Why we do this

Today provided a great reminder of why we go through all the training and suffer through century rides in deserts and over mountains. This afternoon there was a small get together in Holland for the riders who completed the Whitefish ride. Since Mary had been out there as a volunteer we were invited as well. There was good food, great pictures and wonderful stories. Near the end of the party Dawn Wilson, a Herman Miller employee and brand new JDRF rider, gave a short speech. It seems that Dawn got a little emotional when she crossed the finish line. Now Dawn is one tough rider. She has been kicking it in through training and in Whitefish. So when the tears flowed on the finish line it surprised most everyone. Today she explained, " I finally figured out what this was all about. I thought I was just going out there to do a cool bike ride. But then I found out that (fellow rider) Jake Clark is diabetic. And I kept looking at the picture that had been attached to my bike of this little girl. It hit me that she has diabetes and that's why we're here. This ride changed my life." Dawn may have cried at the finish line, but she had everyone in the room crying today.

We have a great group of riders on the West Michigan team. Half of us have done the ride and the other half go soon. These rides continue to change lives, not just of the riders, but of the kids afflicted with diabetes. Thanks Dawn, for making that point so clear today.

This week's ride totals:
9/3 - 16.4 miles; WPT north (Tom)
9/5 - 13.7 miles; WPT south
9/9 - 23.5 miles; Tunnel Park to Kirk Park (Ottawa County) and back
Total: 37.2 miles (Mary)
Total: 53.6 miles (Tom)

This week's roundup

We had a great ride yesterday. We rode from our house to Tom's parents house just north of Lowell. We took Cannonsburg Road thru Parnell and past Murray Lake to Lincoln Lake Road. It was a 36 mile round trip on a beautiful late summer day. We are now seven weeks away from riding across Death Valley.

This week's ride totals:
8/28 - 14 miles; WPT south (Tom)
8/31 - 16.7 miles; WPT north (Tom)
9/1 - 36 miles; Cannonsburg Rd. to Lincoln Lake Rd.
Total: 66.7 miles (Tom)
Total: 36 miles (Mary)

Michigan, Montana and points in-between

A crazy busy week. Mary took Colleen back to Central Michigan University on Thursday and then was supposed to fly to Montana to support the 20 West Michigan riders participating in the Whitefish Ride to Cure Diabetes. Because of the storms that rolled thru the midwest that day she ended up driving to Chicago early Friday morning and catching a flight to Missoula, Montana. The ride out there went great and the West Michigan folks had a fantastic time. We'll be posting photos here and at the team blog site later.
Tom stayed in Michigan, putting in many work hours but also setting up the JDRF goodie tent at the Rockford Criterium on Saturday. Today he got out for a ride and actually made it up to Sand Lake and rode on 3 miles of newly paved WPT. Yeah! At long last the paving project is underway. When finished in September we will be able to do a 36 mile round trip on the trail from our front door. Because the trail isn't completely paved yet Tom had to do some regular roads and the ride ended up being 41 miles.

This week's ride totals:
8/21 - 16.4 miles; Post, 9 Mile, Division, WPT loop
8/26 - 41 miles; WPT paved sections north (Tom)
Total: 16.4 miles -Mary
Total: 57.4 miles -Tom

Riding between raindrops

We are making up for our dry summer this week. Lots of rain every day. We did get out right after work yesterday for a quick ride. Took Post Road out to Pine Island and then west on 9 Mile. We turned south at Division and rode that all the way to Comstock Park. Hopped on the WPT and headed home. An easy 16.4 miles before dinner.
Tomorrow Mary leaves with half our team for the ride in Whitefish, Montana. She won't be riding, she's there to help with logistics. We have 20 riders in Whitefish this month, another five there in September and about 37 of us in Death Valley in October. Altogether we'll raise nearly a quarter of a million dollars for diabetes research. Woo hoo!

Busy week

This week was crazy busy. Tom had a big event that went all week long so he was only able to get out Monday morning and Friday afternoon. On Friday he rode down to the JDRF offices via Grand River Drive and rode home with Mary. Today was supposed to be the annual West Michigan Ride Team ride and pool party. But it got cancelled because of rain. We haven't had any rain in a month and so on the day we plan a pool party the state gets dumped on. Oh well, at least the lawn is a better shade of brown.

This week's ride totals:
8/13 - 21 miles; Courtland, Meyers Lake, 13 miles, WPT (Tom)
8/17 - 22 miles; Grand River Dr. (Tom)
8/17 - 11 miles; Grand River Dr. (Mary)
Total: 43 miles (Tom)
Total: 11 miles (Mary)

Fundraising week

We didn't get a lot of miles in this week because we were getting ready for Jake's Music Festival. This is a major fundraiser for us and it took place last night. We're still counting money, but it looks like we made over $2,000. Since we each have to raise $4,000 in order to ride in Death Valley, last night's concert took us a long way toward our goal.

This week's ride totals:
8/8 - 23 miles; WPT north (Tom)
8/10 - 21 miles; WPT south (Tom)
Total: 44 miles (Tom)

Jake's Music Festival THIS Saturday

Head on down to the Wealthy Street Theatre in Grand Rapids this Saturday night for the best concert of the summer. The show starts at 6:00 p.m. and features local acts FLEDfive, Craic Wisely, Common Shiner, Creolization, Los Cobras and Bad Dolly. Tickets are only $10 and all proceeds go to support the West Michigan Ride Team. See you there.

Is that a hill?

We had a great team ride today. 15 riders in all, evenly mixed between Whitefish and Death Valley participants. We left from Joe Schmeider's house and headed east from Knapp from Grand River. We then did several north and south streets as we went through Parnell, Murray Lake, and Fallasburg Park. Then it was back via Bailey and the hills of Honey Creek. A couple more north/south jogs and we climbed Joe's long driveway to finish the 48 mile ride. Our total climbing was 1,221 feet. Thankfully Mike Clark did not call this a "rolling hills" route. These were big hills but good training. The Whitefish folks do their JDRF ride in 3 weeks.

This week's ride totals:
8/2 - 14 miles; WPT Coit loop (Tom)
8/3 - 14.5 miles; WPT north (Tom)
8/5 - 48.5 miles; Schmeider's hill route (see above)

Total: 48.5 miles - Mary
Total: 77 miles - Tom

Death Valley style heat

It has been very hot this week. Temperatures in the 90's all week with Tuesday topping out at 97. Unlike Death Valley this is not a dry heat. It's humid and very uncomfortable. So today Tom took off early in the morning to get a ride in. South on the WPT, east on North Park, North on Coit, over the Grand River on the Jupiter bridge and then home. A 14 mile loop. Not a big ride, but there was work to do today.

Another big week

We both got out and rode 4 times this week, with Tom doing his second 100+ mile week in a row. Remember, in Death Valley we are doing 105 miles in one day. Still, it feels great to be getting some big miles in and we have almost 3 months until we head out to the desert.
On a separate note, Tom seems to have come down with DID disease, named for fellow rider Derek Dykstra. He had two flats on Friday and another one today. We've thinking about seeing if we can get a team bulk discount on tubes.

This week's ride totals:
7/23 - 20 miles; WPT north (Tom)
7/24 - 11 miles; Cascade to home (Mary)
7/25 - 11 miles; Cascade to home again (Mary)
7/25 - 24.7 miles; Western farmland loop (Tom)
7/27 - 37.3 miles; Musketawa Trail
7/29 - 28 miles; Wabasis Lake and back (Tom)
7/29 - 32 miles; Wabasis Lake and back (Mary)
Total: 110 miles - Tom
Total: 91.3 miles - Mary

Muskatawa Trail

We had a great ride yesterday. Our friends, Susan and Jim Hayes came up from Chicago and we rode 37 miles on the Muskatawa Trail. That's another converted rail line that runs between Marne and Muskegon. Lots of cornfields out there but you do travel thru the little towns of Ravenna and Conklin. In Conklin we stopped at Fenian's Irish Pub and had a pint (or maybe two). We also got an idea for a fun ride. Coming soon The Five By Fifty. Watch this space for details.

