Final recap for 2005

Thank you very much to everyone who supported the Ride to Cure Diabetes. The donations have all been collected. Personally we raised $7,000. Our West Michigan Ride Team raised over $115,000, and overall the Death Valley Ride raised more than one million dollars for diabetes research. The ride itself was a very intense experience. We rode 105 miles through Death Valley in 95 degree heat. The toughest part was a six mile climb at a six percent grade at the half way point of the ride. It took us over an hour to get up the hill to Jubilee Pass, and 10 minutes to get down. The entire route took us about nine hours to complete.

We'd like to send special thanks to our coach Mike Clark and the rest of the West Michigan Ride Team. It was definitely a team effort that helped us complete the route. As wiped out as we felt at the end, we also know that we have accomplished something great that will help our son Jake and all the other kids with Type 1 diabetes. We've also decided to do it again in 2006. So watch this space in the coming months as we send training updates for the Death Valley Ride to Cure Diabetes 2006.

Sunday night thoughts

No weekly mileage update this Sunday. We just got our bikes back on Thursday and since it was such a nice day I did go out for a quick 10 mile ride. It is interesting that a year ago 10 miles would have been a serious excursion and now it's just a warm up. I have three picture links I want to share so you can see more photos of Death Valley.

The first is from Bright Room Photography http://www.brightroom.com/go.asp?7288814
Follow the link and you'll see pictures of Tom. These are for sale, however as far as I know none of the proceeds go to JDRF. If you click on the "event home" link on the top of the page you can then enter a bib number or a person's last name. For example, enter Bib # 536 to see photos of Mary.

Second is The Adventure Corp web site http://www.adventurecorps.com/jdrf/2005dv/index.html
Lots of great photos catergorized by which part of the ride we were on. There are shots of the West Michigan ride team scattered through out.

Finally is The Heeren Brothers web site http://www.heerenbros.com/pages/8/index.htm
Fellow riders Mark and Terri put up a bunch of photos that they took.

We also have had over 700 hits on this web site. Next week we should also have the final totals of how much money we raised for the cure.

New photos available

I added a link to Flickr which has more photos of our ride. Look for the badge on the left side of the page, click on one of the tiny photos and it will take you to the Flickr web site where you can see our other Death Valley photos.

More Ride Photos

Mary is looking fine in her JDRF Ride for a Cure jersey.

Somewhere in the middle of Death Valley.

Getting started at 7:30 a.m. PDT.

We are back

What an incredible experience! We rode 105 miles in Death Valley on Saturday. And then today spent the whole day traveling home. We'll have more later, but for now here's a photo of the West Michigan team on the top of Jubilee Pass. This is the halfway point, 52.5 miles and right after a 1,500 foot climb over 6 miles.


This week's mileage totals:
10/21 - 10 miles; up to Zabriske Point and back
10/22 - 105 miles; THE Death Valley Ride

Leavin'... on a jet plane

Tomorrow morning we leave Gerald Ford Airport in Grand Rapids for Las Vegas and then a bus trip to Death Valley. By this time Thursday we'll be deep in the desert getting ready for the ride. We pick up our bikes off the truck on Friday, have a little fun at the Furnace Creek Ranch, then at sunrise on Saturday we start the ride. Eight hours (or so) later, we'll be done. So this will be the last entry until we get back. Then we'll have lots of stories and photos.
Bye for now.

Generous Donors

Another list of some of the wonderful people who have helped make this ride a reality with their donations. If you have not given yet there is still time. We can accept donations for two weeks after we return from Death Valley.
Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Dave & Rebecca Behrens
Tim & Robin Crossman
Conrad & Carol Klima
Eccentric Entertainment (Ken Knapp)
Peak Performance
Paul & Brenda Schab
Patrick Scheidel
Larry & Dorothy Scheidel
Jacque Schantz
Jazmin Torres
Mark & Linda Trier
Michael & Nancy Walenta
Judy Welch
Rockford Freshman Center bracelet sales

Countdown begins...

