The Memorial Day edition of the update

This week's update is late because we spent most of the weekend in Canton, Michigan at a soccer tournament with our son Ian. His team won the championship. Then we spent some time at our friends Susan and Elvin's cottage on Lake Paw Paw. We did get some riding in to go with all the driving and watching (soccer that is). On Sunday we rode on a little trail that follows I-275 in Novi. Despite having the highway on one side there was a nice natural area on our other side. So natural, in fact, that Tom was attacked by a red winged blackbird. It swooped down and pecked the top of his helmet, then made a second pass and went for his neck. It's amazing how fast you can ride when you need to get away from something. The entire ride was just short on 11 miles.
Today we rode with Susan and Elvin from their cottage to Sister Lakes and back. It was a beautiful morning for a ride and we put on 30 miles through the rolling countryside of Berrien county. However, since it's Monday, those miles will be reflected in next week's update.

This week's ride totals:
5/25 - 10.9 Miles; I-275 trail Novi

Total: 10.9 miles

Five months to Death Valley

That's right, 5 months from today, October 18, we will be riding across Death Valley once again. That will make four years in a row. Speaking of riding we got a lot in this week. We hosted the team ride today so Tom went out earlier in the week to check out the route. On Tuesday he road the first half which went west out 7 Mile to Blakely to 9 Mile to Young to 12 Mile. Then on Friday he did the finishing half which was basically 12 Mile to North Division to 9 Mile to Baumhoff to 8 Mile back to Division back to 9 Mile and then home via Post Drive and Rouge River. There were a few other turns in there, but those were the major roads. Almost 40 miles. And just to mix up the training Tom took out his mountain bike on Thursday and did a little four mile loop through Rouge River Park. That makes for an over 80 mile week. A lot of miles for this early in the season.

This week's ride totals:
5/13 - 17.5 miles, western loop (Tom)
5/15 - 4 miles, mountain bike trail (Tom)
5/16 - 20 miles, eastern loop (Tom)
5/18 - 39.9 miles, described above

Total: 81.4 miles (Tom)
Total: 39.9 miles (Mary)

Why do we do this?

Yesterday was a reminder of why we put ourselves through the pain and suffering of riding 105 miles in a single day through the desert of Death Valley.

Tuesday morning started like any other school day, the boys get up, take showers, eat breakfast and are out the door for school by 7:00 a.m. Except yesterday Jake said he didn't feel well and then proceeded to throw up. He tested his blood sugar and was over 400 with small keytones. He had changed his site the night before so we wondered if he hit a bad spot. After giving himself some insulin with his pump he checked his blood sugar an hour later and it was 340. The numbers were going the right direction, so that meant his site was okay. After another hour he was down to 240. He kept monitoring his blood sugar and adjusting his insulin dose all morning and eventually got his blood sugar down to 120 around noon. He then finally went to school.

Luckily Jake doesn't have these episodes often. The frustrating thing is that there seemed to be no reason for this. His site was fine, he had given himself the proper amount of insulin, he wasn't sick. And then BAM, out of the blue, he goes really high. Even though he handled the situation well it served as another reminder of how tenuous the life of a diabetic can be. Do everything right and still have complications.

This is why we ride. To find a cure for diabetes. Things around home can go along "normally" for months, then all of a sudden we get a sobering dose of reality. Jake's life has been drastically affected by this disease, as have the lives of millions of others. So we will ride. We will fund raise. We will find a cure for diabetes.

A quick report

We didn't get a lot of riding in this week. Between cold weather and kid duties the riding took a back seat, which is hard to do on a bike. Tom got out yesterday and did a quick 15 miles on the White Pine Trail. Check out our team photo site for pictures from some of our recent team rides.

This week's ride totals:
5/10 - 15.5 miles; WPT north (Tom)

Total: 15.5 miles -Tom

Another Sunday night...

Michigan weather in the spring is quite unpredictable. After a couple weeks of great weather in early April things turned ugly in the later part of the month. However, improvements are coming and today was a glorious day. The temperature was in the mid 60's with sunny skies and a light breeze. A great day for a ride. So ride we did, 34 miles in fact, with out West Michigan Ride Team. Today's training ride left from Townsend Park and traveled through Rockford and then past Wabasis Lake. We had a good group of 14 cyclists and just had a fantastic time. It's interesting how we are doing more mileage earlier in the year with each passing season. Four years ago a spring ride would have been 12 to 15 miles on a rail trail. Now they are 30 plus out on the road with hills and everything.

This weeks ride totals:
4/30 - 13.2 miles; WPT south (Tom)
5/4 - 34.4 miles; Townsend Park, Rockford, Wabasis Lake

Total: 47.6 miles - Tom
Total: 34.4 miles - Mary

It's Sunday Night, do you know where your update is?

