider checking it out as well.

Keep your eyes on the prize, your mind on your goals, and the rubber side down!

Goals for 2012

Well, it's been a few months since I last wrote here Things have been pretty quiet on the bicycle front since September. Olivia kept riding into the fall and will still occasionally pull her bike out to ride to a friend's house.

The winter has been very mild so far (*knock on wood*) with very little snow. With a few layers, commuting on my bike has not been a problem. I was averaging probably 3 days/week in Nov and Dec. Days I didn't ride was usually because of appointments or meetings out of the office that necessitated taking the car.

This is the last day of the first week of the year. While it started out nasty (cold and very windy), I made up for it by mounting my road bike on the trainer in the basement and riding that on the 1st and 2nd.

The wind died down and the temps started climbing for the four-day work week. I commuted by bike all four days. Tuesday morning it was 10°F out. The only thing that got cold were my toes for the last couple miles. (It's about a 10.5 mi commute.) Yesterday riding home, it was over 50°! And today is supposed to get into the upper 40s. Hard to believe it's January in Wisconsin.

My cycling goals for the year:
> Ride at least 250 days, either commute rides, road rides, or on the trainer;
> Commute by bike at least 175 days (that's only 2 of every 3 work days, not accounting for days off);
> I would like to complete my second Centruy (100 mi) ride;
> I would LOVE to ride RAGBRAI again this year with Team Livestrong. Hope to make that work;
> Ride a few other organized rides:
>>> "Feed the Need" Ride (late April),
>>> Minnesota Gran Fondo (early May),
>>> Milwaukee Ride for the Arts (Early June),
>>> Ride for Boys & Girls Club of Dane Co (July), and/or
>>> Centurion Ride WI (early August).
(Note: these are rides I am interested in, but don't think I can fit them all into my schedule, especially if I ride RAGBRAI in late July.)

There you have it. My cycle goals for 2012.

I do have goals for Olivia too. She is outgrowing her 20" single speed bike. Looking for a road bike for her. My LBS (local bike store) has a kids road bike by Schwinn that would be a great starter.

Then perhaps she can graduate to this women's GT road bike (it comes in size XS).

If we get her a road bike, we can start doing longer rides together. Then, maybe, be ready to ride RAGBRAI together in 2013!

So, there you have it. What are your goals for the new year?

Teaching Her to Ride (Finally!)

My daughter turned 9 last August (2010), just before school started.  We lived in a hilly development of a small town.  I worked out of town during the week. Unfortunately she did not know how to ride her bike.  For various reasons (excuses), I never got her interested and on her bike enough to get her riding solo.  Worse still, after the 2010 RAGBRAI, she said that she wanted to ride RAGBRAI with me.  So I know she wants to ride.  As an incentive, I said she needed to be able to ride independently in order to go with me on that adventure.

Last fall we moved into a larger (and flatter) community.  And this winter, I changed jobs to be home full time again.  So, in the spring, we started again, in fits and starts.  But she was interested in riding.  And as it warmed up, I sometime rode to her school on my commuter bike with her trailer bike attached.

Riding home from after-school in April

Like I said, we worked on it on and off during the spring and into the summer.  She almost had it, but I think that a fear of falling was weighing on her mind.  She was quick to jump off if she felt that she was at all wobbly.  RAGBRAI came and went.  She still wasn't there.  Mostly because I didn't get her out on the bike enough.  There was always something else to do.  Or she didn't want to.  Or....

Finally in early August... She's Got It!  She was able to go 20... then 50... then 150... then 300 feet solo.  Next up, starting on her own.  She quickly picked that up.

First solo ride!

After a couple days of staying on our cul de sac and getting comfortable with riding, we took off on a longer ride and ended up going 3 miles total.  Now, we have ridden across town to the grocery store (3 mi one-way) a few times, in addition to a few more rides with the trailer bike (including a 12-mile ride).

Riding back home from the grocery store.

Enjoying a ride together

On that first night riding three miles, Olivia told me that riding her bike was a real "joy!" - the wind in her hair, being able to move quickly.  She certainly is "Loving The Bike." She rides it all over the neighborhood... even when she's just going to her friend's house - across the street!

Next up, a tandem bike (this one would be great!) and RAGBRAI.  Ok, maybe not next up.  But it's definitely on the list of things we want to do.

RAGBRAI Wrap-Up for 2011

As you know by now, I was able to join the weeklong great bike ride across Iowa known as RAGBRAI for the last two days (July 29 and 30).  I was super excited to be work out the details and make it happen.