We have been training and fundraising since April and now the ride is less than a week away. We fly out on Thursday, get reunited with our road bikes on Friday and at sunrise on Saturday we start our 105 mile Death Valley ride. Rode the mountain bike today. Did a little dirt and a little White Pine Trail just to keep the saddle fitness up. We are really looking forward to heading out to the desert and riding. We are ready, ready, ready.

This week's totals:
10/12: 10 miles, White Pine Trail north
10/16: 19 miles, Rouge River Trail and WPT

The bikes left early

Our bikes are on their way to Death Valley. They were supposed to be packed on a truck Friday morning, but we got an urgent call from the JDRF office yesterday saying that the truck was on it's way and they needed our bikes that afternoon. Luckily, I had just returned from having the 30 day tune-up done on my new Cannondale. So I did a quick (30 minutes) 10 mile ride to test everything out and then packed up the bikes and took them to the office. We fly out a week from today and rejoin our bikes next Friday. In the meantime we'll keep training using the mountain bikes. Oooh... dirt trails!
In other news, we have surpassed the $6,000 mark in donations. Thanks to all!

Getting close now

Just two weeks away from riding in Death Valley. We're trying to keep the "saddle fitness" and stay loose and ready without doing big miles. Rode 38 miles today in a northern loop that took me all the way around Cedar Springs, but not actually into the Red Flannel City. On Thursday our bikes get packed up and sent on a truck out to the desert. So the last week of training will be on the mountain bike. That actually sounds like fun!

This week's totals:
10/3 - 10 miles: White Pine trail north
10/4 - 17 miles: WPT south through Riverside Park
10/9 - 38 miles: The Cedar Springs loop

Recent Training photo

Ain't we cute?

Tapering off time

According to Coach Mike we are now in the tapering off section of our training. We were supposed to do 75% of our total mileage 3 weeks before the event. We accomplished that last Friday, one day ahead of schedule. This week we are doing maintenance rides, with one 40+ ride this weekend. Then a week from this Friday the bikes go on a truck for their trip to Death Valley.
Rode a 10 mile out and back north on the White Pine Trail on Monday and a 17 mile out and back south on the WPT today.

Three weeks to go

We are getting ever closer to the ride. Just three weeks from this past Saturday we will be peddling out rear ends across Death Valley, California.. We had a good week of both training and fund-raising. This web site also received it's 500th hit. So thanks to everyone who has looked in on us and happy riding.

This week's totals:
9/27 - 21 miles: home to JDRF office and back
9/30 - 73 miles: home to Muskatawa Trail thru Ravenna and back

Another new personal best

73 miles! In 6 hours! At that pace the Death Valley ride will take us just about 8 hours.
Mary had the day off work today, so after the kids left for school we put on our cold weather gear (48 degrees this morning) and started riding. We rode out to the Muskatawa Trail which runs from Marne to Muskegon. It's 15 miles just to get there. We didn't make it all the way to Muskegon, but did get about 8 miles past Ravenna before we turned around and headed home.
We also received some more donation checks today. That puts us over $5,000 raised to help find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. Thanks again to all those who have contributed so far.

Ride to the office day

I had to drop off some DONATION checks to the JDRF office today. I also needed to get a ride in. Soooo... I did both. I rode from our house in Rockford to the JDRF offices on Cascade Road. A round trip on 21.6 miles. Saw Derek Dykstra there. He was dropping off his bike as it needs to be shipped to Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow. Derek is one of our team riders who will not be in Death Valley. He and 12 others will be peddling in beautiful North Carolina next weekend.

Keep those cards, letters, emails and contributions coming. With your help we will find a cure for diabetes!

The Metric Century

Today we rode in the Apple Cider Century in Three Oaks, Michigan. We completed the Metric Century which is 62 miles. That's a new personal best. The ride was great, over 4000 riders through some pretty farmland in south western Michigan. Part of the ride skirted the coast of Lake Michigan and went by some gorgeous lake homes. Places worth several million dollars each. The kind of places you need Lance Armstrong money to buy. It started raining about halfway through the ride and made the last half kind of wet. Even with the rain it was a great ride and we are looking forward to the Big One in Death Valley. We also saw fellow Death Valley rider Joe Schmeider as we were finishing up. A great day at ACC 2005.

