R4WH - About the trip

Happy New Year everyone!

When I talk to people & tell them I'm riding cross country, most ask a lot of the same questions. I thought I'd try to think of them & write about them. Think of this as my own little FAQ. Feel free to email me to let me know what what questions I missed.

How far do you ride?

The trip itself covers 3700 miles from San Diego to Washington DC. Each rider will cover about 3000 miles. This is because we all work to support each other. We have "teams" within the team. Each rider is on the bike for 4 days, then on the 5th day works as part of the support team. Here's a link to the route/schedule.

Support duties will include driving the vans (we have 2, One in front of the 1st rider & the other behind the last), marking the roads, loading the gear & bikes, working on food, etc.

How many miles each day will you ride?

We average 80 miles/day & range between 60 to just over 100.

Is it really hilly?

Probably at times. Climbing is the skill I'm least good at, so it's what I'm working on as I train. The biggest climbs are early on, when we go over the Continental Divide. That's about 11,000 feet. Here's a picture taken on last year's ride.

When are you leaving?

I fly out to San Diego on Sunday, March 29th. The team will meet there, do some training rides together, then start out towards LA on Thursday, April 2.

Where do you stay?

From what I understand, much of the time we'll be staying at local schools, churches, firehouses & such. We'll do some camping out, too. There may be a few places where we get hosted by local families. I've bought a self-inflating Thermarest pad & a new sleeping bag.

How are you taking off so much time from work?

That was the 1st thing I thought of & what I took care of before I ever applied. I never expected my work to allow me to take off for 2 months, so I thought I'd ask & that would be the end of that idea. My boss couldn't have been more supportive. She actually said: "Oh Steve, that is so cool! You have to do it. We can work it out." I actually had a momentary thought myself: "Oh Shoot! (No expletives here!) She called my bluff, now I gotta carry through."

So, my plan is to acrue as much vacation time as I can, then take a week or 3 of working without pay.

What about your family?

Hmm, another good question. My wife has always been supportive of anything I've wanted to do & felt strongly about like being a flight nurse or going back to school (twice!). Since I travel almost every week & I'm only home on weekends, they're all a little used to me being away. But 2 full months without seeing each other will be different, no doubt.

We'll keep in touch by phone & emails. The team will have its own blog & we'll post photos & videos along the way. I'll see the HS play before I leave & I'll be home in plenty of time for my oldest son's graduation.

You must be training to get ready...

You betcha! Like I talked about in the 1st posting, I had a really good summer/fall cycling season. I'm still riding through the winter, although recent ice storms have slowed me down some. I'm doing indoor spinning & I've moved an old bike to the basement on a trainer. OK, so the home indoor thing doesn't happen too often. Hey, I think about it. :-)

I'm also doing some weight lifting & strengthening exercises & I'm working with a personal trainer to keep me going in spite of myself. It's working out pretty well. I did some climbing over the last couple weeks in a bigger gear than I had used in the past.

When do you finish?

We arrive in Washington, DC on Memorial Day weekend, dip our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean & head home on Monday, May 25, 2009.

Come back in a while I'll post some more notes as the day gets closer.

-Steve

1st posting

OK, here goes....
I've created this blog to document my experiences & training as I prepare for my cross-country bike ride with Ride for World Health. I need to catch up from the summer, so please forgive the length of this post. I will try to post more frequent, shorter entries as I figure out how to use this site better.

I found out about R4WH on Memorial Day 2008 when Kathie C. came to visit us & she & Margie went to DC to meet Kathie's friend, Marianne, as she finished her ride. I decided to apply & was accepted as a national team rider for 2009. You can ride all about the ride & the organization at the R4WH website & more about me on the team at my team profile.

I was able to do a good deal of cycling this season. In July, I rode in the annual American Cancer Society Ride. Most of the summer, I was on an assignment in NE Ohio & would do a spinning class 1 or 2 nights a week while away from home. I would ride with friends or on my own on weekends. I rode a few rides with local bike clubs. In September, I once again rode with the great folks at Team Tania in the MS150 2-day ride to Ocean City, NJ.

I bought a bunch of books & started reading about long distance cycling, nutrition, weight loss, cardiovascular training & strengthening for cyclists. Flying to work every week is a great way to get in some personal, non-work related reading.

So, I've learned that carbs are good at the same time that I'm trying to lose a few pounds. Increase your activity, eat the same & you'll still lose weight. Pay attention to both diet & exercise & you'll be good to go. I also bought a heart rate monitor for my bike & try to keep my HR in the aerobic zone as much as possible. I drink before I ride, try to drink more during the ride & drink more right afterwards. I also make sure that I eat some carbs beforehand. When I'm leaving home at 7am, I'll down a bottle or 2 of Ensure. During the ride, besides water or Gatorade, if I'm on my own & unsupported, I'll use a carb gel pack every hour or so.

But it's all good. Even though I'm taking in more, when I ride 4+ hours & burn 2500 calories, everything I'm eating or drinking is used. I'm also finding that while I might be tired or struggle on the climbs some, I haven't bonked or gotten close to feeling like the work was too much to do. Overall, I've lost about 6-7 lbs. so far & feeling pretty good.

In November, I joined LA Fitness to be able to do some winter spinning & start some weight training. Every book I've read advises cyclists to hit the weight room. Now, just to be clear, I've been active my whole life between swimming as a kid, cycling for the last 12 or so years & practicing & teaching Kokikai Aikido for 25 years. But I've never....never...done any weight room work. It's pretty intimidating to me to be beginning at age 48 & I wouldn't know where to begin. So, I bought a personal training package & have been going once a week for the past month or so. While on the road, I plan to use the workout room at the hotel, although where I'm going right now is pretty crappy & limited equipment-wise. We'll see what January brings to my travel schedule.

I've been riding weekends so far, even though it's getting colder around Bucks County. I've got some cold weather gear already & just got more gear recommended by R4WH. In fact, I rode about 25 miles one Sunday when it was 23 degrees F. when I started out at 7:30 AM. Thing was, I was supposed to meet up some Team Tania friends & missed the emails that they had decided not to ride. I probably would've bailed myself, but since I'd already woken up & driven out to Valley Forge Park, I decided to head & out & see how it felt. Dress correctly & anything's possible!

I need to get stronger in my climbing skills. Riding in my own area is great; there are plenty of challenges. But I'm also hoping that my weight work (both losing it & lifting it) help me here. In my weight training, I'm trying to strengthen not only my legs, but also my core, arms & low back. All of these are needed to climb, but not improved by cycling itself. I think I'm progressing. Last week, I did a little climb that I've always done in my small chainring (Granny gear) in the middle ring & did it at a comfortable pace without getting fatigued. Continental Divide, here I come!

That's it for now. That's enough. Come back in little while & I'll have an update for you.

Steve