So far this season, I’ve ridden 200 miles on my bike.  I will begin to keep a more accurate count of the miles now.  My goal for the year still sits at 1,500 miles, so I have work to do, but I will get there.

Another personal link to cancer…

I just found out about a week ago that my aunt’s mother had a brain tumor.  The performed surgery and removed most of the tumor.  After further tests, it was reveiled that she has stage 4 cancer.  Grandma Benjamin was like family to all of us.  I keep her in my prayers and think about it often.  Keeps reminding me that there is a reason for doing all of this and someday, maybe it will make a difference.  I just ordered my LIVESTRONG Jersey and Shorts, so I will be a rolling advertisement before we know it! :)

Scenic Shore 150

I’m all registered for the Scenic Shore 150 on July 24th-25th, benifitting LLS of Wisconsin.  I’m riding with Team Destroyer.  This year, we’re riding in memory of Dennis “The Destroyer” Werra, who lost his long battle with cancer late last year.  We have a big team this year which should be a lot of fun.  So far my fundraising total has passed $300! 

If you’d like to contribute to the cause, please click here.

Miller Lite Ride for the Arts

This weekend is the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts in Milwaukee.  This will be the first year that I’m participating it.  I signed up for the 75 mile ride, which I’m a little nervous for, but I think it will be fun.  It will be a good warm up for the Scenic Shore.  I will have a report next week on it.  This ride kicks off the week long Bike to Work Week in Milwaukee, which is always a lot of fun.  Although I’ll be traveling part of the week, I hope to get out several times for a ride.

Ride/Race Schedule Updated

I just updated my 2010 Ride/Race schedule so everything is current.  I’m still looking for a triathlon to do on August 1st, so if you know of anything, let me know!  All I know is that i can’t wait to start racing!  I’ve finally recovered from my sprained ankle, so I’m eager to get out there and see what I’ve got!

David Heaslip of Bracebridge has been selected as one of the 40 riders to ride across Canada in the 2010 Sears National Kids Cancer Ride. If you ask David why he wants to do it he’ll say “If not now….when?” David’s 68 now, and will be 69 during the ride. His other slogan is “…because I think I can!”.
 
David’s interest in fitness started back in 1998. An executive on Bay Street in Toronto, time in the office or flying around the country in the back of a 747 airplane had packed on the weight. There was no time for fitness at all.
 
One day a light bulb went off and he decided to join a downtown fitness club. He got up before dawn, headed to the gym and got on the treadmill. Twelve months later he had lost 54 pounds and 11 inches from around his waist. At this point he started strength training, and then dabbled at distance running. That didn’t prove to be too exciting.
 
He retired in 2000 and moved to his lakeside home in Muskoka. He joined the Muskoka Fitness Club in Bracebridge, and kept up his daily routine. A few months later he was invited by a couple of gym members to take the CanFitPro Personal Trainer certification. He did, and he loved it. He went back to Bracebridge and spoke at several service club luncheons about wellness as we age.
 
He then took the CanFitPro Wellness and Nutrition program to bolster his knowledge. At the same time, he completed the Million Metre Row on the indoor rowing machine. He was invited to join a social bike riding club, and caught the bug. He went on to take his indoor cycling certification at Georgian College, and introduced classes to Muskoka Fitness.
 
David believes that just because you are older that you shouldn’t stop being active and fit. He has no illusions about the effects that aging has on our bodies. He understands the naturally diminished system functions, the diminished lung capacities, and the lower heart capabilities, but believes that with aggressive training he will be able to hold his own during such a grueling ride.
 
The Sears National Kids Cancer Ride is believed to be the world’s largest fundraising event for childhood cancer.  Starting on Canada’s west coast in Vancouver on September 9th, 2010 and finishing on Canada’s east coast in Halifax on September 23rd, the event is an epic journey.  As they travel from coast to coast along a well planned route, national cyclists will be joined by local community riders who will cycle for as little as 10 KM or more. They will stop at Sears locations for community support and refreshments, and visit with pediatric oncology centres along the way. A volunteer team will accompany the national team to ensure the safety of all riders, ensure optimum riding conditions, drive support vehicles, and tend to the needs of all the riders.
Each rider is responsible for raising $25,000 in pledges to help meet this year’s goal of $2 million.

If you would like to sponsor David, go to his webpage at www.snkcr.com/davidheaslip or visit the homepage at www.searsnationalkidscancerride.com. He can be reached at heaslip@B2B2C.ca

When he signed up, he was motivated to get behind a cause that had the potential to directly affect the lives of children living with cancer and their families. Each rider pays a $4,000 registration fee to cover their own costs, which means that 100% of the money raised goes directly towards the cause.

