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