Kick-off and Team Ride #1 (16 miles)

Today is a big day—Kick off! It’s the first official TNT ride of the season and time for me to show others my stuff. Or lack of stuff (like my inability to pedal fast while cycling downhill. Little hills. Really little hills).

This ride is an opportunity for everyone to meet our large cycle team, rally around The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission (Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families) and most importantly, hear from some of our Honorees (those who are blood cancer survivors, are in remission, or are currently fighting cancer). Oh, and cycle a little. Only 16 miles. Nothing too challenging.

One of the incredible things of hearing such personal and touching stories from our Honorees, which we will do before every Team Ride, is the fact that some will be training right along side us! Talk about inspiration. Hearing stories from our Honorees before a ride not only gives me inspiration to ride strong, but it grounds me and reminds me that life is precious and what we're doing is pretty darn cool. 

The stories we heard during Kick-off and during our first ride remind me a lot of my dad’s experience with cancer. 

At first, something just seemed off. My dad had cold-like symptoms and when he couldn’t seem to kick it, he went to the doctor who suggested an x-ray to check for pneumonia. Boy, wouldn’t pneumonia have been a better diagnosis at age 41. 

After having a lobe removed from his lung, entering remission, the cancer coming back, and finally chemo, the cancer had spread to his liver and treatment was no longer an option. The thing that continues to perplex me is the fact he died of lung cancer, but never even smoked.

One of my favorite photos

My dad did not have a blood cancer, but I can’t help but wonder if his, and our family’s, experience with cancer would have been different if he had cancer now. While The Leukemia and Lymphoma focuses on blood cancers, the wonderful research and and amazing treatments help treat and cure many other types of cancer as well. 

I am so honored to be riding with such an extraordinary group of people and for such an important cause. GO TEAM!

Please take a moment to visit my fundraising page and consider donating to help CURE Cancer:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/ambbr12/kabbottlix

Want to learn how much your donation will help? Watch the video below to find out.

Pre-Bike Ride Bike Ride

Well, now that I have officially signed-up to cycle hundreds of training miles and 100 race day miles, I guess I should purchase one important thing: a bike.

Thinking about the distance I will be putting in over the next 4 months, I know my sturdy, and incredibly heavy, hybrid—think fat tires, straight handlebars, basically a two-wheeler for big people, complete with a bell that I frequently rang at “lovey dovey” couples making out on the canal in Indy—will not cut it. While my lovely Trek was completely functional for say, going to the grocery store or riding to feed Joe’s kitties, it is more than completely impractical for such a long, mountainous ride.

Great. So not only do I need to figure out how to become an expert fundraiser and train hard for 4 months, but I am also lucky enough to need to buy a new bike. 

Oy! What did I sign-up for? Oh, to help CURE cancer! That’s right!

Let’s start by calling a spade a spade: I know absolutely nothing about bikes. So how, then, might I go about making sure I’m not completely ripped off while making such a purchase? I enlist the help of an expert—enter Corey.

Corey’s been a family friend for quite some time, more like a brother really—endurance sport extraordinaire and most importantly my voice of reason so I don’t walk out of the bike shop owing more than I paid for my entire college education.

After spending some time chatting with the nice folks at bici SPORT in Petaluma, testing a pink and black bike at another location, really not wanting to be “the girl with the pink bike”, coming back to bici SPORT, putting the bike on hold, calling back in the middle of the week to make sure my bike was indeed still on hold, so I didn’t lose my “maybe I’ll buy it, I really like it, but I don’t know if I’m ready to make a final purchase” bike, I FINALLY made the decision!

I am now a proud owner of...yet another Trek. If my red hybrid Trek had a baby with my blue road Trek, I’d end up with some awkward looking purple bike (and I’d be right back to my childhood, attaching cat ears to my helmet—and probably not so popular on the road as I’m learning that not all cyclists are as nice and accepting as my mom was of me when I was 5).

Now to the real reason behind the post: the very first ride, aka the “Pre-Bike Ride Bike Ride”.

My coworker, Emily, and I decided to enlist our in-house expert and reason we both ended up with TNT, Laura, to help us learn more about our newly purchased, self-propelled convertibles, er bikes, before our first official TNT bike ride.

After work one lovely evening, the three of us were stopped at a red light, on our bikes, in the middle of rush hour traffic with Laura teaching us very basic bike things (think: your bike has two wheels. You sit on the seat to ride. You must pedal to move).