Making it work:

1. My parents live in Dubuque, which pretty much is like the middle of an hourglass from any point in WI to any point in IA.  My 9 (now 10) year old daughter doesn't get to see her paternal grandparents, who are both in the lower 80s, very often.  So, on the way to RAGBRAI, I dropped her off at my folks.  She got to spend a long weekend with them (Th afternoon - late Sun afternoon).  I returned there Saturday evening and got to spend time w/ the family as well.  Having dropped Olivia off, I was on my way!

2. Dropping my car off and getting it back: This actually worked out pretty well.  A friend of mine from college is now a prof at Iowa.  I was able to drive to Iowa City, pick he and his wife up and continue on to Grinnell.  At Grinnell, I unloaded, then they took my car back to their place.  On Saturday, I hooked up with a team from near DesMoines to get a ride back to Iowa City to get my car back.  Thanks again, Nick & Margaret! And thank you, Jeff for the ride Saturday from D'port to IC!
3. Hooking up with the team.  Thanks to the team manager, Colleen, I knew where in town Team LIVESTRONG would be - on the Grinnell HS campus.  And with a big black school bus, it should be easy to find.  But, I drove right past it! LOL.  I found them after a few minutes and was introduced to Brian who was on the staff with the team.  By the time I got the tent set up and pretty much settled in, it was dark.



Me in front of the bus I couldn't find.

Now... on the event itself...

Friday, July 29: I woke up in my tent in Grinnell at about 6:00.  When I poked my head out, many riders on the team had already been packing up their tents and some were on the road.  Today was college spirit day and the organizers had worked with the four largest schools in the state (Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and Drake) to offer school bike jerseys.  My wonderful wife bought me the Drake one as a birthday present.  As a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alum (class of '87), I was thrilled to be able to wear this.

Because Team LIVESTRONG had been riding together all week and gotten to know each other, and because I was not in Team LS gear that day, I wasn't recognized by others on the team during the ride.  (Not as in shunned, but as in not knowing that I was part of the team as well.)

I did ride with a couple of other Bulldogs during the day, though, and saw about a dozen other DU jerseys.  One of the guys I rode with was a current student, Payton.  We rode together for about an hour, through the Amana Colonies, talking about campus life, how school was going for him (it's going well, he's pre-med), family, etc.  Great kid. Wish him well.  When we got to Oxford, the last town before we reached the overnight town, we parted ways. He in search of food. Me in search of beer.

This day, we spent most of our time on US Hwy 6.  6 isn't too busy, as it runs parallel to I-80 just a few miles north of it.  But in the Amanas, US Hwy 151 joins with 6 for a short while. This is a busy road and I was surprised that we weren't redirected to a county road to the north or south. Payton and I actually passed a semi truck caught in the middle of all the cyclists for about 2 miles.  He was stuck going only as fast as the slowest cyclist. Of the days I've ridden RAGBRAI (all nine of them), this is the only one that I was surprised with the route selection.  I was also disappointed there wasn't a deputy to control the intersection where 151 meets 6 from the south.

It was a 75 mile day, from Grinnell to Coralville.  A great day for riding.  There were some rolling hills at the end and it was challenging.  I arrived at the TLS camp at about 2:30.

Rolling into Brooklyn Friday morning.

 Camp Life: Once in camp, you are responsible for finding your gear and setting yourself up for the night.  While in camp, but before I headed to the showers, I was able to witness a large group of TLS riders come into camp together.  People in the camp stood up and cheered.  Very cool and supportive of other riders, I thought.

The staff, on their own, decided to buy us all a pasta dinner that night. Pasta for about 80 riders. Plus salad, bread, and... PIE!  We ate as a group before the nightly team meeting.  This was my first team meeting. I understood them to be a time to talk logistics, share cancer stories, and support each other.  It was all that and more.  It was truly inspirational. 

First, we heard from Drew, a young man who is battling a rare form of cancer that has already taken his leg.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, this young man rode the last several miles of today's ride and was leading the procession of riders into camp that we had cheered for earlier in the afternoon.  He and his family spoke about his challenges and his determination.

Drew (center) with his brother, mother, and father.

Next, several team members shared their stories.  Why they ride and why they fundraise for LIVESTRONG.  Survivors. Loved ones. Fighters.  Amazing stories.  People who have ridden with the team all five years it has been together, others who participate in the LIVESTRONG Challenges in Philly, Austin, and other places.  People who have directly benefited from the work of LIVESTRONG.org.

SURVIVORS!

Sidebar: I don't care what people think about Lance.  Whether he doped on the Tour or not.  Whether he's a cheat and a profiteer (there's a whole debate about .org versus .com and how one benefits from the goodwill generated by the other).  What I do care about is the great work that the non-profit LIVESTRONG is doing.  And that meeting affirmed for me that I will stay involved with the organization as long as I ride RAGBRAI and suppoprt their work always.