As they ride through the cities along the way, they’ll attend numerous community events, where they’ll hear stories of the many ways the money raised by the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride has helped children with cancer and their families.

If you would like to get involved in the fight against children’s cancer, and want to participate in his fundraising efforts, I know he’d welcome all the support that he can get!

Please check out his link at:
www.snkcr.com/davidheaslip
He can be reached at:
heaslip@b2b2c.ca

I have been riding still, especially now that I have my indoor trainer.  Still not as good as riding outside, but it will do until Spring comes around.

I’ve setup the Riding for a Reason LIVESTRONG page.  If you’d like to join the team, go here.  Otherwise if you’d like to make a donation to support the team, go here.

Next up for me is ordering my jersey and shorts and getting the RIding for a Reason logo printed on them.  It will still be a little quiet for me up here until it warms up, but I’ll do my best to leave an update here and there.  Happy New Year!

I started out strong on the swim.  I was feeling good and wasn’t getting very fatigued.  My first split clocked at 9:50, which is about on par from my previous three races.  Still I know if I focused more on training for swimming I could probably get another minute trimmed off of there.  However, I have bigger weaknesses to focus on. ;)  The T1 transition I still need to focus on.  I’ve cut down how much I need to do in that transition to trim some time, but I still have difficulty getting my barrings together after getting out of the water.  About 3:14 later I was on my bike and off on the route.

 

Bike Route

 Doing this route for the second time definitely was an advantage.  I knew what turns were coming next and what kind of terrain to expect.  Unfortunately, the winds are what got to me.  Starting out there were strong winds coming from the west.  Considering that most of the ride was heading north and south, that gave me no help and really just kind of pushed my bike all over the road for most of the ride.  I had about a mile of having the wind at my back, otherwise I was fighting the winds and riding in the drops most of the way.  I managed a respectable time of 46:23 on the bike with an average speed of 18.1mph.  My goal was to get at least 19mph, but on a day like this, that just wasn’t going to happen.  I had a great T2 time of 1:48, but I felt pretty gassed getting off of the bike.  I headed out to the cross-country trail for the 5k.

Run Route

 It was nice to do this running route when it wasn’t drenched from the rain.  After getting a sip a water and walking for a few seconds to get my heart rate down, I was off.  I felt pretty good running.  Going through the nature preserve was pretty peaceful and helped me stay focused on the task at hand.  I didn’t really see anyone on the run, which made it difficult to try and pace myself, but for the first time, no one passed me during the race.  That was a first for me. :)  Granted there were only about 200 people total in the race, but hey, you have to have your achievements somewhere!  I finished the race strong and finished with a time of 1:35:27, about 13 seconds off my PR.  It wasn’t the time that I wanted to finish in, but given the more difficult bike and run courses, I will take that time into the off-season.  In all, I would say I had a successful season.  The first triathlon I did I finished in 2:03:38 and 5 months later I managed to trim more than 28 minutes off of that time.  Not too bad!  Like I’ve said before, this is a great triathlon to do for anyone who’s looking to get into the sport.  The swimming is in the lap pool which, for many people, is the biggest deterrent for doing a triathlon.  There is plenty of helpful staff around and they understand that many of the participants are newbies.

What’s Next?

Next I am going to spend the rest of the month of October resting my body.  My shin splint is still hanging around, so I’m going to stay away from running.  I’ll be hitting the pool once or twice a week to keep that fitness level going and I will probably try to bike to work a couple more times before it gets too cold.  After that I’m looking into getting a coach for the high expectations I’ve set for myself next season!

In regards to my Riding for a Reason campaign, I am getting ready to order my LIVESTRONG jersey and shorts.  After that I will be setting up my 2010 Grassroots Fundraising page and begin some preliminary fundraising.  I’m looking for corporate sponsors to place on my jerseys, so if you’re interested, check out my About page or feel free to e-mail me.

Here’s a great ESPN article about choosing the location for the course.

Olympic bid could help bring high speed rail to Wisconsin

With the cycling events scheduled to be held about 160 miles from the host city of Chicago, transportation could be an issue for both the athletes as well as spectators.  Cars will not be allowed at the venue, so spectators would need to be shuttled to the race.  This would add yet another argument for Wisconsin to build a high speed rail from Chicago to Milwaukee to Madison by that time.  In addition to cycling events, the sheer volume of people attending the olympics would add tourism opportunities for both Madison and Milwaukee to host visitors with the dense population of Chicago.