It's just a little bunny rabbit

One of the weirdest biking experiences ever befell Tom on his 20 mile ride yesterday. He was hit by a rabbit. Not your tiny little hopper munching on carrots, oh no, this guy was big. I could hear him crashing through the brush to my right as I was on the WPT. Now we have rabbits and chipmunks and birds cut in front of us all the time on the trail. We've even scared up some deer. But this rabbit misjudged his and my speed. Instead off cutting in front of me, he jumped and hit me in the right calf, then passed through the open frame of the bike and hit my left knee. He fell to the ground where he got bonked by a pedal. Somehow I didn't fall and when I looked back he was hopping away, although more slowly. No blood on either of us so we moved along. I wonder what kind of story he's telling his friends?

Holland Hundred

At the start of the Holland Hundred in our new jerseys provided by West Michigan Ride Team sponsor XS Energy Drink.

Tom and Mary cruising along Lake Michigan on our way to completing a metric century ride at the Holland Hundred.

Saturday was a perfect day for riding. Cool in the morning, warm with a light breeze in the afternoon. A great day to knock out 67 miles, also known as a 100 kilometers. We took part in the Holland Hundred and rode east from Holland for about 15 miles then headed back west and stopped for a pancake breakfast at the 28 miles mark. We then turned south for Fennville, headed west to the lakeshore, and north to Saugatuck. We crossed the Kalamazoo River on the chain ferry and then had a short ride back to Holland. We saw lots of out JDRF Ride team mates, including Joe and John Schmeider, Linda and Don Milanowski, Rod and Diane Stevens and John Jasker. There were more there but with 1300 riders it's difficult to meet up with everyone. Coach Mike, Ted Bently and the crew from VeloCity did a great job helping organize the ride. A great way to cap off a big ride week.

This week's ride totals:
7/16 - 20 miles; WPT south (Tom)
7/17 - 20 miles; WPT north
7/18 - 30 miles; Townsend Park, Gratten, home loop (Mary)
7/19 - 12 miles; Rocky's for ice cream with Ian (Tom)
7/21 - 67 miles; Holland Hundred
Total: 119 miles (Tom)
Total: 117 miles (Mary)

Photos from trail riding

Mary riding through an area we like to call "Children of the Corn" in Manistee National Forest.


Doesn't this look like it could be an ad for Specialized trail bikes?


Tom heading back to the campsite. All done for the day.

Bikes and blues

This is getting to be a habit. On Tuesday night we rode the WPT up to Rockford to listen to the Rouge River Blues series. Last night featured the Jimmy Stagger Band. We watched the first set and then continued our ride north to where the pavement ends and turned around to head for home. We did 20 miles in all at an average speed of 14.8 MPH.
On Monday Tom did the southern WPT, riding through Riverside Park all the way to Ann Street in Grand Rapids and then home. Another 20 miler.

Mixed week

We were camping up in Manistee National Forest from Thursday thru Sunday, so we did trail riding this weekend. Not lots of miles but lots of sand and gravel and little hills and bumps and one fall for Tom. It was fun being on the trail bikes again and we did one great 5.7 mile loop on Saturday on some old fire roads. We even surprised some back country campers. The best part is Jake and Ian rode with us.

This week's ride totals:
7/9 - 25 miles; WPT south to Grand Rapids and back (Mary)
7/10 - 21 miles; WPT north from North Park to Rockford and home (Tom)
7/12-7/14 - 12 miles; Trail riding in Manistee national Forest
Total: 37 miles (Mary)
Total: 35 miles (Tom)

Dang, it's hot outside!

The weather finally broke this morning but we had 90 degree temperatures this week to give us lots of practice for Death Valley. Mary rode on Monday in the early evening and put in 25 very sweaty miles by heading south on the WPT and then bopping around on some city streets in northern Grand Rapids. Tom rode early in the morning on Tuesday. After dropping off the van for service he headed north on the WPT, starting at the trail head on North Park, and rode north all the way to 12 Mile before turning around and heading home. 21 miles with the heat creeping into the mid-80's. This weekend we will be doing some dirt trail riding so we'll be pulling the trail bikes down from the garage rafters. We'll report on that on Sunday.

A hot week

It was very warm in Michigan this week, but it gets us ready for riding in Death Valley.

This Week's Ride Totals:
7/3 - 24.7 miles; WPT and east
7/5 - 25.5 miles; eastern Rockford loop (Tom)
7/6 - 8.8 miles; Apline ave to WPT and home (Mary)
7/7 - 13 miles; WPT to Rockford and back (Tom)
Total: 63.2 miles (Tom)
Total: 33.5 miles (Mary)

Separate Rides

Tom went out yesterday and did a 25.5 mile loop. Started east on 7 Mile, north on Blakely, then east on 9 Mile all the way to East Rockford Middle School. Then turned north and ended up on Ramsdell and 11 Mile and turned for home. The problem in that neck of the woods is many streets don't go through or turn to dirt. After picking his way around Tom finally headed south on Shaner, west on 10 Mile then south on Courtland, rode past Rockford High School and home.

Mary took the van in for service this morning over on Alpine Avenue and rode her bike home. She went Alpine to Turner to North Park and then took the WPT north to home. 8.8 miles and think of the gas she saved.

Happy 4th

We had a nice ride on Tuesday afternoon. Everyone seemed to be getting ready for the holiday so the White Pine Trail was pretty empty. We rode to the end of the pavement and then turned west, crossing 131 on Indian Trails Rd, then taking Edgerton south to 13 Mile. Going east on 13 Mile hooked us back up with the WPT for the quick buzz home. Almost 25 miles in all.

July First Team Ride Photos

Our Chicago pal and fellow Death Valley rider Nicole.

Somewhere on the backroads between Holland and Fennville.

Post-ride fajita fandango at Coach Mike's house.

A very good week

Wednesday was a 20 mile ride for Tom, out to Townsend Park, north to Bostwick Lake and then home via 10 Mile, along few jogs here and there. Kept up a 16 MPH pace over the entire ride. On Friday Tom did his infamous hill training route, 5 hill climbs in 10 miles. Hit 38 MPH going down hill on House Street.
Today was our team ride from Coach Mike's house in Holland. We did a 44 mile loop that took us through Fennville and Saugatuck. The best part was a group of about 20 of us riding right through downtown Saugatuck. Did we get some looks from the tourists. We had about 30 riders altogether, almost half our team. It was by far the best team ride showing we've had. Probably because of the fajitas Mike made upon our return. We'll be posting photos of all the fun later in the week.

This week's ride totals:
6/27 - 20 miles; Townsend park, Bostwick Lake loop (Tom)
6/29 - 10 miles; Hill training (Tom)
7/1 - 44 miles; Holland, Fennville, Saugatuck loop

Total: 44 miles (Mary)
Total: 74 miles (Tom)

Donor Thank You's part 2

We would like to send out our sincere thanks to the following people who have contributed to help us find a cure to diabetes.
Chris Behrens
Jim & Mary Clinthorne
Robin Duvall
Steve & Stacy Farr
June Hennip
Jim & Connie Hennip
Mike & Jean Oele
Joe & Dena Reetz
and all the people that ate at the Corner Bar on June 18th.

Jake's Music Festival

This is an advance notice for the most fun fundraiser of the summer. Jake's Music Festival takes place on Saturday, August 11 at the Wealthy Street Theatre in Grand Rapids. There will be five great bands and the cost is only $10. For more info check out www.jakesmusicfestival.blogspot.com or www.myspace.com/jakesmusicfestival.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

We didn't make the team ride today because we were out of town . We were visiting our friends, the Hayes', at their cottage on Lake Paw Paw. As we do when we visit we brought our bikes and did a tour through the vineyards and orchards of southwestern Michigan. Really don't know where we rode thanks to the odd street naming system in Allegan County. Let's say one is riding down County Road (CR) 387. You cross CR 681, the next road you cross is CR 272. Therefore the next road you cross will be ???? CR 597, of course. I mean, aren't there any dead Presidents they could name these roads after? Or at least number them in some kind of logical order? Regardless, it was a beautiful morning for a ride and we traveled through 33 miles of gently rolling hills. Then we spent the afternoon boating and swimming.