We had a great team ride today. 17 members of the West Michigan Ride Team started out at Johnson Park in Grand Rapids and completed a 27 mile loop. The route took us down Butterworth and out Fennesy toward Grand Valley. We crossed M-45 and then turned back east on Leonard and road thru the little village of Tallmadge. South on 8th Avenue and then east on O'Brien before hooking up with Butterworth again and returning to the park. It was very warm today. Quite summer like. It's been a strange spring in Michigan. We either have winter or summer weather. The good news is, the summer type weather lets us ride more.

This week's ride totals:
4/15 - 17 miles; White Pine Trail (WPT) north (Tom)
4/20 - 27.5 miles; Johnson Park loop

Total: 44.5 miles - Tom
Total: 27.5 miles - Mary

Spring is springing

The weather is getting better everyday. Tom went out for a ride at lunch yesterday and put in 17 miles. We have a team ride coming up this Sunday at Johnson Park. Friday night we will be manning an information table about the ride at the Wealthy Theatre. And planning is under way for Jake's Music Festival. This year's event is September 6, also at Wealthy Theatre. There are also new links on the left for donating to the ride and new pictures on the team photo site.
The season is cranking up. Come back often for more news.

The Second Sunday Night Update of 2008

Today was our first team ride of the season. It was a beautiful day and we had a great turnout. We had 23 people who started at Ada Park for a flat out and back down Grand River Drive. That's a third of our team! It's even more impressive when you realize that a quarter of our team lives more than 120 miles away. (Chicago is Way-West Michigan.) It was great to put on the spandex and get out with all our riding buddies. Six months to Death Valley.

This weeks ride totals:
4/6- 23 miles; Ada Park, Grand River Dr.

The First Sunday Night Update of 2008

With apologies to our friends who ride all winter we finally got out for a ride this week. Well at least Tom did. It was sunny and 50 degrees on Friday so Tom pumped up the tires on his road bike and headed out for a ten mile lunchtime jaunt. Rode to Belmont and around the neighborhood, just to make sure the bike and body still worked. Both did.
We also officially signed up for this year's Death Valley Ride, which will take place on October 18. Stay tuned for more on our fourth excursion to the desert.

This week's ride totals:
3/14 - 10 miles; Belmont area (Tom)

Stats and Groveling

We started this blog in July of 2005 to track our training for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Ride for the Cure in Death Valley. Since then we have done three rides and this blog has been visited by over 3000 people. Those people came from 42 different countries, 47 states and Washington D.C. The question is why, after 3 1/2 years, have we had no visitors from Kentucky, Mississippi or Vermont? Those are all nice places and we're pretty sure they ride bicycles there. So this is the groveling part. In order to say we've had visitors from every state in the union we are humbly asking for hits from Kentucky, Mississippi and Vermont.
You see, it's February here in Michigan, which means we have 2 feet of snow on the ground and temperatures that flirt with the single digits. There is no riding, so we amuse ourselves with internet stats. Spring can not come to soon.

New stuff added to the blog

We made a couple of additions over on the left side of this page. First, we added a link to YouTube so you can view this year's ride video. Eventually the embedded video we have posted will rotate off the first screen and we wanted to make sure that people would still be able to watch it. So find the "Ride photos & videos" heading and click on "2007 Ride Video".
Second, we added a link to a web site that will help us raise money for the cause and get us all healthier at the same time. The Health Zone offers products like XS Energy Drink (team sponsor), protein bars, and supplements. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to the JDRF West Michigan Ride Team. So look for the "Stay Healthy" heading on the left and click on the Health Zone link.
As always, thanks for your continuing support of the cause.

Winter reflection

There are some of our fellow cyclists who brave the elements and ride in all types of weather. But currently it is 11 degrees and snowing here in West Michigan. Only the insane (and I mean that in a good way) would be out riding today. We are not completely fair weather cyclists. We've had our days of 50 degree temps and rain, not to mention 100 degrees and 40 MPH winds. But for the most part our winter exercise does not involve getting on a bike and heading outdoors. Mary walks and Tom plays basketball and works out at the gym. The whole indoor trainer thing is too much like work (and it's boring). Once the weather breaks we'll be back out there on the roadies getting ready for our fourth ride in Death Valley. Yes, we are in the process of forming the 2008 team and we have committed to ride in DV once again. Remember that "insane" comment from earlier in this post? Yeah, that's us.

What do cyclists do in the winter?

They shop, of course.

We went to Chicago over the weekend and hooked up with fellow Death Valley rider and Chicago resident Nicole Nellis. This is a shot of Mary and Nicole looking at the big tree in the Walnut Room at Macy's. We had a great time bopping around downtown in the middle of a blizzard. We went to the Kriskindle Market on Daley Plaza, shopped on the Miracle Mile and checked out Millennium Park.

This is our group reflected in a giant silver sculpture called "The Bean" by the locals. We had hoped to have Rob Andro join us, but he ended up having to work. It was great meeting up with part of the "western" West Michigan team. We are looking forward to trading in the winter jackets for spandex as soon as possible.

New photo link

Over on the left side of this page you will find a Flickr badge. This links to our 2007 ride photos. Once you are into the Flickr website you can also look back through the photostream to see pictures from 2006 and 2005.
And... we are starting to plan for the 2008 ride. More details coming soon.