Sorry for the sidebar.... *steps off soapbox*

Anyway, it was a great evening.  I got to meet some of the other riders.  We hung out afterwards and talked and rested.  And drank beer.  Ok, not beer, but Michelob Ultra.  (Yes, it was provided by Michelob.  And, shh, don't tell anyone, but the staff also bought us some Fat Tire!)

Saturday, July 30:  I was up and ready to roll by 7:30 Saturday morning.  I was also the last rider to load his/her gear mount his/her bike!  For the last day, we all rode our 2011 Team LIVESTRONG jerseys as we pedaled the 65 miles from Coralville to Davenport.

Coralville is a suburb of Iowa City, which means the Univ. of Iowa.  Our route took us into the heart of campus, though not past Kinnick Stadium.  Nice campus.  It's not Madison, but it's nice. 

It was a great day for riding.  For the most part, I stayed on the bike and kept motoring on towards Davenport.  The team was scheduled to meet up outside Davenport and ride to the dip site on the Mississippi River in formation.  That was to be between 12:00-1:00.  I arrived shortly after 12.  About half the team was already there.  We actually met up in town just a couple miles before the end point of the ride.  A good choice, as there were some hills that would have destroyed the formation ride.

While we waited to collect our team, Team Air Force came by in formation.  We cheered them on.  They cheered back.  They had well over 100 riders riding two abreast.  At about 1:15, we mounted and got in line.  Survivors in the front, the rest behind them.  We rode about 4 miles in formation heading to the river. 

Team LIVESTRONG riding in formation to end RAGBRAI XXXIX

I thought a lot about my sister who died 29 years ago, at the age of 21. And I though about a colleague from my last job: he retired last summer, was diagnosed before Christmas, and passed away this spring. 

We were cheered by people on the side of the road to watch the crazy cyclists finish a week of riding, by other cyclists who passed us on their way in, and by some motorists who tooted their horns.  It was kind of awesome. And inspiring.

And with that, we reached our end point.  We didn't dip - the site was limited due to recent flooding and the line was long.  There were hugs and goodbyes.  I rode off to find the bus to gather my gear together and hook up with my ride.  And before I knew it, RAGBRAI XXXIX was done.

One final little note: the TLS bus and the bus I was riding back to Iowa City with were about 2-3 miles apart.  I had all my gear (including a duffle bag, a tent, and a sleeping bag) to get from point a to point b... on a bicycle.  I made it.  It wasn't pretty, but I made it.

Yes, I hope to return next year.  For the full week.  For the record, Olivia is talking about riding part of the way, too.  Tandem?  And yes, I will be riding with Team LIVESTRONG again.  And yes, your donations are always welcome on my team fundraising page!

Thanks for reading.  Feedback welcome!

RAGBRAI Fever

Over the weekend, the Register's Annual Great Brike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) began in Glenwood, just south of Council Bluffs/Omaha (NE).  Next Saturday it will pull into Davenport after seven days of riding the highways and biways of rural Iowa.

Followers of this blog (both of you), know that I started this as a way to document my RAGBRAI experience in 2010.  You know that I rode all week and had a blast.  It was demanding and challenging and fun.

So, today is day two of the ride, from Atlantic to Carroll.  (You can see the route maps here.)

And I'm sitting in my office.

Ugh.

I wish I were there.  I wish I were riding my bike, eating homemade treats baked by people raising moeny for a new roof for their local church or a new jungle-gym for the community park.  I wish I were drinking beer to rehydrate after a 65 mile ride, swapping stories with teammates, and sleeping in a tent. 

I have RAGBRAI fever.

And following some folks on Twitter who are riding is allowing me to vicariously ride along with them.  And it is fueling the fever.  It's like an itch I can't scratch.

At least not today. But soon. Very soon.

Thursday afternoon I'll be driving to central Iowa to meet up with Team LIVESTRONG in Grinnell.  I'll camp overnight with them and will be riding days 6 (75 mi Grinnell to Coralville/Iowa City) and 7 (65 mi Coralville to Davenport).

As part of Team LIVESTRONG, I committed to raising funds for LIVESTRONG.  If you are interested in donating to support the cause, you can contribute on my donation webpage.  I am 83% of the way to my goal for this year.  And thanks to all who have contributed this year and/or last.

Side note: Saturday will be crazy in Davenport.  In addition to 20,000 (or so) cyclists rolling into town, Davenport will be hosting it's annual Bix Fest. Bix Beiderbecke was a Davenport native jazz musician.  With the Bix Fest is the Bix7 road race for runnners.  There will be about 10,000 runners in town as well.  Plus all the people there for the jazz festival.  Should be a crazy weekend in the Quad Cities!