This week's ride totals:
6/19 - 17.5 miles: WPT to Rogue River Blues
6/22 - 15.5 miles; WPT south to the ballpark (Tom)
6/24 - 33 miles; loop east of Lake Paw Paw

Total: 50.5 miles (Mary)
Total: 66 miles (Tom)

Yummy dogs again

We had a nice turnout at the Corner Bar on Monday for our Dogs for Dollars fundraiser. We made some money for the ride team and had some good food too. We may have even recruited another rider (our waiter).
Yesterday we were in downtown Rockford again. This time we rode in and enjoyed a little of the Rogue River Blues concert. Put in 17 and 1/2 miles on the WPT last night. We do love these long summer nights with the late sunset. We can actually get a ride in after dinner.

Team Ride and Update

We had a great team ride today. 14 riders left from our house in Rockford and completed a 36 mile loop that took us all the way into Ottawa County. We started off by crossing the Rogue River on Packer Road and then headed across 131 on Post Road. We took 9 Mile west through orchards and farmland. We made a few jogs and ended up on 8th Avenue just inside the Ottawa County line. We headed home along 6 Mile and then rode through Belmont to get home. The traditional post-ride chips and salsa feast was enjoyed on our patio. Lots more training rides over the next few weeks. The Whitefish riders will be heading out at the end of August. Those of going to Death Valley have until October to train.

This week's ride totals:
6/12 - 15.6 miles; WPT to Rockford and back (Tom)
6/13 - 13 miles; WPT to Rockford and back (Mary)
6/15 - 20 miles; WPT south to Riverside Park and back (Tom)
6/17 - 36.8 miles; western loop with the team

Total: 72.4 miles (Tom)
Total: 49.8 miles (Mary)

Blues and bikes

Tuesday night Tom and our 16 year old son Jake (the guy we do all this for) rode up the WPT to Rockford to take in the opening night of the Rogue River Blues Series. Tom was on his roadie and Jake on his off-roadie. Together they did 15.6 miles and got to hear some good blues music. So if you are looking for a nice ride, head to Rockford on a Tuesday night this summer, check out the tunes for a bit and then ride home.

This afternoon Mary and our other son, 12 year old Ian, rode to Rockford for Corner Bar hotdogs, a stop at the library and ice cream. The WPT sure makes it convenient to bop up to Rockford for a quick bite. We can hardly wait until it's paved to Sand Lake.

A good week

We both got three days of riding in this week, but only one was together. On Monday we rode the WPT to Rockford for lunch at the Corner Bar (See you there on June 18). On Wednesday Mary rode with Sarah and they did 30 miles out in the Ada/Cascade area. Tom rode alone for 14 miles. On Friday Mary rode from Grandville to Rockford via Kent trails, through downtown Grand Rapids and then the WPT. 20 miles that day. Tom rode on Sunday and logged 35 miles, checking out a western loop that we will use for the team ride next Sunday. Tom took Post Road out to 9 Mile and ended up in Ottawa County. The return trip was via 6 Mile Road. Lots of orchards and farm land. And several "rolling" hills.

This Weeks Ride Totals:
6/4 - 12 miles; Rockford for hot dogs
6/6 - 30 miles; Cascade/Ada/Lowell (Mary)
6/6 - 14 miles; WPT south (Tom)
6/8 - 20 miles; Grandville to Rockford (Mary)
6/10 - 35 miles; western farmland loop (Tom)
Total: 62 miles (Mary)
Total: 61 miles (Tom)

Take a look at where we are going

Mary and Tom went their separate ways for rides tonight. Mary rode with Sarah Andro and they did the Cascade to Lowell loop down Grand River Ave. 30 miles in all. Tom rode alone and only did 14 miles, south on the WPT to the ballpark and back. We found this great route map of Death Valley on the JDRF ride web site. Who said the desert was flat? Check out the elevation gain. (Click on the map to see a larger image.)

Mmmm... hot dogs

So yesterday were both home at lunch time so we rode up to Rockford and had lunch at the Corner Bar. A little over 12 miles and three hot dogs. Speaking of the Corner we are holding our next food related fundraiser there on Monday, June 18th. From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. a portion of the price of every meal goes to the JDRF West Michigan Ride Team. So print the coupon below and come to Rockford on the 18th for good food and help promote a good cause. You'll also get a chance to meet several members of the Ride Team. Because if there one thing we love more than riding it's eating.

Another update

Not much to report this week. Only one ride for Tom and none for Mary. Between rain, home improvement projects, soccer and Sarah's wedding shower this weekend was a washout for riding. We do have a yummy fundraiser coming up in a couple of weeks, more on that later.

This week's ride totals:
5/31 - 19.6 miles; Rockford via Childsdale and Summit
Total: 19.6 miles (Tom)

New twist on an old route

A Tom only ride tonight. I followed the course of the White Pine Trail north to Rockford, but spent very little time on the trail. Started by heading up the Chilsdale hill and then following Childsdale all the way to downtown. I buzzed through the Rockford streets and hooked up with the WPT north of the dam. I got off the trail where it crosses Summit and took Summit to Russell Road. There I turned south on the WPT and blasted for home. 19.6 miles in about an hour and 20 minutes.

The Monday Night Update

This being a holiday weekend and all I was nowhere near my computer Sunday night, so the update happens on Monday instead. Tuesday was a quick, Tom only, ride on the WPT. But today we visited our friends Elvin and Susan Hayes at their cottage on Lake Paw Paw and did some riding with them. We rode from the lake, through some beautiful farmland, all the way to South Haven. We stopped at a bluff overlooking the beach and Lake Michigan. Lots of sailboats out this morning. Then we headed back to the cottage. A little over 34 miles round trip.
So this week's numbers are skewed a bit with the holiday making it an eight day week, but we only rode twice.
This week's ride totals:
5/22 - 15 miles; WPT north (Tom only)
5/28 - 34.3 miles; Lake Paw Paw to South Haven and back
Total: 34.3 miles - Mary
Total: 49.3 miles - Tom

Nearing the end...

of the basement project, that is. We will be so glad when that's done (probably right after Memorial Day). We've been very busy with work, and when not working we are working on the basement office. That leaves little time for riding. Tom did get out on Tuesday for a quick 15 miles on the White Pine Trail. We hope to do some biking this weekend at our friend's cottage on Lake Paw Paw. Depends on whether the weather cooperates.

The weekend warrior report

Between several work projects and the basement project at home riding has only taken place on the weekend. This is temporary thankfully, so as we move through the summer things should get better -riding-wise.
Saturday -Tom alone (sniff)
Rode out Post Road to Pine Island Road and took that south to West River Drive near Comstock Park. Hopped on the White Pine Trail heading north to return home. A quick 14 miles between soccer games and dinner.
Sunday - Tom and Mary (yeah)
We rode from our current home in Rockford, south on the White Pine Trail, through the west side of Grand Rapids to our old home on Scott Street. It was neat to see the first house we owned again, we even talked to the current owner (A very nice young lady). A tree we planted as a seedling when Collen was born 19 years ago is now over 25 feet tall. We had a couple of big hill climbs to get up to our old house, but it was worth it. We then retraced our route to get home, logging 28 miles in all.

This week's ride totals:
5/19 - 14.1. miles; Post to Pine Island to WPT loop
5/20 - 28.3 miles: Rockford house to old GR house and back
Total: 42.4 miles (Tom)
Total: 28.3 miles (Mary)

Riding the WPT

While the White Pine Trail is relatively flat and the part that runs through Rockford is ALWAYS crowded it is still a great place to get a quick training ride in. It's about two miles of rolling hills to get to the trail from our house. Depending a which route we take we can have a small, gradual climb (taking Rouge River Drive) a short steep climb followed by an extended easy climb (Packer Rd.) or a very intense hill experience (Childsdale Rd. to House Rd.). This makes up for the flatness of the trail.
Tom was out on the trail on his own this week. Wednesday was south to the Whitecaps ballpark and then home. Today was north to Russell Road and then home. Still no paving north of Russell yet. But the DOT said it would happen this spring. We'll see.