Want to test out the course?

It may not be the mountains that cyclists climb through in the Tour de France, but this isn’t a walk in the park!  The 22-mile loop ranges in elevations from 750 to 1,750 feet.  Here is the mapmyride.com route.  If you want to check out a race there, check out the Tour of America’s Dairyland.

Map

Click to enlarge

Elevation

I decided on option B.  After trying to run on the treadmill that slowed down to a crawl when you get on it, I switched it up to the exercise bike.  It’s been a while since I’ve gotten on a stationary bike and away from the comfort of my steel/carbon chariot.  I had forgotten how uncomfortable and awkward those bikes can be.  Here’s your visual in the fancy “workout room”…

So yeah, I struggled through 25 minutes on this beautiful piece of machinery missing the foot straps on the pedals and then decided to “pump some iron” for a few minutes.  Good times… I’m such a fitness guru…  I can’t wait to get home and get on my bike ASAP!

Ironman Wisconsin Update

Sunday a group of us went to support my friend Cam in the Ironman Wisconsin.  I had never spectated at an Ironman, but this definitely won’t be my last time!  We had a blast.  During a portion of the bike we had about 15 of us stationed underneath a bridge and Erika suggested that we start doing the wave as people rode by.  The enthusiasm built as we all proceeded to lose our voices given each rider a loud “WOOO” as we did the wave and they drove by.  We got some great reactions from a genuine “thank you” to people getting off their handlebars and doing the wave with us.  It was great!  We had air horns for every time we saw cam which never failed to get a smile.  I felt bad for the athletes later in the night as the marathon route became increasingly dark and lonely.  After 12 plus hours of exercizing I could not imagine the mental stress you would be going through at that point.  Cam ended up finishing in 16:20:00 about 40 minutes ahead of the cutoff.  From now on he will be known as IronCAM because he is, afterall, an Ironman.

For as mush pain and suffering we saw in the triathlon, there is a small spark that drives me as well as Steve and Jordan to compete sometime.  I have no plans right now, but if they do it, I’m going to have to do it with them. :)  Congrats to IronCAM though, enjoy it bud!

LIVESTRONG Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, just getting things organized for the 2010 committment.  If you have any good fundraising event ideas, e-mail me and let me know!

Along the bike path…

The Crazy House in Cudahy…

Front of the house

Side of the house

Back yard

Basket Gal: This is the gal that is rocking a front basket with all sorts of stuff in it, most often including a helmet. Basket gal must believe that as soon as she starts to fall or gets hit by a car, that in the split second before she hits the ground she will be able to, in one swift motion, reach down into her basket, scoop out her helmet, fling it onto her head and snap the buckle before her dome meets the ground.

Breeder Guy: This is the guy who is transporting more than one small human. He is a family man and is not going to let breeding stand in the way of his bike lifestyle. The combination of gear can be different, but there is one guy in charge of himself and two other people. Having just one kid in my eyes does not make you a true breeder, it’s when you add a second that the “breeder” moniker enters my vocabulary. The most common one I see is the “Trail-a-bike” being towed behind along with a child seat on the back of his bike. It’s also funny to see this guy after he drops off the kids towing an empty bike behind him.

Butter Guy: This is the guy who is obviously involved in some sort of competitive racing because he wears shoe covers, but not the winter kind to protect you from the cold – rather very bright (often pink, yellow, or white) that I guess are meant to reduce drag. He wants to cut through the air like butter . . . and if his shoe covers are yellow his feet look like sticks of butter.

Cleavage Gal: I might get hate mail from guys on this one if it leads to corrective action from the female cycling community. I’m not sure if some female riders are aware, probably not because of the large instance of this, but when riding a bike and leaning forward in any capacity while wearing a low cut shirt, your cleavage is exposed in all its glory and is sure to catch the eyes of male riders coming in the opposite direction. While impossible to place a statistic on it, I am very sure that many of the accidents that male riders experience each year are due to cleavage gawking.

Euro Guy: Okay, I admit, I have never ridden a bike in Europe before, but I have a stereotype of a European racer in my head. That stereotype is of someone sporting one of those short billed goofy cycling hats. Extra points are awarded if fancy European cycling companies are advertised on said goofy hat.

Fate of Civilization Guy: What this guy knows is obviously key to the survival of civilization because he can’t wait until he has arrived at his destination or stop his bike to speak on his cell phone. He has to endanger himself and everyone around him by riding while talking on his phone and riding at the same time.

