Hot Day in the East...

Today was my first day back to the CAF (Challenged Athletes Foundation) group ride which is held almost every Sunday.  I've been doing rides during the week but they have been around 1 to 2 hours long since my second knee operation a few weeks ago.  Today's route was supposed to be 77 miles with 2700 feet of climbing.  Unfortunately I was not in my best condition to be out on a day when the heat so high and a long day in the saddle.

Before we got on the road this morning we had the all important XX1090 Scott and BR Radio Immunity Contest to take care of.  We are down to 7 people at this point.  Today's immunity contest was spin the bottles.  Check it out.  Adam Beck, last years winner, fantastic bike rider and all around great person, put together a really cool device for our challenge this morning.  We spread the group out around the bottle spinner and then, spun the bottle.  Each person it stopped on was eliminated.  The winner was Keith Jensen.  But wait, there's more.  Keith then had to give immunity away.  We had him hold off on telling us until announcements with the rest of the group.

After we gathered all the riders together and talked about the importance of drinking today because it was going to be so darn hot, we had a chance to talk about the contest.  Adam did a great job again of telling everyone where we were at with things.  Finally we asked Keith to tell us who he had select and it was Danielle Weickgenant (why-can-not).  And of course she now has the immunity helmet to decorate.  Chris Glossner has had it for several weeks and this week took out the stops.  I and the entire group was really impressed.  The game is really on now.

OK, back to my story.  So our first SAG (Support and Gear) stop was at mile 26.  I was feeling pretty good there.  I had almost completely emptied my waterbottles so I refilled, hit the bathroom and took in some salty snacks.  Up to this point it had been pretty flat.  We then hit the hills and that is when I noticed I had little to no power on the longer climbs.  My endurance was there but...I was starting to loose touch with the group.  We had a mid point 39 mile stop for water and I filled up again a bottle and half.  Then on the last hill up to SAG at mile 52 I realized I was dying.  I pulled in well over 3 or more minutes behind the last person in my group and immediately went to the shade.  Yep, I knew it was time for me to call it a day and was taken back to the start in Vikki's truck.  It happens and I'm not too unhappy with myself.  My body just wasn't ready yet for that type of a ride.  It just feels bad when you're suppose to be the Ride Leader but thank God we had Mike, Mike, Jack and Adam still in our group to support.

We had our event this week for a few of the Ride Leaders; myself, John Welch, Adam Beck, Todd Northup, and Pat Jack.  We raised over $4600 which was right in line with our goals.  Excellent turnout of people, well over 75.  I think the owner of Toast Martin Gonzalez was pleased with the showing.

Next week, 95 miles and I will be ready.  Mileage this weeks needs to come up along with intensity and climbing. 

XX1090 Radio Contest is in full swing.  Eliminations started a few weeks back when the group was taken from 30 down to 15.  Last week the challenge was to see who could get the most votes on the radio site.  The top person(s) would have immunity and the bottom would be bumped.  Tom La Fever was the first to go.  The winner(s) was Jesse Martinez and Jesse Mindlin coming in tied.  Jesse Martinez was out for the day on Saturday so Jesse Mindlin was left with the immunity helmet and charged with decorating it.  Here is a picture of last years end result immunity pump.    As you can see over time it turned into something pretty spectacular.

Unfortunately I was out last week with a small knee operation.  When I had knee replacement in Feb of this year the realignment of the new knee pushed a few things around.  For the last 10 years there has been a piece sitting behind my knee.  It was a broken piece of bone or cartilage that has grown some over time.  With the new knee it pushed it over onto a nerve that runs down my leg to my ankle causing it to go numb sometimes.  Had to get it out.  The process at Scripps was fast.  I was in on Friday for an hour operation, stayed over night and was out the next day by noon.  Doc Copp said it was the size of half a golf ball.  I could have walked out but protocol calls for a wheel chair.  I start spinning today with plans to hit the road by this weekend and out with the group riding the following week.

Our Toast to CAF fund raising event is just around the corner, Aug 17th.  It's at a place called Toast and the whole concept is around wine.  If you like to try different wines, this is the place to tickle those taste buds.  You get a card with your entry, $30, that allows you to sample different wines by the ounce at kiosks.  Also included is food.  There will be a killer silent auction.  Items are still coming in but a quick look at some of the items are: hotel stays, cycling apparel, golf clubs and tea times at Torrey Pines, spa treatment, jewelery, electronics, iPod, bundt cake.  Lots and lots more.  Tickets can be bought via the web page link.

We're deep into our training.  This is a rest or down week and opportunity for the participants to recover from the hard weeks of riding.  It's supper important that after hard efforts the body recovers and build to become stronger.  This is a simple and yet powerful concept.  

I'm looking forward to getting back out there on the bike with the group.  I get a lot out of the energy these people bring each week and it's a challenge for me as well.  I'm recovering but still need to be a Ride Leader providing guidance. Enough laying around. 