This week's ride totals:
5/9 - 13.8 miles; WPT south
5/13 - 20 miles; WPT north
Total: 33.8 miles (Tom only)

A Death Valley Memory

The starting line at 6:30 a.m. The sun will come up in 20 minutes. There is a 20 MPH wind blowing. It will be a tail wind on the way to Jubilee Pass and a head wind on the way back. The winds will also gust to 30 MPH. We will be back at this spot in 11 hours. The sun will have already set.

A Good Week

At least it was a good week for this early in the season. Mary rode with Sara Andro on Wednesday. They went north on the White Pine Trail and then came home via the Childsdale hill. Mary said she wanted to get better at hills and there's only one way to do that. On Thursday Tom went east from the house out 7 Mile Rd. and did a loop up Courtland, over on Belding Rd. to Blakely then south back to 7 Mile. He ended the ride with a cruise past Rockford High School. Today Tom went west out Post Road to 9 Mile then north on Division to 13 Mile then south on the WPT finishing with the Childsdale hill.
A shout out to ace bike mechanic Ted Bentley of Velo-City. Tom was having rear tire blowout problems so Ted gave the bike the once over. He suggested new skinnier tires.
"They'll make you fast", said Ted.
"Fast?" asked Tom.
"Okay. Faster." said Ted.
And truth be told, they did! Those Michelin Speediums indeed made Tom speedy. A good 3-5 MPH faster on similar routes. And they handle better then the tires that came with the Cannondale. But truthfully Tom thinks that replacing the silver stem with a new black one is what really made him faster.

This week's ride totals:
5/2 - 11.6 miles; WPT north (Mary)
5/3 - 11.4 miles: Eastern loop (Tom)
5/6 - 23 miles; Western loop (Tom)

Totals: 11.6 miles (Mary)
Totals: 34.4 miles (Tom)

The First Donor Thank-Yous of 2007

Many people contribute to the success of the Death Valley Ride. Some of those are riders and some are support personnel. But the vast majority are our donors. At this time we'd like to thank our first group of donors to the 2007 ride. Check back often to see if your name has been listed.

Chris & Paula Briggs
Tim & Gloria Buist
Dinah Waldsmith Dittman
Lynn Elker
Kevin Owens
Laurence & Colleen Pierson
John & Rosie Scheidel
Smiley Family Dentistry
Henry & MariJane Wieten

Boom Boom Boom

That's the sound of Tom's rear tire this past week. Last Sunday he had a very loud blowout while riding with Ted and Sara. Saturday the tube blew while the bike was sitting in the garage. After changing the tire yet again (I'm starting to get good at this, darn it) Tom had another blowout 5 miles down the road. Obviously there is an issue to deal with. So while our favorite bike mechanic, Ted Bently of VeloCity, is giving the black beast the once over, Tom will be "strength training" on his mountain bike.
Mary had a much better week. On Saturday she drove to her Mom's house in Grandville. She then biked home following Kent trails, cutting across the west side of Grand Rapids to Riverside Park and then hooking up with the south end of the White Pine Trail. Almost 20 miles in all. On Sunday she reversed the trip and drove home. So we have different mileage totals again this week.

This weeks ride totals:
4/28 - 19.7 miles; Grandville to Rockford (Mary)
4/28 - 10 miles; WPT and Rouge River nature trail (Tom)
4/29 - 19.7 miles; Rockford to Grandville (Mary)
4/29 - 5 miles; around the neighborhood with son Ian (Tom)

Total: 39.4 miles (Mary)
Total: 15 miles (Tom)

It's Sunday night, you know what that means

The weather in Michigan finally warmed up. After a down right frigid spring the sun returned this week, with temperatures climbing into the high 70's this weekend. On Thursday we took a quick pre-dinner jaunt up the White Pine Trail through Rockford. It was a mostly wonderful ride except for the teenage stunt riders and skate boarders who seem to have issues with sharing the trail. Note to self, avoid the WPT through Rockford after school hours on weekdays.

Today we hooked up with Sara Andro and Ted Bently, fellow Death Valley riders, and rode from the Ada/Cascade area out to Lowell and back, almost 30 miles round trip. It was a great ride, even with the massive blowout on Tom's rear tire while descending the first of several hills. Thanks for the help in changing that tire, Ted! This was our longest ride of the season so far. We are putting in more mileage earlier this year than last. Seems like I wrote that same thing in this blog about a year ago.

Finally, if you'd like to donate to the cause it's super easy this year. We have set a family goal of $8,000. To donate to Tom's ride click on the "Donate to Tom" link on the left. To donate to Mary's ride click the "Donate to Mary" link. Then just follow the simple instructions. As much as we enjoy riding our bikes on a beautiful day like today, our primary reason for being out there is to raise money for diabetes research. Thanks to those of you who have supported us in the past. Ride On!

This week's ride totals:
4/19 - 13.4 miles; WPT north
4/22 - 28.7 miles; Cascade to Lowell and back
Total: 42.1 miles

Sunday night of a crummy week

So not much riding weather this week, but today was the first JDRF team ride. Nine hardy souls got out in the sunshine and 50 degree weather to travel the White Pine Trail from Whitecaps Park up to where the pavement ends (that's still Russell Road) and back again. Mary was one of those nine, but Tom was not. He was busy building a room in our basement. It looks like we may have to keep separate weekly ride totals this year. So far Mary is kicking Tom's butt. However, it is a long season.
Also, this Wednesday night is the Ride Team Kick-Off party at New Holland Brewery in Holland. That will be big fun. Stop by and have a beer with the team.

This week's totals:
4/15 - 24 miles; WPT (Mary only)
Total: 24 miles

Yuck!

It's been awhile since the last post because shortly after the previous Sunday Night Update our lovely Michigan spring weather turned to crap. Cold, cloudy and windy. We even had 5 inches of snow on Wednesday. Not ideal bike riding weather. Not any kind of bike riding weather as far as I'm concerned. The warm-up is predicted for this week so if the temps can peek above 50 we'll be back on the road again. Why do we live in this state again?

Sunday night update

Today Tom did the reverse of Mary's Thursday ride. I started south on the White Pine Trail and rode to Riverside Park. Fighting 20 to 30 MPH winds the whole way to Ann Street. It's a lot more fun riding with a 20 MPH tail wind.

This weeks ride totals:
3/26 - 14.7 miles; WPT north
3/29 - 20.0 miles; Riverside Park north to WPT (Mary only)
4/1 - 19.1 miles; W PT south to Riverside Park (Tom only)
This weeks total: 33.8 miles
plus 1 extra mile for Mary

A new blog

Katie Clark and Nicole Nellis from the West Michigan Ride Team have put together a new blog that several team members are contributing to. This will be a great way to keep up with what the whole team is doing, not just yours truly.
The blog is http://www.jdrfwestmichigan.com/rideblog/index.html.
We have also put up a link to it. While you are at it check out all the Ride links. There's some cool stuff over there.

Out like a lamb

The end of March has been muy bueno. The nice weather has allowed us to get out on the bikes several times this month. On Monday, Mary and Tom rode the White Pine Trail north for a trip of about 14 and a half miles. Then today Mary and Death Valley team mates Sara Andro and Tracey Graves went out for 20 miles. They started at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids and then hooked up with the WPT. We are getting longer rides in earlier this year than last. Part of that is the weather and part is being in better condition. It is amazing to think about what kind of shape we were in before the first Death Valley ride 2 1/2 years ago. Back then a 10 mile ride meant we were done for the day, now 10 miles is a warm-up.

The Season's First Sunday Night Update

The weather was fairly mild this past week and we did manage to get outside riding once, so that means we need an Update. We do not update based on indoor training rides. We don't like riding indoors. We do it to stay in shape. We ride outdoors because we enjoy it, and we stay in shape. But that is a extra benefit.