This weeks totals:
9/20 - 19 miles, White Pine Trail south
9/21- 14 miles, WPT north
9/23 - 12 miles, Belmont to 10 Mile to WPT
9/25 - 62 miles, the Apple Cider (Metric) Century

Mary riding in the Apple Cider Century















Tom and Mary after the ACC2005

One month to go

In one month from today we will be riding 105 miles across Death Valley. It's hard to believe we've been training for this all summer and now we are just a few weeks away. Right now it's all about getting in the miles so that we are ready on October 22nd. We did a quick 14 mile out and back on the White Pine Trail yesterday. We are both feeling strong. We are really looking forward to this ride and the good work it will allow JDRF to do.

Lunchtime ride

A quick 19 mile jaunt at lunch today. Went south on the White Pine Trail to it's end by Fifth Third Ball Park, then over to Riverside Park and took that trail to it's end at Ann Street in Grand Rapids. Then turned around a came home. I'd like to get in at least two more rides before Sunday when we do the Apple Cider Century (actually a half century for us).

Team ride Sunday

We had a great ride with the JDRF team today. 45 miles from Ada Park to Saranac then north to Fallasburg Park out on Bailey Road to Pettis road and then back into Ada. There were probably some other roads in there, but I don't remember them. What I mostly remember is the hills. Lots of them today. Some quite steep. Coach Mike made an adjustment to the seat of my Cannondale that really helped. I've also included a couple of pictures from today's ride. This week also marks another milestone. I've now ridden over 100 miles this week. So I have now done in a week the distance we'll do in one day in Death Valley.

This week's totals:
9/12 - 12 miles, White Pine Trail south
9/13 - 21 miles, White Pine Trail north
9/15 - 14 miles, Coit to North park to WPT
9/17 - 12 miles, 7 mile to Blakely to Keis and back
9/18 - 45 miles, Ada to Saranac to Fallasburg loop

The JDRF Ride Team in Vergennes Township.


















Mary and Coach Mike

A good week

Rode 14 miles on Thursday and another 12 miles today. That makes four rides this week for a total of 59 miles. And tomorrow we have our early morning team ride. We are planning on doing 50 miles. I'm getting used to the new bike. I do like how much faster it is than my mountain bike. We are still accepting donations, so if you haven't sent one yet please do. If you have sent a donation, then thank you very much.

The week so far

Monday was a quick (45 minutes) out and back to the south on the White Pine Trail. About 12 miles total. Tuesday was a bit longer, 21 miles riding north on the WPT. Off day today and then I'm going to try and get two more short rides in before the big team ride on Sunday.

More donors

Thanks to our many donors. To date we have raised almost $5,000 to help cure diabetes. Some of our most recent donors include:

Brent & Jennifer Deuel
Roy Dodman
Dr. Dennis Dennenberg
Brian & Darolyn Mogg
Lawerence & Bernice Oele
Joe & Mary Powell
Nena Pulsifer
Peter & Stephanie Setterington
Alice Totaritis
Tru-Vue, Inc.
Dave & Suelynn Uselton
Tom & Kim Vogel
Hank & Mary Wieten

A light week

With friends in from out of town and a then us going out of town this weekend it was a very light week of training. That concerns me a bit since we are getting so close to ride day (October 22). But our coach tells us we'll be fine. My rear end is getting adjusted to the new seat on the new bike. We will crank up the miles this week and be ready for the big team ride next Sunday.

This weeks totals:
9/6 - 17 miles, the hilly Pettis, Egypt Valley, Canonsburg loop
9/8 - 13 miles, to the west of our house and south on the White Pine Trail

Quick note for a quick ride

Did some hill work on the new wheels today. 17 miles down Pettis to Knapp and then up Egypt Valley to Cannonsburg Road. Up and down for about an hour. Legs feel pretty good. Rear end is still getting used to the new seat.