As we’re chatting, a cyclist pulls up behind us and cheerfully asks, “Are you helping these new cyclists?". Before Laura could answer his question, the man proceeds to ask, “did you hear about the nasty bike crash during lunch today?! It was so gnarley! One lady even ended up in the Emergency Room with facial contusions!”.  As soon as he was done, the light turned green and he cycled on his delightful little way. Meanwhile, being paralyzed with fear, eyes as big as saucers, I slowly hop back on my bike thinking, “Bike crash?! Facial contusions?! The last thing I want is for my face to hit that road. EVER!”

This photo was included for dramatic effect. This would never be me as I always wear my helmet. 

And I'm not a boy with brown hair, a striped shirt, and pink socks. 

His bike looks as though it may or may not be made out of felt too. Mine is not.

We successfully finished the ride, learned quite a few things about riding our bikes both efficiently and safely, and returned without any facial contusions.

Instead of setting a New Year’s Resolution, I’m setting a Forever Cycling Resolution: face stays off the ground. Period.

Until next time, GO TEAM!

Let’s Cure Cancer! One mile at a time! Please visit my fundraising page to donate: 

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/ambbr12/kabbottlix

To Bike or Not to Bike...

As I mention on my fundraising page, I am a lover of endurance sports—especially running (wait, I thought this was a cycling blog?). 

In college, I fell in love with running, participating in numerous 5Ks, 10Ks, 12Ks, two half marathons, and even a full marathon in Chicago. It was a way to de-stress, build friendships, and keep me sane (at least I like to think it did). For the past few years, however, my knees have decided (against my will) that they no longer enjoy running.

While I’ve grumped my way through the last few years, because my knees look like those of a 90 year old (according to one orthopedic surgeon. Geez! Thanks, buddy!), I decided to change my tune. And my sport. I guess.

Upon starting a new job back in California, I connected with a coworker who is an avid cyclist. Late last summer she mentioned The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT) as a great way to not only get into cycling, but to help a wonderful cause—Raising funds to cure cancer!

First thought: This sounds amazing!

Cancer has had a huge impact on my life—with my dad passing away when I was 4 years old and several other close friends and family members impacted by this nasty disease, the TNT experience seemed like a natural match.

Me and my dad, 1987

Then she mentioned we would be training for a ride around Lake Tahoe. But not just any ride. A 100-mile ride!

What? One-hundred miles?! Up until this point I’ve probably cycled 100 miles in my entire life! 

Please see timeline below:

1991—This was my “ride around the block (not out of Mom’s site) while sporting a purple helmet, complete with Velcro cat ears (I know, pretty amazing), singing at the top of my lungs for all the neighbors to hear” days. Or so the stories go...

1998—I had a bike. One summer I lost my bike. So ended my adolescent biking days (Dang it!).

2010, Spring—Indianapolis. I took my roommate, Alison’s, bike out for a spin one day while she wasn’t home. The problem with taking your roommate’s bike while she isn’t home is that she can’t tell you anything to “look out for” while riding. Like the fact that her bike HAD NO BRAKES! I did not discover this minor detail until I was flying down the sidewalk, with the canal (water!) on one side of me and frightened pedestrians on the other. All while what was left of the bike’s brakes squealed loud enough for Alison to hear from downtown, that I had, in fact, taken her gem-of-a-bike without asking. 

    

2010, Summer—After my close call on the canal, Alison and I decided to get real bikes. We rode quite a bit that summer, nothing too long or too fast, but man it sure was nice to feel that sense of freedom a bike brings—minus the cat ear helmet.

2010 also brought my first experience riding in traffic (the big leagues of cycling!) with my then friend, and now boyfriend, Joe. It was all leisurely, smooth riding. No climbing and no real descending whatsoever. After all, this was the middle of Indiana. Joe did a nice job of making sure I felt comfortable and had fun. Life was good (Thanks dude!).

2011, Spring—Longest ride to date

Destination: To feed Joe’s cats while he was out of town

Distance: 22 miles

Partner in Crime: Nadia     

Feeling: I’m the King of the World! Whooo Ho Hooo! –Jack Dawson, Titanic, 1912

Back to present day California...

Sure, 100 miles to help cure cancer sounds like a great way to make new friends, get into cycling and really challenge myself. All while raising money to help improve the lives of those who have been impacted by cancer.

Final decision: Sign me up!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I hope to provide some entertainment and inspiration throughout my training season.

Please take a moment to visit my Fundraising Page and consider donating to a great cause 

GO TEAM!