This week's ride totals:

3/13 - 10.5 miles, White Pine Trail south

Total: 10.5 miles

Let the season begin

March 13 is still officially winter but we were out on our bikes yesterday. The temperature was pushing 70 degrees and it was sunny, sooo... we pulled down the road bikes and zipped off to the White Pine Trail for a quick 10 mile ride. There was even a slight head wind on the way out, which is nice, because we love the wind. Now I know there are hard core riders out there who bike all winter long in the ice and snow. Let me just say, we are not that type of biker. Although we have great respect for those who are. We are really looking forward to the bike season getting underway in full in the next few weeks. It felt really good to be out on the trail yesterday. The snow is melting and the gears are turning.

UCC Challenge

Last Saturday Mary rode in the UCC Challenge in Holland along with several other members of the West Michigan Ride Team. The Challenge is a 12 or 24 hour indoor team ride done on spinners. Coach Mike Clark, Rob Andro, Sarah Andro, Joe Schmeider, Dave
Berkiner and Ted Bentley joined Mary on the JDRF team for 12 hours of fun. The team wore their very stylish JDRF jerseys to help build awareness for the cause.

Death Valley Ride 2006 Video

For when we ride outside again

I found this on the web. Some of it's funny, but all is good advice. Thanks to the Bicycle Diaries blog.

Donations just got easier

While we really enjoy riding our bikes, the real reason we put ourselves through the "torture" of Death Valley is to raise funds for a cure to Type 1 diabetes. The folks at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation have just made donating to the cause a whole lot easier Click HERE or on the DONATE link to the left. This will take you directly to a new page that will allow you to make your donation on-line and also show you how close we are to our goal.
Thanks in advance for your support of this worthwhile cause.

sNOw

It's snowing again. Or should I say "still". One of the lovely things about living on the west side of Michigan is this thing called lake effect snow. The weather could be beautiful throughout the Midwest and we'll get dumped on. It's hard to ride bikes in 2 feet of white stuff.

We have made the commitment to ride Death Valley again this year. The ride is on October 20, 2007 so we have several months to train and fund raise. Right now the training is indoors, yuck. But soon (not soon enough) we'll be outside, on the trail, on the road and having fun.

Ride on!

This Just In...

From this evening issue of the Grand Rapids Press.

Which is why I am tickled to announce that another eight-mile section of the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail will be paved this spring from Russell Road to Sand Lake, the Kent County line -- at long last."The engineering is done," said Dave Heyboer, chairman of the Friends of the White Pine Trail. "The paving will be done by the end of May."

Great news for those of us who train on the trail. With the paving to Sand Lake we will now have a 36 mile out and back route from our house up the White Pine Trail. It's going to be a great summer.

Also, here's a link to a video I put on YouTube of the 2006 Death Valley Ride. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wly043lxHJw
Enjoy.

Happy New Year

Saturday was one of those wonderful days we seldom get in Michigan in December, sunny and 50 degrees. So we hopped on our bikes for one last ride in the 2006 season. We rode up to Rockford along the White Pine Trail. Great news on the trail, the local governments are now saying that the White Pine will be paved all the way to Sand Lake this summer. I know we've been hearing that for awhile, but it looks like it's really going to happen now.

The final Sunday Night Update for 2006
12/30 - 11.5 miles; WPT north
2006 total mileage: 1,469 miles

Merry Christmas

I hope Santa was good to everyone this year. Tom got an "Italia" cycling jersey. Very cool. Mary got a fluffy robe and warm hat, scarf and gloves. Not real practical for bike riding, but necessary for Michigan winters. We also have assembled all the photos taken in Death Valley by all the different West Michigan riders. It's almost 2 gigabytes of material. It's a little post Christmas gift to our fellow riders. We'll be giving those out at our 2007 Ride Kick-off Party on January 9th. Thanks to Digital Video Services of Grand Rapids, Michigan for donating the disc duplication.
Have a happy holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day. It's time to put on that winter layer of fat that we will all work so hard to get rid of come Spring. It was a great weekend weather-wise for this time of year in the Mid-West. So after finishing raking leaves and putting up Christmas lights today I went on a bike ride. It was actually my first time on a bike since our return from Death Valley and it felt really good. Just a quick trip up the White Pine Trail to Rockford and back. We are hoping for some more nice days this Fall/Winter but realize that we may be on exercise cycles at the gym for the next four months. Yuck.

This week's ride totals:
11/27 - 12 miles; WPT north

Winter in Michigan

Okay, technically it's not winter yet, but November is probably the most depressing month in this state. Everything is gray. The sky is gray. The trees are gray. When there is snow (which could be any day now) it's gray. Oh how I long for the warm temperatures and blue skies of Death Valley. Check out this photo. This has not been filtered or Photoshopped. The sky was really that blue.
And finally for the people out there who are into stats, it's amazing where people have been logging into this blog from. We've had visitors from 38 states including the District of Columbia and 18 countries other than the U.S. And over 1,300 hits. Now if each of those hits would just donate $10 we'd be well on our way to making next year's goal. Yeah, we're going to do this again next year. More on that later.

Greetings from Detroit

On the road again, but this time for work, not to ride. We had a great post ride get together at Sarah and Rob Andro's parents house on Sunday. Most of the Ride Team was there. We ate, drank, swapped stories and started making plans for next year. Almost everyone committed to coming back to Death Valley and bringing along more riders. We want to take the title of Largest Ride Team away from Wisconsin. Keep watching this blog for more updates and news as we wrap up the 2006 ride and get ready for 2007.
Oh, and speaking of stories, the mojito shower that Nicole provided in Las Vegas was very refreshing. True to her word, she didn't have a repeat performance at the Andro's, but there is always next year.

More Donor Thank You's

We'd like to thank all the people who have donated to the ride so far. There is still time to give to this worthy cause if you haven't already. Just click on the DONATE link to the left or mail a check to the address on the left. Our recent contributors include:

John and Carrie Kasper
Jack and Karen Kleinhecksel
Brian and Darolyn Mogg
Paul and Brenda Schab
Tom and Florence Scheidel
Pat and Renee Smith
Dave Usleton and SueLynn Ritsema
Paul and Sallie Wieringa
The Corner Bar
Stonecrest Productions
Tru-Vue, Inc.

The Ride - part 3

We shot some video with our little still camera while we were in Death Valley and Las Vegas. Some of it can even be shared. Check out YouTube. There are 4 video clips. After clicking on the following link the first video should show up and the rest should be in the playlist. Derek Dykstra also has a few clips. Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WmfilU5pUA

We want to thank the folks from Adventure Corps for organizing the logistics of the ride. Here's a link to their photos http://www.adventurecorps.com/jdrf/2006dv/indexoct.html

There are also photos from Bright Room. You can see them at http://www.brightroom.com/view_event_photos.asp?EVENTID=13912&PWD=
Tom's bib number was 757, Mary's was 758.

We also noticed that we didn't have a Sunday night update last week. That could have been because we were relaxing in Las Vegas last Sunday. But here it is, a week late.

This (last) week's ride totals:
10/20 - 10 miles; Zabriski Point, Death Valley, CA
10/21 - 105 miles; Ride for the Cure, Death Valley, CA
Total: 115 miles

The Ride - part 2

I've been on the road for work practically since we got back from Death Valley so it's taken awhile to get the next entry about the ride. I said in part one we didn't have any injuries, but we did have two riders, Ann and Andrea, who were nursing injuries and were unable to ride in Death Valley, even though they made the trip. We also had several riders who have Type 1 diabetes. They were out there fighting the heat and wind with the rest of us. I know how hard it was for us, I'm in awe of someone with a life threatening disease being able to do that course. Last Saturday was a very hard day. At 5:00 a.m., when we got up, it was already warm and unlike the day before it was windy. The ride is "out and back" style. 52.5 miles with a light wind mostly at our back. We made great time. Then we turned around and came back 52.5 miles, into a 20 MPH head wind with gusts to 30 MPH. Also, the last 6 miles before the turn around is the climb up to Jubilee Pass. 6 miles at a 6% grade. It took us an hour. The wind made a difficult course a little piece of hell on earth. There were very good riders who said it was one of the toughest rides they've ever done. Our fastest riders got in a pace line on the way back so they could go 11 miles an hour! That passed for fast in Death Valley.
Another member of our team is Danielle Musto, who is the ranked second in mountain bike racing. Danielle was the first woman to finish the ride. She also has a blog and you can read her thoughts on the ride there. Just click on the new link to the left or on her name above.
Speaking of links, click on the Flickr badge on the left and you'll see a whole bunch of pictures from the ride. In part three we'll post links to other people's photos and some video.


