This week's totals

Trying to break in the new bike so I rode on Friday, Saturday and today. Today being a team ride. We were out in the Ada area again with a small group because of the holiday weekend. My rear end is sore while I get used to the new saddle, but the bike is great. Very fast when compared to the mountain bike I was riding. We will be riding in Death Valley next month. It's hard to believe it's that close after training all summer.

This week's rides:
8/30 - 14 miles, White Pine Trail north
9/2 - 12 miles, White Pine Trail south
9/3 - 14 miles, White Pine Trail north
9/4 - 35 miles, Ada area loop

Bike Lust

Well I did it. I gave in to bike lust. Today I picked up my new Cannondale SR500 from Velo City in Holland. It has 27 speeds and weighs 23 pounds. Much lighter than my mountain bike. I had planned on riding my mountain bike in Death Valley. I was doing pretty well staying with the team on the 20 and 30 mile rides. But when we bumped it up to 40 and 50 I noticed a big difference. Then when Mary pulled out her old Schwinn World Sport road bike and started beating me, well I had to do something. Not that I have to be faster than my wife, but it was obvious that I was expending a lot more energy then the rest of the riders. And since we are planning on riding 100 miles in the desert in less than 8 weeks I will need all the energy I can muster. Therefore I am now back on a road bike. We rode 12 miles tonight to break it in and boy was it fun. I can hardly wait for the team ride on Sunday.

Team Ride Photos

The team on a relatively flat section of road.

40 miles done, 15 to go!

Thanks to Derek who seems to be becoming our official team photographer.

Getting stronger every day

About six weeks ago we did a 37 mile team ride on a Sunday. The following Tuesday we went out for a short 10 mile ride and I thought my legs were going to burst into flames. Not from the speed (which was minimal) but from the pain. This Sunday our ride team went 55 miles. Today we did a short 14 mile ride with no pain at all. The training regime that Coach Mike came up with is paying off. We are getting stronger, feeling better, and looking buff. At least Mary is. And yes, Derek, Tom is considering a road bike. In fact I'll be at Coach Mike's shop tomorrow doing a little shopping.

WOW! A big milestone today!

Today we did a group ride in the Ada area. A nice loop led by JDRF Executive Director Stacey Chase followed by and out and back ride to Saranac along the Grand River. When we pulled back into Ada Park after four and a half hours we had ridden 55 miles. 55 miles! Not just a new personal best, but we blew away our old personal best by 13 miles. The best news is that is a little more than half of the total distance of the Death Valley Ride. Mary switched from her "comfort" bike to her old skinny wheel Schwinn and that made a huge difference for her. We should have some photos in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

This weeks ride totals:
8/23 - 14 miles, White Pine Trail north
8/27 - 12 miles, White Pine Trail south
8/28 - 55 miles, Ada loop and then to Saranac

Sunday team ride photo

Tom, Mike, Diane and Mary riding on Sunday somewhere between Saugatuck and Fennville. Thanks to Derek for the photo.

A new link and ride info

Yesterday was a quick 14 mile ride. Up and back on the White Pine Trail. Broke off the end of the ride and went UP the Childsdale hill. Coach Mike says we must do hill work. My legs did not like Coach Mike about halfway up that hill.
I added a link to one of our fellow West Michigan riders web page. Derek Dykstra has been training with us this summer and he will be participating in the JDRF ride in Ashville, NC. Check out his observations at http://asheville2005.blogspot.com/.
Remember to keep those comments, emails and donations coming!

Group ride today

We had another group ride today out in the Saugatuck/Fennville area. Our coach, Mike Clark, found us a nice 41 mile loop that started at Saugatuck State Park. One of the riders had a camera along so hopefully we'll have some pictures soon.