Winning the XX1090 Contest

This is my 3rd year working with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and looking back at what happened to me in 2008 I can't help but smile.  Winning the XX090 Radio Contest was an experience I wouldn't give up for anything.  I grew as a person so much from that.  It was a challenge of balance with work, family, and another organization I committed to Trek Century Training Program.  In the end it made me a better person in all aspects of my life.  I started blogging and writing about my experience, secured new sponsors for CAF, raised awareness of CAF with friends, family and co-workers, and made Presidents Club at my company with the highest sales for the year. 

I'm often asked, "...how did you win that contest".  To tell you the truth I'm not sure really but I do know it wasn't just one thing.  There are no real rules and the judges are unknown.  How do you play a game when you don't have a rule book?

Jim Carbaugh was the previous years winner and on the first ride I had an opportunity to meet him.  As we rode up the coast we chatted about his experience from the previous year.  I could tell that he and I had a kindred spirit in that it's not about winning as much as putting your heart and soul into what is in front of you.  He had experienced a huge loss in his life, his wife and son prior to the contest.  He came to that event with something missing and yet he filled it with passion for CAF.

A week later I decided I was going on that ride so in reality the contest didn't matter anymore with regard to the trip.  However, it was still a part of something I had committed to and I would stand out.  Once I commit I take it all the way to the end.

I started to use the skills I had like teaching others how to ride and using that in the group rides each week.  If someone had a flat, I was the first person to stop and start helping.  If someone fell off the back and needed a draft, I pulled myself out of the paceline and went back to assist.  Last year it went beyond that.  Joe Weickgenant stopped for a stranded lady with a flat tire on her car.  That was impressive.

For fund raising I found another radio contestant, Todd Northup, who also wanted to go on the ride.  Neither of us knew if we would win the contest.  Todd made it to 10 people but, it didn't matter. We put our ideas together and came up with a Sushi Roll Your Own event and Silent Auction.  We raised enough for both of us to go from that event and our other efforts such as letter writing.  Here's a picture of us with a surfboard we had made with CAF, QMDC and Scott and BR Logo. 

So when I won the contest I was able to be confident in the things I did that justified my going.  I helped others during the training but also in my efforts of raising funds for CAF.  I never want a free ride in life.  I want to make sure I'm putting every ounce of effort I have into the job at hand even if I don't know the rules or how it works.  If I help enough people get what they want in life there's usually enough left over for me to see some happiness as well.

Training Increases

This past weekend I was back to Saturday and Sunday rides.  Monday was my energy level was down but today feeling energized again.  Getting old but still cranking.

Saturday was  time with Trek and the new Century Training program which will culminate with the Tour de Poway in Oct.  Bruce Milikin and his side kick, Darryl MacKenzie, where out completing a double century up in LA called the Grand Tour this past weekend.  Bruce is running the Trek program and asked me to step in to help get things rolling on their second Trek ride while he was completing a mile stone in his life.  Bruce is a Leukemia survivor, a wonderful friend and a great USCF Coach.  He has brought all kinds of new ideas Trek training program. 

There was a lot of new people at the Trek ride this past Saturday.  I think I counted 35 new registrations.  I saw an old friend of mine from an early Leukemia and Lymphoma Society cycling program Ron Monts.  He was out riding with his brother who had recently recovering from a heart attack.  It was good to see Ron again after all these years.  I think the last time I saw him was over 10 years ago.  We had a chance to chat some on our ride down the coast and back.  Quick 30 mile ride.

The Challenged Athletes Foundation ride on Sunday was almost a replay of the day before but in the opposite direction up the coast to the other side of Camp Pendleton.  A bit more distance as well, over 50 some miles. 

Todd Northup was a guest Ride Leader in our group, Group 3.  He normally will be in Group 2.  Always a great guy to have along.  I can never thank CAF and XX1090 enough for the friends I found in 2008.  Todd and I met in that program and soon found kindred spirits with cycling and life. We both worked extremely hard on our event for that Radio Contest and gained a great deal of knowledge about each other in that process.  I refer to him as MVBMF(My Very Best Man Friend) but I'm not sure I should be putting that out in a public blog.  Oh, what the hell.  He won't mind.

Next week elimination starts for the Radio Contestants in the XX1090 contest.  We currently have 30 but after July 7th there will be 15.  First cuts are hard but they just get harder after that.

Looking for Inspiration?

I think we all wonder around in life with our day to day activities and don't realize how blessed we are.  I know I get up in the morning, eat my breakfast, let the dogs out, check my email to see if someone is offering me a job, and continue on to the next task grumbling at times and frustrated.  What I don't do often enough is be thankful for the things I have that are here right now in my little world.

Recently someone sent me this link to a YouTube video for Nick Vujicic who's pictured on the right.  Just click on his name and you'll be taken to the video.  Wow, doesn't that just blow you away.  Look at the energy oozing from him.  And the things he can do.  Again, WOW.

Here's another one.  Ezra Frech is just 4 years old.  Now you might ask what can a 4 year old teach me about life.  Watch his YouTube video and then tell me what you think.  What challenges do you have today that's bigger than his?  Can you pick yourself up after being knocked down, smile back at the world and turn it into a positive?