This is the part of the team (we had 34 riders) that we rode most of the course with. Sue, Mary, Tom, Peggy, Lynn, Nicole, and Joe.

Beautiful but desolate countryside.

The day of the ride was Mary's birthday. The day after the ride we recuperated in Las Vegas and it was Tom's birthday. Use the comment section to guess how old we are.

The Ride - part 1

We arrived in Death Valley on Thursday evening after traveling all day. We had a nice dinner and hooked up with the rest of our team at the Furnace Creek Ranch. Friday morning was the training ride. Five miles uphill to Zabriski Point in 85 degree heat, but no wind. The wind would come on Saturday. After enjoying the view and posing for pictures it was five miles downhill back to the Ranch. On Friday afternoon some folks went on a hike, others hung out by the pool, still others rode their bikes some more. That night we had a pasta laden dinner in the date palm grove and got to bed relatively early to be ready for our team photo op at 6:20 a.m. on Saturday. Tom had the first flat at the top of Zabriski. As a team we suffered at least 15 flat tires over the weekend, but no injuries, except for some VERY sore muscles on Sunday. More photos and more stories about the actual ride in the next few days.

The West Michigan Team at Zabriski Point, the site of the Friday training ride.

Tom and Mary at the top of Jubilee Pass. This is the half way point. After this we rode back into a 20 MPH head wind.

"Naughty kitties" Peggy, Sue and Mary at Badwater.

We are back!

Wow, wow, and wow. It was an incredible trip. So much to tell and so little time tonight. I will post stories and pictures soon but here's a brief synopsis of the Ride to Cure Diabetes.

There were 284 riders from all across the country. 37 of those came from West Michigan. We were the second biggest team there after Wisconsin. We don't have the exact figure yet, but the ride raised between 1.5 and 2 million dollars for diabetes research. Mary and Tom both completed the full 105 mile course, which was made incredibly difficult this year by a 20 MPH head wind for the last 50 miles. Danille Musto, of the West Michigan team, was the first women to cross the finish line. (Remember, this is not a race.) West Michigan coach Mike Clark was named coach of the year. And the high temperature during the ride was only about 90 degrees. We'll have lots more soon.

Yummy dogs

The "Dogs for Dollars" promotion at the Corner Bar in Rockford was a big success. The manager there said it was one of the best nights they have had in awhile. Several members of the Ride Team showed up as well as lots of other folks. We all had a real good time eating great food and discussing our upcoming adventure.
tomorrow morning we're leavin' on a jet plan for the ride. It's been a great spring and summer of training, and now our time is here. We'll post lots of photos when we return.

Soon and very soon

So our bikes left Wednesday and then it snowed on Thursday and Friday. I guess the bikes gods sent snow so we wouldn't feel so bad about not being able to ride our roadies. Today the weather was sunny, if not exactly warm (52 degrees). Usually when we ride north on the White Pine Trail we turn around where the pavement ends at Russell Road. Today we drove up to Russell Road and took the mountain bikes north on the dirt part of the trail past Cedar Springs. It was only an 11 mile jaunt, but boy oh boy, it felt like a lot longer after training on the roadie all summer. Tomorrow night is our fundraiser at the Corner Bar in Rockford. Our plane leaves Thursday morning for Las Vegas and then we take a bus to Death Valley. Boy oh boy.

This week's ride totals
10/15 - 11 miles; WPT (dirt) north
Total: 11 miles

Bye Bye Bicycle

Our bikes left for Death Valley without us. Thanks to Gainey Transportation for donating the bike pick up and delivery for riders all over the country. We will meet back up with our bikes next Thursday when we fly into Death Valley. Actually, we fly into Las Vegas and then are bussed into DV. It's supposed to snow here in Michigan the next two days, so I probably won't miss my ride too much.

Final team ride

We are getting close to the Death Valley Ride. Our bikes leave this Wednesday and we leave next Thursday. Today was our final team ride. Ten riders took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out for some rolling hills between Ada and Alaska. We did a little over 33 miles. That's probably our last long ride until we get out to the California desert. It's hard to believe that we are less than two weeks away. We've been training since early spring and now it's autumn. We are ready!

This week's ride totals
10/3 - 20 miles; WPT north
10/6 - 13.1 miles; WPT south
10/8 - 33.7 miles; Ada to Alaska loop
Total: 66.8 miles

Dogs for Dollars

On Monday, October 16th we will be having a fundraiser to support the West Michigan Ride Team. Come to the Corner Bar in Rockford, Michigan and have a hot dog (or whatever else you'd like to eat). 15% of all dinner checks will be donated to JDRF. Print the coupon below and bring it to the Corner next Monday. Have some good food and help the team.

Apple Cider photos

Mary, Clark, Susan, Eddie, Tom and Elvin in the back row. Bridget up front, ready to start the ride.

Mary along the Apple Cider Century route.

Mary, Tom, Elvin and Eddie at the finish line, 6 hours and 78 miles after we started.

More donors, more thanks

We are approaching our fundraising goal. We'd like to say "Thank you" to our most recent contributors.

Dave & Rebecca Behrens
Jaap & Janis Bosmeijer
Chris & Paula Briggs
Roy Dodman
Larry & Amy Hewitt
Dennis & Kim Moline
Jane Quinn
Mike Silverstein
Bryce & Margo Spencer
Digital Video Services
KVO Audio & Video

Love the Cider

What a great day for a bike ride! We participated in the Apple Cider Century Ride today. Last year we completed a Metric Century (62 miles). Today we did the 75 mile loop, which actually was almost 78 miles. There were over 4000 riders that left from the little town of Three Oaks, right down near the Indiana border. We rode with our friends from Chicago, Susan and Elvin Hayes, their children Eddie and Bridget and Clark Bushman from the Detroit area. Susan and Bridget rode 25 miles and Elvin, Eddie, Clark, Tom and Mary did 75 miles. We even have the certificates to prove it! We'll post some pictures from the ride later this week.
Three weeks until Death Valley!

This week's ride totals:
9/25 - 11 miles; hill work
9/26 - 16.8 miles; WPT south
10/1 - 77.6 miles; Apple Cider Century
Total: 105.4 miles

Getting ready for Cider

This weekend we will be riding in the Apple Cider Century in Three Oaks, Michigan. We did a metric century last year (62 miles). This year our goal is 75 miles and if the spirit moves us we'll try for the full 100. So this week has consisted of a couple of short training rides on the White Pine Trail and east of our house on the hills. We did 11 miles on Monday and 16.8 miles on Tuesday. We'll post pictures of the Apple Cider early next week.

If you haven't donated to the cause yet, it's not too late. You can click on the DONATE link to the left or mail a check made out to JDRF to Tom Scheidel, 6184 Archer ST. NE, Rockford, MI 49341.
Thanks for your help in eradicating diabetes.

An easy week

This was not a great week for riding. Rain, rain, cold, rain and a friend from out of town have severely limited our bike riding. So just two quick trips early in the week. We will have to crank up the mileage this week as we are only four weeks away from the Ride.

This week's ride totals:
9/18 - 13.1 miles; WPT south
9/20 - 21 miles; WPT north
Total: 34.1 miles

Fun Food Fundraiser

Join us for a hot dog on Monday, October 16th at the Corner Bar in Rockford, Michigan. The Corner Bar is well known for the Hot Dog Hall of Fame and on October 16th a portion of every dinner sold will go to the JDRF Ride Team. So pedal on down to the corner (just off the White Pine Trail) have a hot dog (or something else) and support the Ride to Cure Diabetes.