This week's ride totals:
8/16 - 14 miles, Rockys for ice cream and back
8/19 - 8 miles, late start, just tooling around the neighborhood
8/21 - 41 miles, a loop from Saugatuck State Park

Successful Music Festival

Jake's Music Festival was a success on Thursday night. We raised over $1000 for the ride team.
Thanks to our bands; Gruv Unit, David Molinari Band, Red Frog Afro-Rock Ensemble and Craic Wisely. Special thanks to our volunteers and sponsors, especially Founder's Brewery, The Pita House and Studio 28.
We are still accepting donations for the ride team. Checks can be made out to JDRF and mailed to Tom Scheidel, 6184 Archer St. NE, Rockford Michigan, 49341.

Thursday night music festival

No riding today as we are all getting ready for Jake's Music Festival. This is the big fundraiser for our ride team so we are hoping for a great turnout. We'll have four fantastic bands on Thursday night; Gruv Unit, Dave Molinari Band, Red Frog Afro Rock Ensemble, and Craic Wisely. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with music starting at 6:45 p.m. Come enjoy the music and a Founder's beer at Studio 28 in Grand Rapids. Here's the link for more info.
www.jakesmusicfestival.blogspot.com

A nice easy ride

Very relaxing 14 mile ride tonight. Up the White Pine Trail with a stop at Rocky's for ice cream. Our 10 year old son, Ian, went along for the ride. He kept pace, but complained that his butt hurt. The ice cream seemed to solve that problem however.
Thursday night is the big music festival at Studio 28. If you are in the Grand Rapids area make plans to attend. This is our major fundraiser to support the bike team.

Another personal best

Today was a big ride. Our longest training ride so far, 40 miles. Well actually it was 40.73 miles (ya gotta love those bike computers). Our nephew had a birthday party over by Spring Lake and we rode our bikes there from Rockford. It was quite a pretty ride along the back roads past apple orchards and farm fields. Looks like there will be a good apple crop this year. The nice thing is we both felt pretty good when we were done riding. We rode over 80 miles this week, still not as much as we will do in one day in Death Valley though.

Weekly ride totals:
8/9 - 14 miles; Cannonsburg Road and points east
8/11 - 30 miles; White Pine Trail to Cedar Springs and back
8/13 - 40 miles; Rockford to Spring Lake

Morning ride

We woke up this morning and hopped on our bikes. They tell us that the Death Valley Ride starts at sun-up. We didn't start at sun-up today but we did start early in the morning. Usually we are late afternoon or evening riders. So it was good to get our bodies acclimated to riding at a different time of day. We rode up to Cedar Springs and back for a 30 mile round trip. We actually felt better at mile 15 than at mile 8.

In music news our opening act at Jake's Music Festival will be Gruv Unit. They have a sound like the grateful Dead. The fun starts at 6:00 p.m. one week from tonight.

More thanks to more donors

This is a list of our current donors. Additional donor names were posted on July 8. Thanks to all who have contributed so far.

Larry & Amy Hewitt (X-Cel Chemical Specialties)
Bill & Vickie Jung
Greg & Jean Katt
Jeff & Julia Poole
Paul & Theresa Sawicki
Mickel & Jeanne Scheidel
Larry & Sharon Zuyddyk

Back in the saddle

After our recovery stretch last week we were back on the training schedule this evening. We rode 14 miles to the east and north of our house. Even rode on the newly reconstructed Cannonsburg Road. The mileage really starts adding up now as we are less then 12 weeks away from the ride.

On the musical front we have added the Dave Molinari Band to the line up for Jake's Music Festival on August 18. We will also have some artists set up in the lobby area of Studio 28 and door prizes. So make plans to attend. For more info go to www.jakesmusicfestival.blogspot.com.


Dave Molinari Band

We're back

It's been a long quiet week on the old Death Valley Ride blog. We were both working insane hours this week on a big project, but we finished on Thursday evening. So Friday morning we took a 14 mile ride. Tried a new route, south down Coit Rd., across the Grand River on North Park Rd., and back home on the White Pine Trail.
We have tickets available for Jake's Music Festival on August 18. Posters are going up all over town and there was a nice article in this week's Rockford Independent newspaper. If you need tickets ($10 in advance, $13 at the door) drop an email to jmf@scheidelgroup.com.