I'm trying to take a moment in my life each day to turn around and look at what I have.  I'm healthy, I've been married to a wonder woman for 24 years, I have a roof over my head, two fantastic dogs and all my faculties  (I think).  I certainly don't have anything to complain about.

Those days when I'm frustrated because I'm still looking for employment I'm going to remember to bring up these videos and see that life isn't that bad.  Videos like these are designed to draw inspiration from and we should use them to help keep us focused.

I've also found that if I reach out and help others I tend not to fall back into a world of self pity or as my mom used to refer to it, ".. navel gazing".  That's where you sit in your room and have a pity party with yourself saying why me, why me while you stare at your belly button.  So I spend my weekends helping others train for events with the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Trek.  There's something empowering about that sense of accomplishment when I've had a group finish a long bicycle ride or helped them learned a new skill.  Just that smile on their face is enough.

So from now on or as often as I can make myself do it, I plan to keep a smile on my face, hold a positive attitude and remember that my life is not that bad and pretty darn special.  There are plenty out there who have over come much more than I have but they are fantastic examples for working just a little bit harder.

Competitor Magazine & Rubio's

June 7th, 2010 - This past weekend my lovely wife Crystal and I stopped at Rubio's over off of Scripps Poway Parkway and the 15 to pick up a Saturday afternoon meal. They always have great food and beside, they support CAF, LLS and so many other organizations here in San Diego. While waiting I picked up the Competitor Magazine to pass the few minutes it would take for our food to be ready. I was flipping through the pages and came across an advertisement for the MS 150 which raises funds to fight diabetes. At the top is a picture of some cyclists and in the middle is me. Now I've seen this before but it always makes me smile and here's why. I've never ridden this event and the day this was taken I was riding with the Challenged Athletes Foundation so pictured also in this ad are several people wearing CAF garb.

I find this really cool because in my mind it represents the way I want to look at life. I want to support as many organizations and events I can and volunteer as often as my time permits. Seeing cross use of resources between non-profits is a way to a better outcome I believe. There is already too much fighting in our world so why not try and find ways to work together when every possible.

This was, I'm pretty sure, unintentional on the part of the MS people. I've certainly given donations to those raising funds for this cause. Why, because so many people have given to me. As a cancer survivor myself I have firsthand life experience as to why we all need to give something in life. You just never know when your number is up and you need science to develop a cure for that bad hand of cards sometimes we get dealt. In my case it was testicular cancer over 16 years ago and after 3 grueling and very painful protocol session with Chemo they finally announce I was in the clear though it be with no hair and a very weak body.

As I continued to flip pages I noticed that actually I could associate with many of the ads and articles. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society towards the front. I had done 13 programs with them. An article about Scout Bassett and Sarah Reinertsen both I've met and cycling with during the CAF events. And towards the back an advertisement for the program I am currently in, Million Dollar Challenge sponsored by Qualcomm.

It made me proud to see the effect of some of the things I do in life. When my time is up and I'm called to the gate of St Peter and he asked, "what did you do in life", I want my answer to be the longest he's ever heard.

2nd Radio Contest Ride

June 1st - It's a new month. This year is really flying by fast. This past weekend we celebrated memorial day my wife and I. Both of us are X Army vets and were proud to have serve our country. My wife is a West Point graduate (Go Army Beat Navy), class of 84, and I was an enlisted man. How did that work you might ask? It's a whole another story.


That experience in our lives played a major part in how we view the world today. Some of our values where shaped in those years though we both were well into adulthood at the time. Responsibility, follow through, high standards, respect for others, etc where an intricate what the service imparted on us. Thank you Uncle Sam for the opportunity and privilege to serve.

On Sunday the XX1090 Radio Contestants met at Solana Beach for our 2nd training ride. 14 of the 30 Radio Contestants where on hand. One guy, Happy Keller (that is his name), showed up even though his bicycle was on a truck heading to Tahoe. Happy is a very dedicated person. He is just finishing up a funding raising program with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Team in Training (TNT) cycling program and jumped right into the Radio Contest with CAF. Next weekend he's going to ride a 100 mile course around Lake Tahoe after raising, I believe, over $3500 in funds to fight blood cancer. You wouldn't look at him and say, "...there is an slim and trim athlete". But to make an impact in the world and in this contest, you don't have to be. Showing up is half the battle.

Another one of the contestants, Tony Sciarrino, made it to mile 21 after some hard climbing for him. He was beat and let me know. I thought he was going to call his wife but instead he turned around and rode back putting in just over 35 miles. Though it wasn't the 50 mile course at least, again, he showed up and tried.

Opportunities in our journey may only happen once. What you do with those opportunities is not a right or wrong decision, it's just a fork in the road. But my experience has been if I take it on and look at it as a new adventure, my life is so much fuller because of that choice. My goal is to help the radio people see that opportunity and put every ounce of their heart and soul into being the possible winner.