Sunday night update

Even with the crummy weather and being gone to a soccer tournament this weekend, we did manage to get a couple of good rides in. Thursday was north on the White Pine Trail to where the pavement currently ends. (Can't wait for the fall paving project to Sand Lake to get started.) Friday we went over to Holland and rode some of the trails on the north side of the city, out to the state park and north along Lake Michigan. It was a very pretty (and quite flat) ride. While in Holland we stopped off at Velo City Bike Shop and saw coach Mike. Thanks to Ted for the tune up on our bikes while we were there.

This week's totals:
9/14 - 22.2 miles; WPT north
9/15 - 24.3 miles; Holland loop
Total: 46.7 miles

Moab report

The weather has been nasty this week. Cold and rainy. We should be die-hards and ride anyway. We aren't and we haven't. Although it is supposed to warm up and dry out starting tomorrow.
So since we have no personal riding to report I thought I'd post a picture of head coach Mike (center) and assistant coaches Patrick and Rachel on their recent mountain biking trip to Moab. You can see more of their really cool photos by clicking here.

Cool day, cool ride

We had a great team ride today. 16 riders took off from our house south of Rockford and headed to Cannonsburg. We turned north at Townsend Park and worked our way over to Wabasis Lake. We then turned back west, picked our way up to 15 Mile, hooked up with the White Pine Trail at Russell Road and cruised home. A nice 40 mile loop in 60 degree weather. The chips and salsa tasted real good at the end. Here's a few photos from today's ride.

The team getting ready to ride.

Assistant coach Rachel

Mary and Nancy approach the half-way point

This week's ride totals:
9/5 - 14.7 miles; WPT north
9/7 - 13 miles; WPT south
9/10 - 40 miles; Wabasis Lake loop
Total: 67.7 miles

Lunch time ride

With Mary working out of the house now it has opened up other opportunities for us to go biking. Today, for example, we rode our bikes for an hour during lunch. Just a little jaunt down the WPT past the ballpark and back. 13 miles in all. Not something she could do when she was teaching school.

This week in biking

Tuesday was a quick ride down the White Pine Trail past Whitecaps Park and then back. On Friday went north on the WPT and checked out another portion of the route we'll be riding with the team next week. Today we rode from our house south on the WPT, through Riverside Park, across the West side of Grand Rapids, hooked up with Kent Trails and rode that to Douglas Walker Park in Byron Center. Over 28 miles, and most of it on converted rail trails. It is becoming easier and easier to take really long rides and not have to fight with car traffic. Looking forward to more paving of the WPT this fall.

This week's ride totals:
8/29 - 15 miles; WPT south
9/1 - 26.5 miles; WPT north, then to 15 Mile and back
9/3 - 28.3 miles; WPT and Kent Trails to Byron Center
Total: 69.8 miles

Thanks to these donors

Here's the current list of people who have donated to help find a cure for diabetes. Click on the DONATE link if you'd like to join them.

Christine Behrens
Brent & Jennifer Deuel
Jim & Susan Hayes
Mary Ellen Koziol
Donald & Linda Milanowski
Craig Moulten
Jeff & Julia Poole
Mickel & Jeanne Scheidel
Denise Sherwood
Sharon Turnquist
Bill & Ginger Young

It's Sunday night

On Saturday we rode up to Rockford to watch a little bit of the Rockford Criterium bike race. Man, do those guys ride fast. I much prefer the relatively leisurely pace of a Death Valley century ride.
Today we tried out a route we are going to do as a team ride in couple of weeks. From our house to Wabasis Lake and back. We ran in to a few dirt roads that made us reroute our route, and so we ended up doing 39 miles. The more direct route for the team will probably be a couple of miles less.

This week's ride totals:
8/23 - 17.6 miles; WPT north
8/26 - 20 miles; WPT north
8/27 - 39 miles; to Wabasis Lake and back
Total: 76.7 miles

A note from the Coach

Here's an email we got from Coach Mike Clark after last Saturday's JDRF Ride in Montana. BTW... Death Valley is 2 months away.

"Hey Team!

Wow, what a ride! Your team mates are back from Whitefish Montana, (or...as I'm gonna refer to it from now on "The Land of 10,000 Subarus") and it'd be safe to say that the First Ever JDRF Big Sky Ride was a huge success for JDRF and the West Michigan Team. The course and weather were great, the people were fantastic (especially the support crew and volunteers) and everyone had a blast! It's pretty much a done deal that we'll be goin' back there and at least one JDRF BigWig that I spoke with feels that Whitefish could well become the centerpiece of the ride Program in the near future.

Congradulations are in order for Dave, Mac, Chip and Marlene who all succeeded in tallying 100+ miles on a pretty hilly course. Our "adopted" riders Kim and Kathy had good rides as well. We enjoyed the enthusiastic support from the many JDRF staffers and volunteers all weekend, foremost of which was supplied by our own Alison Hoye and Linda Clark.

Once again I left a JDRF ride humbled and inspired. Humbled to be allowed to be a part of such a project and inspired by the passion of everyone involved. I finished my ride Saturday by keepin' an eye on Chelsea and her mom from Northern Indiana. Chelsea's 13 and has been on 3 JDRF rides. She has Type 1 and she and her mom were out there doing the miles and rasing the money and trying to matter in this world, y'know?

I've said it before and I'll say it again......................you guys ROCK !!"

THE Sunday night update

Tom was in Detroit all week on a job and Mary has been having foot trouble, so not much riding during the week. However, today we did a group ride and put in our most mileage of the year for a single ride, a little over 42 miles. We took the White Pine Trail south and hooked up with the team at Monroe and North Park in Grand Rapids. We then rode the trail north to Belmont and headed west into the apple orchards of alpine Township. We came back east on 13 Mile Road on road the WPT south to home. We had 11 people on the ride today. Which is good considering that part of the team is in Montana this weekend at another JDRF ride. We'll share an update on how they did once coach Mike gets back.

This week's totals:
8/18 - 20.4 miles; WPT north to Russell Rd. and back
8/20 - 42.8 miles; the loop described above
Total: 63.2 miles

The best week ever (at least for this year)

Got out on the bike SIX times this week. Only missed Saturday. None of the rides were especially long, ranging from 10 to 27 miles, but we were going for consistency. And it was also a good way to break up the training a little bit.
Today was a nice cruise from Lake Paw Paw to South Haven and back. We went with our friends Elvin and Susan Hayes. The weather was perfect, the ride was level and we could have done more if we had more time.
This week's ride totals:
8/7 - 10.2 miles; hill work
8/8 - 13.4 miles; to Rockford and back
8/9 - 15.3 miles; WPT south
8/10 - 16 miles; to Cannonsburg and back
8/11 - 11.7 miles; to the gym, worked out, rode back
8/ 13 - 27.6 miles; Lake PawPaw to South Haven and back
Total: 94.3 miles

Puttin' in the miles

Trying something different this week. Instead a couple short rides and a long ride on the weekend, we're trying to ride every day this week. So far so good. 10 miles Monday, 13 miles Tuesday, 15 miles Wednesday, and 16 miles yesterday. We'll see if we can maintain that for a few more days.

Keep on rollin'

Monday was a hill work day. Only 10 miles but it took about 45 minutes because of all the long extended hills we rode. Near where we live there are a lot of hills if we aren't riding the White Pine Trail. That's the nice thing about the converted railway lines, the hills are very gradual. But that doesn't help get us ready for the nasty hills in Death Valley. So we submitted to a little self inflicted pain.
Yesterday was a leisurely ride up the WPT to Rockford. Listened to some live music (a local group called Organissimo) and had ice cream. An easy 13 miles.
And finally here's a photo from last Thursday's Jake's Music Festival. See more photos at the JMF web site.

Whew... what a week

This has been a very busy week. Between work, Jake's Music Festival and Mary's garage sale we didn't get a lot of riding in. But what we did was fairly long. We had a great ride yesterday. We went west out Post Road to Pine Island Drive then over to 9 mile and continued to Division. We followed that north to 14 Mile Road and picked our way around some lakes before we hooked back up with the White Pine Trail and headed south to home. 28 miles in all. With the weather predicted to be cooler this week and a lot of our busy stuff out of the way, this coming week should see lots of miles.