This week's ride totals:
8/5: 14 miles, loop from Coit to NorthPark to White Pine Trail

The week ahead and the week behind

It will be difficult to get much riding in this coming week. Mary and Tom are both working long hours on a big project until Thursday. Plus the kids are all at camp this week and have to be picked up Saturday. That leaves Friday and next Sunday for training. That might be okay. Time to let some of the sore muscles recover. We are now only 12 weeks away from the ride.

This week's ride totals:
8/26 - 11 miles, White Pine Trail south
8/29 - 20 miles, White Pine Trail north
8/30 - 33 miles, north past Cedar Springs to 20th and back

Friday ride

An early morning start on Friday (7:00 a.m.) and we got 20 miles in by 9:00. For those of you keeping score that's one-fifth of the distance we will be riding in Death Valley. We also received some more donations this week. Thank you very much. Watch for a new donor list soon.
Things are coming along well for the benefit concert on August 18 at Studio 28. Make your plans now to attend. Tickets are only $10 in advance, $13 at the door.
Ride On!

Short ride today

Our ride training schedule is to do a short, intense ride on Tuesday, a medium distance and effort ride on Thursday, and a long easy ride on Saturday or Sunday. So tonight we did 11 miles in between thunderstorms. It was nice and flat on the White Pine Trail and we worked on going fast. Our goal is to be consistently riding 15 miles per hour by October. We did 13.6 mph today. That's not bad, but every mile an hour faster in Death Valley cuts almost an hour off our total ride time.

The West Michigan Ride to Cure Diabetes Team.

What a week

Lots of riding this week, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Each week the miles get longer and legs get more tired. As a recreational rider you would think it's your rear end that gets sore, but that toughens up pretty quick. It's amazing how tired our legs are.
Today's ride was great. It was a team ride (we should have a picture soon). We left Ann O'Conner's restored 100 year old farmhouse in Pullman at 9:00 a.m. and rode 37 miles. We traveled to Douglas, rode along Lake Michigan and had a great time. A fierce head wind on the way back made things a little tough, but our group prevailed. Afterward we had a cookout and went swimming in Ann's pool. A great day, since we got the ride in before the temperatures hit the mid-90's.

This week's ride totals:
7/19 - 11 miles, around the neighborhoods near our house
7/22 - 24 miles, Musketawa Trail, from Marne to Ravenna and back
7/24 - 37 miles, Pullman to Douglas and back

Photos of the Bands

Craic Wisely

Red Frog Drum & Dance Ensemble

Jake's Music Festival

To help support the Ride for the Cure we are presenting Music for the Cure.
On August 18, starting at 6:00 p.m., Studio 28 in Grand Rapids will be the site of Jake's Music Festival. Some very dynamic area bands will be performing; Irish music band, Craic Wisely; African drum group, Red Frog Drum & Dance Ensemble; and a special surprise band. Founder's Brewery is the main sponsor and will be serving at the event. There will also be food, artists, and other concessions. It promises to be the event of the summer. Tickets are $10 in advance or $13 at the door. Tickets can be ordered by emailing JMF@scheidelgroup.com. Hope to see you there. It's going to be great.

Personal Best

Actually two personal bests were achieved today. Tom and Mary both rode their longest distance ever for a single ride - 32 miles! We left home at 1:30 and rode south on the White Pine Trail, through Riverside park and into downtown Grand Rapids. Then we crossed the west side and hopped onto Kent Trails near John Ball Park and rode that all the way to Byron Center. We arrived at Douglas Walker Park at 4:00. Then our lovely daughter picked us up and we drove home. We'll save the round trip for later in the summer when our weekend rides are pushing the 60 mile mark.

This week's ride totals:
7/13 - 9.5 miles, White Pine Trail
7/14 - 25 miles, Rockford to downtown GR and back
7/17 - 32 miles, Rockford to Byron Center

Two days in a row!

