Sorry for the distance between posts here. There has not been much to report because most of the training I am doing is indoors and if that is boring to me, it will probably not be too interesting to you. Sunday was a little cold and very windy. I managed to get a 40 mile ride in. It is always tough getting back on the bike after a winter off, but it was great to realize that I can make it over half way to Cape May without bonking.
I am not riding alone on this trip. One of my cycling buddies, Karin, will be joining me on this trip. My wife, Vivian, will probably ride part of the way with us. Another cycling friend, Cathryn will be following us down in her car to provide support in the way of food, water and spare parts. Fellow Rotarian and not really a cyclist, John, will also be riding with us. This is a big commitment for a non-cyclist to make, but John is no ordinary guy. He does what he says he will do and made this commitment. I'll do everything in my power to help him succeed, but I think it will be his determination, his belief in Polio Plus and his commitment to Rotary that will ultimately get him to Cape May.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
First time out riding
Today is a beautiful day. Windy but the temperatures are in the mid 50's which is great for February. I got to go out for a real bike ride with some friends and managed to do 30 miles with a lot of wind. For those of you who are not into cycling a head wind (Wind blowing on your face) slows you down and takes a lot more energy to pedal through. We had a lot of head winds today. I guess all the time in the gym is paying off. More on the gym later.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Introduction and Why Anyone Would Ride a Bike to Cape May
I guess I should start telling you a little about myself. I've been a member of the Rotary Club of Burlington since 1993 serving as president in 2007-08. About 10 year ago I got into cycling in order to stay in shape, but it turned into a strong passion. As most Rotarians will do, I started turning this passion as a way to help the world. It started when I joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training bike team.
Our job was to raise money for the Society's good cause by getting people to donate money to support us on 100 mile bike rides called Centuries. During my tenure with that team, we raised close to $1,000,000.
As my cycling skill grew stronger I started riding for other organizations. I'm currently part of the Pine Barrens Pedalers. While we are a social group, we also raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society by riding in their MS150 two day 150 mile bike tours.
Last year one of the original members of my Team in Training team, Jack Mintz, learned he had cancer. Most of that old team rallied around him and formed a bike team called Mintz's Menschen. We rode the famous Livestrong Challenge bike tour which supports the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This is an organization that provides support to Cancer patients and survivors. This small team of 38 cyclists raised over $55,000 in Jack's name.
As a Rotarian, it has also been my goal to use my cycling skills to help Rotary. 5 years ago, my club started the Eddie Richard's Memorial Rotary 100 bike tour as a fund-raiser. Each year between 100 and 200 cyclists ride their bikes around our beautiful Burlington County, NJ farm lands. The fee they pay along with local sponsorships help pay for the $9000 in scholarships our club gives to local high school seniors every year.
When it was announced that Rotary's District 7500 conference was going to be held in Cape May this year, I figured that maybe I'll finally go to one. My wife Vivian and I love Cape May. One of the ways a busy person finds the time to do long bikes is to cycle to the various places their family visits. I figured why not ride my bike to the District Conference? While Vivian is a cyclist too, she usually prefers to drive. This is very helpful to me because she can carry my stuff and is also a convenient ride home. Vivian is very supportive to my cycling obsession.
While planning this trip, I had this strange idea. When I discussed it with Governor Dan Cortise, he actually didn't think it was that strange. The distance to Cape May from my home in Medford is about 75 miles (It is actually 79 miles). If I could get 100 Rotarians to donate one dollar for every mile I could raise $7500.00. This is a pretty fitting figure as we are District 7500. Governor Dan liked the idea, but didn't want the money to be donated to the District. He feels that District fund raisers take away from the local clubs' fund raising efforts. Governor Dan decided that the money raised should be donated to Polio Plus to support the latest efforts to eradicate Polio once and for all. I agreed so here I am.
Now I'm wondering what I have gotten myself into. A 75 mile bike ride requires a fair amount of training and while we usually do long bike rides, we do them later in the summer to give us several months to train. It is now the middle of a pretty cold winter so riding my bike outside to train is not an option. I did it once and almost got frost bite. So I guess I'll have to come up with alternative training methods. Indoor cycling at the gym is an option, but a poor way to train for long distance riding. Plus, the reason I love to ride my bike is to be outside in the fresh air and to marvel at the scenery. Riding a stationary bike in a gym is, well, just plain boring.
So stay tuned to this blog and see how I get around this little training dilemma. If you are a Rotarian, please help me help Rotary eliminate Polio by donating to this cause. The way to donate will be posted here soon and will be sent in an email from Governor Dan Coritse soon. Thanks!
Our job was to raise money for the Society's good cause by getting people to donate money to support us on 100 mile bike rides called Centuries. During my tenure with that team, we raised close to $1,000,000.
As my cycling skill grew stronger I started riding for other organizations. I'm currently part of the Pine Barrens Pedalers. While we are a social group, we also raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society by riding in their MS150 two day 150 mile bike tours.
Last year one of the original members of my Team in Training team, Jack Mintz, learned he had cancer. Most of that old team rallied around him and formed a bike team called Mintz's Menschen. We rode the famous Livestrong Challenge bike tour which supports the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This is an organization that provides support to Cancer patients and survivors. This small team of 38 cyclists raised over $55,000 in Jack's name.
As a Rotarian, it has also been my goal to use my cycling skills to help Rotary. 5 years ago, my club started the Eddie Richard's Memorial Rotary 100 bike tour as a fund-raiser. Each year between 100 and 200 cyclists ride their bikes around our beautiful Burlington County, NJ farm lands. The fee they pay along with local sponsorships help pay for the $9000 in scholarships our club gives to local high school seniors every year.
When it was announced that Rotary's District 7500 conference was going to be held in Cape May this year, I figured that maybe I'll finally go to one. My wife Vivian and I love Cape May. One of the ways a busy person finds the time to do long bikes is to cycle to the various places their family visits. I figured why not ride my bike to the District Conference? While Vivian is a cyclist too, she usually prefers to drive. This is very helpful to me because she can carry my stuff and is also a convenient ride home. Vivian is very supportive to my cycling obsession.
While planning this trip, I had this strange idea. When I discussed it with Governor Dan Cortise, he actually didn't think it was that strange. The distance to Cape May from my home in Medford is about 75 miles (It is actually 79 miles). If I could get 100 Rotarians to donate one dollar for every mile I could raise $7500.00. This is a pretty fitting figure as we are District 7500. Governor Dan liked the idea, but didn't want the money to be donated to the District. He feels that District fund raisers take away from the local clubs' fund raising efforts. Governor Dan decided that the money raised should be donated to Polio Plus to support the latest efforts to eradicate Polio once and for all. I agreed so here I am.
Now I'm wondering what I have gotten myself into. A 75 mile bike ride requires a fair amount of training and while we usually do long bike rides, we do them later in the summer to give us several months to train. It is now the middle of a pretty cold winter so riding my bike outside to train is not an option. I did it once and almost got frost bite. So I guess I'll have to come up with alternative training methods. Indoor cycling at the gym is an option, but a poor way to train for long distance riding. Plus, the reason I love to ride my bike is to be outside in the fresh air and to marvel at the scenery. Riding a stationary bike in a gym is, well, just plain boring.
So stay tuned to this blog and see how I get around this little training dilemma. If you are a Rotarian, please help me help Rotary eliminate Polio by donating to this cause. The way to donate will be posted here soon and will be sent in an email from Governor Dan Coritse soon. Thanks!
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