This weeks ride totals:
8/4 - 20.2 miles: WPT north and then south
8/5 - 28.2 miles: loop west and north of home
Total: 48.4 miles

Links and things

First the things...

A banner week of riding, the best week so far as far as total mileage, over 80 miles. Yesterday was the big ride, 32 miles. Started north on the White Pine Trail until the pavement ended at Russell Road. Then headed north on the street all the way to 20 mile and took that east to Northland Drive. Rode down thru Cedar Springs, hooked back up with the WPT and was home is just a shade over 2 hours. Today, we took a leisurely ride with the boys up to Rockford for hot dogs and ice cream. This Thursday night is Jake's Music Festival, a benefit concert to support our ride team. Check out info on the concert at the link below. Only $10 to see four great bands.

Now the links...

For more information about Jake's Music Festival, click here.

Derek Dykstra took some great photos of the ride team in action last Sunday. See his photos here.

To donate to Mary click here.

To donate to Tom click here.

And to see some photos from our Europe trip click here.

And finally, the Sunday night roundup...

7/25 - 16.2 miles; Myers lake to 11 miles to WPT south
7/27 - 22 miles; WPT south to Riverside Park and downtown GR and back
7/29 - 32 miles; WPT north to 20 Mile, loop thru Cedar Springs
7/30 - 11.9 miles; Rockford and back for ice cream
Total: 82.1 miles

More photos

First off the ride report. We rode 16.2 miles today, north on Myers Lake Road to 11 Mile, across to the WPT and south to home. Nothing eventful, except for the truck that almost ran over Tom, just a training ride. Now to the pictures...












The West Michigan Ride Team getting ready to head out from Ann O'Conner's.




















Rachel and Nicole somewhere near Fennville.



















"Rookie marks" on someone's leg. Someone with a brand new bike. Hmm...

What a great ride

Today was a perfect day for a bike ride. It was also our big team ride in Pullman at Ann O'Conner's house. We had over 20 riders there and about 40 people for the pool party afterwards. The weather couldn't have been better. Sunny, warm, a light breeze and great people to ride with. After the 40 miles we had a cookout around Ann's pool. Lot's of people brought their kids and we all had a great time. We'll post pictures later on. For Mary and Tom, today was our longest ride of the year. This was also the most miles we've done in a week so far this year.

This week's ride totals:
7/18 - 18 miles: WPT north
7/20 - 16.2 miles: Holland loop
7/23 - 40.5 miles: Pullman to Douglas and back
Total: 74.7 miles

Bike Lust "parte due"

Tom got a new Cannondale bike last year so this year it was Mary's turn for a new ride. She purchased a pearly white Bianchi. Mary selected the Italian bike either because she loved Italy when we were there last month, or because Mike Clark was having a great sale at Velo City. Either way it's a great bike. We broke it in with a 16 mile loop around Holland. The big test will come this Sunday when we do our major team ride in Pullman. Mary loves the new bike, especially the granny gear. "The better to get up a 6 mile hill at a 6 percent grade, my dear." And it's much lighter than her antique Schwinn. So if you know anyone who wants an old bike (with $150 of new parts from last year) please let us know.

Thanks to our donors

We'd like to thank those people who have sent in a donation to help find a cure for diabetes.
Tim & Gloria Buist - Kentwood, MI
Jim & Connie Hennip - Byron Township, MI
Mike & Michelle Kenney - Dewitt, MI
Marc & Jane Longstreet - Hudsonville, MI
Ed & Nancy Reed - Grand Rapids, MI
Michelle Reed - Rockford, MI
Chris & Collette Smiley - Rockford, MI
Kim Summers - Belmont, MI
Pete & Kay Timinskis - Lowell, MI
Hank & Mari Wieten - Grand Rapids, MI
Larry & Dorothy Scheidel - Wayland, MI

It's easy to donate on-line. Just click here or follow the DONATE link to the left. Or you can support us the old fashioned way, by mailing a check. Make it out to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and mail it to Thomas Scheidel, 6184 Archer St. NE, Rockford, MI 49341. Thanks to all who have helped so far.

The Sunday Night Update for July 16

On Saturday morning we rode south on Coit Ave. to North Park, crossed the Grand River on the North Park bridge and then came home north on the White Pine Trail. It was about a 13 mile loop. Then in the afternoon we were driving in the Saugatuck area and saw fellow Death Valley rider Derek Dykstra riding in the Holland Hundred. He was looking fine in his new Herman Miller bike jersey. You can check out Derek's blog here. Or click on the link on the left of this page.

This week's ride totals:
7/12 - 15.4 miles; part of the Holland 100 route
7/13 - 21.6 miles; WPT north to the end of pavement
7/15 - 13.5 miles; Coit to North Park to WPT
Total: 50.5 miles

A new bike is coming

It seems that Mike out at Velo City Bikes in Holland is running a Tour Du France sale. So we went out there to check it out. Mary ended up test riding a new Cannondale. We did a 15 mile loop in Holland, basically following the Tuesday night Macatawa Bike Club route. It was a great ride and Mary really enjoyed the C-dale after all the time on her "antique" Schwinn. We decided to get her something and we pick it up next Thursday. We'll post photos of the new ride once we get it home.
Yesterday we rode the White Pine Trail north to where the pavement ends (for now) and then back home. That's a 21.6 mile out and back. Not a lot to report on that, just a basic training ride on our usual trail.

ITALY WINS!

Okay, I know the headline has nothing to do with biking, but we got hooked on World Cup Football (Soccer here in the States) while we were in Europe. Italy defeated France in the finals 1-1. That may look like a tie, and it was after regulation and overtime. But Italy won on penalty kicks 5-3, so the Italians win the match and the World Cup. We were happy. We liked Italy when we were there, and it is fun to know how crazy there are going to be over there tonight.

In biking news we had a good team ride yesterday. We had a group of 12 that left from Ada Park and rode out Grand River Ave. toward Lowell. Five of us turned around there because of other commitments and the rest of the group continued on for what they said was going to be 40 miles. It was a good week of riding, we got out four times for the first time this summer. None of the rides were especially long, but we are building stamina.

This weeks ride totals:
7/5 - 17 miles; east of Rockford and WPT
7/6 - 14 miles; Myers Lake and WPT
7/7 - 13 miles; Cannonburg Rd.
7/8 - 15.8 miles; Ada to Lowell and back
Total: 59.8 miles

Riding and music

We took a short ride this afternoon. Started out on Meyer's Lake Road near Cannonsburg and picked our way north and west until we ended up in downtown Rockford. Then we took the white Pine Trail south until we got home. 14 miles in all. There is a team ride Saturday that we are also going to try and make.

In other news, get ready for the second annual Jake's Music Festival. This is a major fundraiser for our Ride Team and features four great West Michigan bands. The show takes place on August 3rd from 6:00 p.m. until midnight at the Wave Room at Celebration Cinema in northern Grand Rapids. For more information check out our website www.jakesmusicfestival.blogspot.com.

Happy Blog Anniversary

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of our Ride Blog. It was also the 230th anniversary of the founding of the United States. We celebrated by taking a 17 mile early 4th of July morning bike ride. We rode north on Courtland drive to 12 Mile, then over to the White Pine Trail and then south to home. Great trail news! The State of Michigan accepted Fred Meijer's donation to the White Pine Trail and soon it will be paved all the way to Cadillac. Woo hoo! 90 miles of paved trail from Grand Rapids to the north country. The Russell Road to Sand Lake portion is supposed to be paved by this fall. Let's hope the remainder follows quickly.

Happy Summer Holidays

The Sunday night update is a bit late this week due to Independence Day holiday. Between getting back from vacation and going away again for this long weekend we did get some riding in. North on the White Pine Trail on Tuesday and south on Friday. We've got a couple more team rides coming up in the next few weeks. It will be good to catch up with the ride team again.

This week's ride totals:
6/27 - 10.9 miles; WPT north
6/30 - 18.4 miles; WPT south to Ann Street in GR
Total: 29.3 miles