We rode yesterday and rode again tonight. We rode 25 miles down the White Pine Trail, through Riverside Park and into downtown Grand Rapids. And then back, of course. We tried out our new Camelbak water packs. They worked very well. I think they will be very helpful on the longer training rides and in Death Valley.

Housekeeping notes:

I added a link to Velo City Cycles. Mike Clark, our bike coach, runs Velo City. So check out his site. Better yet, travel to Holland and check out his store.

If you would like to be notified when we update this blog, just click on the comments link under any post and let us know. And please keep those comments coming.

Riding on Wednesday?

Our normal Tuesday evening ride was washed out last night by the remnants of Hurricane Dennis. So we rode 9.5 miles on the White Pine Trail this morning. Just a quick jaunt before heading off to morning work meetings. Watch for news about our music festival coming up in August.

Riding around the lake

This morning we rode around beautiful Paw Paw Lake where are friends Elvin and Susan Hayes have a cottage. Susan went with us. (Take a look at the post ride photo below.) After the ride we enjoyed a great breakfast before heading home. Thanks to the Hayes' for their hospitality this weekend.

This week's ride totals:
7/5: 9 miles, White Pine Trail to Rockford with a stop at Rocky's
7/7: 20 miles, White Pine trail south to Grand Rapids and back
7/10: 17 miles, around Paw Paw Lake

Tom & Mary and friend Susan Applegate after Sunday's ride around Paw Paw Lake.

Thanks to our donors

This is a list of the people who have made a donation to our Ride for the Cure team. Many, many thanks!

Chris Behrens
Tim & Gloria Buist
Jim & Mary Clinthorne
Joel & Ruth Ensminger
Steve & Stacey Farr
Richard & Maxine Fox
Reg & Anne Goetz
Jim & Susan Hayes
Jim & Connie Hennip
Marc & Jane Longstreet
Dave Mackenzie
Donald & Linda Milanowski
Karla Oard
Dave Pasciak
Greg & Gail Raap
Carrie Ratuzney
Ed & Nancy Reed
Michelle Reed
Tom & Florence Scheidel
Dick & Juanita Scheidel
John & Rosie Scheidel
Mike Silverstein
Chris & Collette Smiley
Kim Summers
Pete & Kay Timinskis
Sharon Turnquist
Lisa VandeKopple
Bill & Ginger Young

Thursday ride

Tonight we rode 20 miles in about two hours. We went south down the White Pine Trail past the Whitecaps stadium and on to Riverside Park, eventually ending up at Ann Street in Grand Rapids. We then rode north, buzzed around Comstock Park a bit, and took Packer Road home. Another donation check arrived today. We will be listing all of our donors very soon. Thanks again to everyone who is helping make this 100 mile dream come true.

Also, I added some links to our local Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation chapter web site and the official Ride for the Cure web site. Check these out for more info on what we are doing and why.

Post those comments

Thank you for all the positive emails we have received so far. If you are so inclined please post your comments right here on the blog. Just click on the comment link after each entry and type away.
Today is a strength work out day. No riding, but we are headed to the gym to get "pumped up".

Tuesday's ride

An easy ride today. We took along the kids and rode the White Pine Trail to Rockford and back. While in Rockford we watched a little of the live Blues concert by the river. Big Daddy Fox from Muskegon was playing tonight. We also got ice cream at Rocky's. So maybe not the most intense ride, but fun none the less.

Tom, Mary and Jacob preparing for the Ride.

Happy Independence Day!
Several people have asked to be kept up to date on how our training is going for the 100 mile bike ride in Death Valley. So we have established this blog to do just that. We will post our mileage stats, photos, and other information. Please feel free to add comments or ask questions.
Happy riding.

This week's mileage stats:
6/28: 9 miles, White Pine Trail
6/30: 18 miles, Rockford, north, White Pine Trail
7/2: 25.5 miles, Pettis to Honey Creek to Cannonsburg Rd., lots of hills