wind on my back

A chilly, windy day today. I set out on my own since yesterday's team ride was a washout. Started by heading east along the L.I.E. service road with the winds on my back. Flew the whole way. Until a flat, that is. Caught an industrial-size staple in the rear tire. Made for a nice break :)

I decided to head north and ended up winding my way up to Huntington, where I picked up the shoreline and did a little exploring. Turned out to be a nice ride - got 50 miles in, a good bit of hill-climbing, and some sight-seeing to boot.

rain, rain, go away

it was bound to happen. Really, we've been lucky till now. It's Saturday, October 28, and it's pouring outside. All day. Today was to be our second-to-last training ride. Not gonna happen. Actually, as of now the ride is still on, but it's too cold out (55 degrees) to risk getting sick.

So - Plan B. I'll head out on my own tomorrow pointed east and build up my miles solo. It'll be windy, but dry.

This is Butch.

meet Butch.

Butch is the man. Why?

because Butch is the guy that put me over the top. Butch and his donation got me over the magic $4400 mark. At $4400 I have officially raised enough funds to ride the tour. It also gets me soooo much closer to my full goal total of $6000. So c'mon kids, we're almost there.

Everybody say "thanks Butch!".


THANKS BUTCH!

75 windy miles

This Saturday's ride took us back down to the Sandy Hook area on the Jersey Shore. We did 75 miles on the ocean's edge in a "paceline clinic". The idea behind the clinic was to demonstrate proper technique when riding in a group. Turns out there are a few rules involved. It all revolves around the concept of drafting, ie. the guy in the front of the line breaks the wind for everyone following. If the group stays tight behind him, they all benefit from the clean air. Thing is, he'll tire quickly, so everyone needs to rotate the lead spot. Lots of signals are involved to keep things running smoothly.

Anyway, it way a beautiful if not windy Fall day, with our greatest distance covered to date. Good thing to, Tucson is coming up quick!

ever seen a grown man cry?

well, if you had ridden with us on Sunday you may have caught me shedding a few tears. We rode a 60-mile loop up the Palisades to Rockland County State Park & back. They beat us up - big time. It's monday morning now and I can still barely walk. On a high note, we did better on this 60 mile ride than we did a few weeks back on some of the same roads at only a 30 mile distance. That's pretty quick progress - amazing actually for some in the group.

I think right now a day or two off the saddle might be a good idea :)

Twin Lights

Last Sunday we ventured down to the Jersey shore to ride in the Twin Lights ride, a 50 miler down in the Sandy Hook area. Beautiful day, and as it turns out, a really nice spot for a ride. Slow rolling hills right near the water's edge, with HUGE estates, horse farms and golf courses.
Oh, the best part... wrapping up a long effort with a post-ride Blizzard at DQ. Yes!

$3,390.00!

great work everyone! Thanks to everybody who has reached out to donate for my ride in November. Because of your help I'm getting close to my target. Good thing too, as I'll need to have the full amout raising with the next few weeks. That means that anyone still sitting on the fence - get to work! And if you know anyone else that might be interested in helping, PLEASE pass along the info. $3390 - awesome!