Ride team video is on-line

We have posted the 2007 West Michigan Ride Team video to YouTube. You can follow this link or just watch it here. The video encapsulates the whole year including training rides, fund raising and the Death Valley and Whitefish rides.

A cool ride

Tom got out on his bike for the first time since returning from Death Valley. It was sunny, windy, and relatively warm (57 degrees) yesterday, so a ride on the White Pine Trail was in order. It was just a quick 12 miles during lunch but it felt good to be outside riding again. Now the last time we rode it was sunny, real windy, and very warm (104 degrees).
We had a end of the season party over at New Holland Brewery on Tuesday night. It was great seeing all our teammates again. We also kicked off the 2008 ride season. There were several new people at the party that we are recruiting to ride with us next year. Oh, and the (almost) final total for money raised by the West Michigan Ride Team is $250,000. Thanks to everyone who contributed and watch this space for more news about next year's ride.

This Year's Ride Totals

Well, that headline looks pretty final. That's not to say we won't get some more riding in this year, but with temperatures in the 30's and 40's and snow in the forecast it might be awhile before we do any outdoor riding. We know we have team mates who ride year round. They are better men and women than we are.
So the final numbers for the 2007 JDRF Ride training season are:
Tom: 1,683 miles
Mary: 1,187 miles

More thoughts on the ride

After we returned from Death Valley our team was swapping emails about the ride. We are reposting here the one that Tom sent out on Wednesday

I’ve been looking at photos, watching videos and reading emails this morning and I am amazed at what this team has accomplished in three short years. Our first year, 2005, we had 14 riders in Death Valley and 12 more in Ashville. We were all “newbies”. We had no idea about the Death Valley terrain or the route. “Jubilee Pass is how high?” We didn’t know about posters on the room doors or identifying markings on our helmets. And why do we need a “supply” stop in Parhrump? Today we are the rock stars of the Valley. The un-official coolest team at the ride. My sides hurt all weekend. Sometimes from the riding, but more often from the laughs we shared around the pool and dinner. I will take away many memories from this ride that will last the rest of my life.

Carmen’s incredible enthusiasm for every part of the experience.

John Jasker riding up to the top of Jubilee twice to help other riders on our team achieve their goals.

Sean and Rob and Ted’s four letter shout outs.

The dorm party on Saturday night.

Our little pace line on the way back from Ashford Mills. Patti, Nicole, Carmen, Melanie and I. Plus the guys we picked up along the way, Micah from Israel and the kid whose name I forgot.

Helmet stars? A great idea. Bunny ears and a tail? It looked good on Rob.

Did I mention that Melanie Williamson is a monster climber?

Seeing Mark and Terry Hereen on Friday night and then out on the road on Saturday. And in Vegas on Sunday and Monday. Thanks for all the rides.

Underwater photography by Kevin Owens.

Sitting around for hours in the hot tub at the Flamingo in Vegas, discussing the ride.

The convenience store lunch on Friday with Katie, Steve and Nicole.

The crash and my interesting scar.

Dave the Ninja.

Finishing the ride in a sandstorm. Is that what normal people do on a Saturday night?

Turning 50 surrounded by some of the most positive people I have ever met in my life.

And to the two people who made this whole weekend possible, Coach Mike and Cruise Director Mary. While we were having fun before the ride they were working behind the scenes to make sure everything went off without a hitch. Thanks to them and Linda Clark and Sophie, our West Michigan support team.

One last thought. With 98 miles completed I was done. The wind was too strong. It was too hot. My body had nothing left. There were other riders on our team, much stronger than me, who had already sagged in. I looked up to see another long climb on the stretch between Badwater and the turn for Furnace Creek. I was done. I then looked down at the little card that had been on my handlebars since the start. One quote caught my eye. “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” At that point I looked at the photo of my son and said, “Well Jake, I’ve got no more energy, I guess we’ll have to use a double dose of persistence.” And our little pace line crossed the finish line together. Thanks to everyone who participated. You are all rock stars in my book. And if we can conquer the ride in Death Valley, I have no doubt that we can also conquer diabetes.

Ride On.

Tom

More Ride News

Those of us who rode in Death Valley have been sharing emails and photos this week. It's great to relive those great memories. Obviously that doesn't include the winds and heat. Our team is great. Not only great cyclists, but great people as well. Our bikes arrived back on the Gainey Transportation truck this morning. We had half a dozen people show up early to help unload. We are already starting to plan for next year.
Here's a photo of us at the top of Jubilee Pass. We are smiling because we think we've accomplished the hardest part of the ride. The winds haven't started yet and the temperature is still below 90.For more photos from us and the rest of the team click on the new link to the left under the 2007 Ride Photos headline. Or click here.

Photos from the 2007 Ride

The West Michigan Ride Team on Friday morning, just before the training ride up to Zabriski Point.

Dust storm at sunset. The end of the 2007 Death Valley Ride.

Tom and Mary, very happy to have completed another adventure.