Fire Alarm Gal: This is the gal who wants everyone, and I mean everyone, to know she is coming. She will approach a group of pedestrians taking up the path and will ring her bell so quickly in rapid fire fashion that it sounds like an old school rapid fire bell used in a firehouse.

Gerbil Gal: This is the gal that is constantly in her lowest possible gear, on flat ground, spinning madly and who looks like a gerbil spinning on a wheel. It’s comical in that the legs are spinning at mad RPMs, but she is barely moving forward (the 10 second mark in the video is classic . . . )

Grasshopper Gal: This the gal whose seat is as far down as it can go and when she pedals her knees almost come up to her chin, mimicking the bend seen in the rear legs of grasshoppers.

Gym Guy: This is the guy who is wearing clothing most often associated with the gym rather than cycling. For example, baggy basketball shorts, a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, wrist bands, and one of the 100’s of renditions of high top Air Jordan basketball shoes. My guess is, he’s on his way to the gym.

Hang Loose Guy: This is the guy who has the energy and good intention of keeping his dome from exploding on the pavement so he wears a helmet, but he does not have the wherewithal to actually buckle it. Thus his helmet straps hang loose. Good luck my friend . . .

Hipster Guy: It seems that any bike blogger worth his salt likes to pick on hipsters, so why should I be any different? This is typically a guy wearing jeans, Chuck Taylors, and in recent months a fedora instead of helmet. Said guy might be in an independent coffee shop drawing up designs for a fedora shaped helmet right now. A tank top or T-shirt that is way too small is also worn so that tattoos may be displayed. Most often these riders have either a brightly colored chain, extremely narrow handlebars, or an aerospoke. If you hit the trifecta they are rocking all three.

Hodge Podge Guy: This guy’s bike is an amalgamation of bike parts that might not match and various and sundry things that were probably not meant for a bike, but have been modified to serve a purpose, are zip tied or affixed in some other random manner. He just loves to tinker on his bike. Maybe something like this.

Huge Calf Guy: This is the guy who appears to have the calves of a minotaur. They are freaking huge, almost as out of proportion as Popeye’s forearms . . . and yes I am jealous.

Hummer Guy: This is the guy who is seriously into off-road weekend riding and decides to commute on his dual suspension downhill bike with 2.5 inch wide tires with huge knobbies on them. You typically can hear this guy coming because of the hum of the knobbie tires on the pavement. Sometimes this guy will replace his huge downhill tires with narrow slicks and his bike will look extremely out of proportion because of this – then I guess you could call him “Slick guy.”

IronMan Guy: This guy rides his triathlon bike and you half expect to see an oily number painted on his arm or leg when you pass one another.

Kamikaze Guy: I don’t despise many things, but I despise Kamikaze guy. This is the guy who passes at the worst possible time. It is the worst when you are riding on a path that is just wide enough for two riders to pass each other when going in opposite directions and Kamikaze guy darts out from behind the approaching rider into your lane and you have to squeeze your breaks for all you are worth to avoid a head on collision. Kamikaze guy sometimes also tries to pass you from behind and when he’s right beside you realizes he has bit off more than he can chew and he slams on his brakes to avoid the oncoming rider and almost swerves into you in his mad attempt to get back behind you to let the oncoming rider pass.

Kidney Stone Guy: This is the guy (or in rare cases a gal) whose facial expression while riding mimics that of a person passing a kidney stone. The teeth are visible, and clenched, and there is a look of EXTREME exertion on the person’s face. Shoulders are also typically hunched up because although you might not think about it, your cheeks are connected to your shoulders.

Mad Max Guy: These guys are not commuters, rather they are food delivery riders. Typically they are riding the wrong way down one way streets, are not wearing a helmet (except for the Dominos Delivery guys), and are riding bicycles that look they could immediately be used for a Road Warrior film.

Messenger Guy: Not really a lot to say here, you know the one. He obviously makes his living riding his bike and it’s quite obvious by the way he handles himself. Even taxi drivers give these guys a wide berth.

New Balance Guy: This is the guy who takes whatever he does quite seriously, but does not always get it right the first try. I characterize this as the guy with a brand new bike that cost in excess of $1,000 who is also sporting brand new Lycra shorts and a riding jersey but is wearing beat up New Balance running shoes and is riding with platform pedals. Just seems a tad out of place to me. Perhaps he should have spent $800 on his bike and $200 on shoes and pedals.

Ninja Guy: This is the guy who sneaks up on you at night because he has not one iota of reflective gear and his bike is void of lights and reflectors. These people frequently appear out of nowhere and scare the bejesus out of me.

The Rim Rocker: For some reason this happens with the ladies a lot. I will be riding along and notice that a woman pretty much is riding on her rims and has no clue that her tires have no air in them.

“On your left” Guy: Pretty simple here, although intonation may differ according to rider.

Plain Jane Gal: This is the gal, or a guy, who rides a bike but has no interest in bike clothing or accessories at all whatsoever. They are rocking what they would wear down the street, like cargo shorts and a hoodie.

Referee Guy: This guy rides with a referee whistle in his mouth, waiting for a game of bike polo to break out . . . or perhaps to freak out pedestrians that might be in his way. Yes, he is real, I did not make him up.

Reflecto Guy: This is the guy who is covered head to toe in reflective gear. He will often purchase one of those reflective vests worn by members of road construction crews and will wear reflective pant guard protectors on both ankles. I am pretty sure I will look like him in about 10 more years.

Skate or Die Guy!: This guy would rather die than be caught wearing a bike helmet, so he rocks a skateboard helmet. In our culture skaters are much cooler and can possibly be viewed as “bad asses.” After the “bad ass” sporting his sparkling clean skate helmet parks his bike, walks into Starbucks to get his Venti, sugar-free, non-fat, vanilla soy, double shot, decaf, no foam, extra hot, Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with light whip and wants people to think he nollie kickflips down sets of stairs on his way to work rather than being a cyclist.

“So you think you are better than me?” Guy: This is the guy who you pass and within a short time he passes you back, only to slow down his pace once again. Rarely do I pass a person with the intent to make a statement. However many people, perhaps due to competitive nature, feel you are dissing them by passing them and obviously say to themselves, as Izzy Madelbaum does, “So you think you are better than me?” Ironically once he passes you, he assumes his previous pace and you pass him again. Depending on the size of his ego, this might happen until you decide to pump the big beat and put him out of his misery.

Superhero Guy: Every inch of this guy, from head to toe, is covered in skin tight clothing and he looks like he is ready to audition for the lead role in a superhero movie.

Sweat Hog Guy: This guy wears a t-shirt and the t-shirt is plastered to his back with sweat. You know this guy has a sweat issue because typically the breeze from riding will for the most part keep sweat from soaking your clothing. No, the picture does not directly relate, but maybe if you’re around my age you will understand.

Tin Man Guy: This is a guy riding a bike that is crying out in agony for lubricant.

Tour De France Guy: This is the guy that is so ultra serious about keeping his pace that he scoffs loudy to show his disdain when people get in his way.

Vagabond Guy: This is guy who is commuting, but likely could be confused for someone making an epic journey across the United States. He has dual bags set up on both the front and back rack and typically is sporting huge mirrors on his handlebars.

Wall Street Guy: This is a guy who looks ready to buy low and sell high and does not want to change outfits so he rides in his business suit. No attempt at humor here, I’m all business on this one.

Weeble Wobble Guy: This is the guy with a wheel so badly out of alignment that you are surprised his brakes actually function.

Map

Click to enlarge

Elevation

Click to enlarge

Wednesday I took a half day at work to go on a networking ride with the Midwest Cycling Network.  Basically a bunch of professionals that meet to ride once a month and chit chat a little bit.  Really friendly and fun group of people.  Although towards the end of the ride I was doing a lot less chit chatting and a lot more huffing and puffing!!!   Needless to say, the south side of Milwaukee is much flatter than the west suburbs.  Yeesh!  It didn’t help that I ate too big of a lunch beforehand.  Some things you just have to learn the hard way!  We finished 32 miles in about 1:45.  A solid afternoon ride!

The ride was pretty normal.  Not a lot of exciting things happened, although there were a lot of chipmunks sharing the path with us which was entertaining.  A solid 49 total miles in about 2.5 hours.  Felt pretty good even though I was a little sore from running 2 days before. :)

When I post tomorrow about my work commute I should have some great pictures from the ride.  I decided to play photographer as I was riding today, so I got some good shots.  I should have the crazy house in Cudahy as well!

LIVESTRONG Update

I signed up as a bluegrass fundraising community leader last week and got a packet full of usefull information.  I’m reading through it right now and finalizing my strategy and will report back as soon as I have something finalized. 

I’ve also got my first Riding for a Reason teammate as well!  Jenni will be committing to miles for LIVESTRONG as well.  I’ll get her bio up soon!  Welcome Jenni!