Sunday October 4, 2009 Training Ride

Photo taken by Alex Hamlow

What a strange week it was. My buddy Ross lent me his LeMond for the Santa Barbara ride we had planned for this weekend. But, the ride was not to be... Here are the sequence of events that led to me dropping out of the Tour de Taco.

I cracked the frame on my bike a couple of weeks ago. While packing up for the train ride to Santa Barbara, I forgot to put my front wheel in the car with the bike and didn't realize it until I was more than half way to the Solana Beach train station where Ross, Scott, Dave and I were meeting. I did a quick turn-around to pick it up and got to the train station by the skin of my teeth only to leave my bike shoes outside the train station when I bought my ticket. I missed the train. I figured by that time, I just wasn't supposed to do the ride and pulled the plug (major apologies to Ross, Scott and Dave). As it turned out, they had a great ride down the coast.

Saturday afternoon, after making some adjustments to Ross's LeMond and swapping his saddle for mine, I decided to do Sunday's Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge training ride which was a 92 mile sojourn from Solona Beach through Cousar and Rice Canyons in Fallbrook and back down the coast. I rode with Adam, Brian and Alex from the radio contest and was really happy I decided to do this ride. It was great sharing some road time with many of the great friends I've made by being a part of this contest.

A lot of people went to extraordinary lengths to raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The small part that I was able to contribute was enjoyable. Many thanks to H2O Audio for the waterproof MP3 player cases and earbuds that I was able to donate to Adam and Joy's fundraisers. Thanks to Wahoo's Fish Taco for donating 20% of purchases made with a flier over the weekend at their Encinitas location. Thanks to Nytro and B&L for allowing me to place fliers for the Wahoo promotion at their stores.

The Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge is in a couple of weeks, and the Scott & BR Cycling Challenge will be decided on Wednesday.  Great times ahead! 

Cracked Frame and a Broken Heart

I felt something very strange when I was doing a steep climb on Tuesday. It felt like something broke as my rear derailleur started skipping and my chain started grinding when I accelerated or stood up to climb. Turns out my frame cracked at the bottom bracket. I have the "Tour de Taco" coming up next week.  For those who don't know, the Tour de Taco is a fun ride with a group of friends where we take a train to Santa Barbara and ride back to San Diego.  In honor of the ride, I enlisted Wahoo's Fish Taco to donate 20% of purchases  at their Encinitas location to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.  Download the flier/coupon by clicking the document's link here:

So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do about a ride.  I can either buy a frame and put my old components on it or buy a new bike.  Realistically, I can't afford to do either at the moment. Well, life will go on, but with a little less fun and adventure at least for the time being.  By the way, here I am with my baby before the Vineman Half Ironman in 2008.  Good times.

Sunday September 20, 2009 Training Ride

After missing last week's double century ride it was back in the saddle with the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge riders for the Great Western Loop training ride.  This is a very well known ride with over 3,400 feet of climbing over the ride's 40 miles.  It's a beautiful ride and one I've been looking forward to for a long time.  There are 5 riders left in XX1090 Sports Radio's Scott and BR Cycling Challenge.  The last immunity was given out to Joy.  She enlisted the other remaining contestants in decorating the Immunity Challenge bike pump for the final time.  It looks sweet.

The ride was great!  I rode with Adam in Group 1/2 through the first part of the ride.  Most of the major climbs are in this first 20 miles.  After the SAG stop in Alpine, Adam left with a couple of other fast riders and I held back and rode with Jack and Ron(?) - I'm so bad with names. :(    Anyway, it was great riding with them as we kept a good tempo without hammering.  The ride back to Rancho San Diego from Alpine is beautiful.

I hung out for quite a while with the other riders, chatting about the ride, different experiences during the QMDC training rides and fundraising.  Good times.

I spent the afternoon with my nephew, Matthew, riding bikes around Mission Bay (I can never get enough), then playing a little tennis before settling in to watch the Chargers fall to the Baltimore Ravins.  Tough game all the way around, but that's a topic for another blog.

This week, the Scott and BR Cycling Challenge cut down to 3.  Congratulations go out to Adam, Alex and Joy.  Great work you guys; and gal!

Sunday September 6, 2009 Training Ride

Random cycling photo by Ken Conley

A great day on the QMDC ride with the merged Groups 1 and 2.  After a quick decision by Adam to ride with the faster group, we took off from Fletcher Cove on the "reverse" Elfin Forest loop.  The ride goes east through Rancho Santa Fe from Via de la Valle, up Del Dios to Escondido, then back to the coast through Elfin Forest and La Costa.  We hammered through Elfin Forest which was a lot of fun.  One of the great things about riding in a group is that you're able to use more of the road as there is saftey in numbers.  Harmony Grove and Elfin Forest has some rollers but it's mostly a decsending road all the way to the coast on La Costa Ave.  There wasn't a lot of traffic either as we were out on the road early on a holiday weekend.  Happy Labor day everyone!

After the ride, I hung out at the Fletcher Cove parking lot, talking to other riders.  I got to catch up a little with my fellow radio contestants.  I dropped off a couple of H2O Audio waterproof IPod cases and earbuds as contributions for Adam's and Joy's fund raising events. Joy has her Brew Bash coming up on Friday, September 25.  Adam has his Poker Run the next day.  They both sound like a lot of fun and I'm happy to contribute to their success.

While we were talking I noticed that Bob Babbit and Rudy Garcia-Tolson walked up and were chatting with some riders.  I introduced myself and got to talk to Rudy a little bit.  Rudy and Bob were getting ready to go down to the cove for a swim workout.  Rudy is training for the Ironman World Championships in Kona in just 4 weeks time.  Rudy is training to become the first bilateral, above the knee amputee to complete the race.  Rudy is an amazing athlete and a very humble guy too.  Please read about his training at www.challengedathletes.org/athletes_stories/Rudy_Garcia.htm#rudyblog.

Wednesday September 2, 2009 Brian Brillo's Fund Raiser

I just got back from fellow Scott and BR Cycling Challenge contestant Brian Brillo's fund raiser for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Brian had his event at L’Amour De Yogurt at 9975 Carmel Mountain Road in Rancho Penasquitos. He entertained by playing guitar and sining songs he's written as well as some acoustic cover versions of songs. "If You Could Only See" by Tonic was remarkable. L'Amour De Yogurt donated a portion of purchases to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Tonight was just another benefit of being included in the Scott and BR Cycling Challenge. I got some great frozen yogurt. Listened to some great music and got to know my teammates a little better. I learned that Joy's Mom provides her with a great deal of support for her racing and her fund raising. It was really cool to hear the graditude in Joy's voice. I got to learn about the challenges Adam faces while resuming his athletic lifestyle after his cancer treatments. Adam's a great cyclist and is very passionate about the sport. I got to talk to Pat about joining the club of "being kicked off the island" today and the challenges he faces trying to train while doing a daily 96 mile commute to his job in Murrieta. I also got to talk about coaching with our ride leader, Mike and got to meet his wife. I also got to talk briefly with Rob M. as well. So, what I'm saying is that we've been given the opportunity to form great friendships while raising money for a very worthy cause.

Sunday August 30, 2009, At Home

Today I'm on the couch after being "kicked off the island" of the Scott and BR Cycling Challenge.  It's been a rather eventful week, and I need a little break from training with the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge riders.  Today is the Torry Pines Time Trail.  I went for a hard ride yesterday and I don't feel up to a big effort today. I slept in for the first Sunday in months!



Being involved with CAF and QMDC has given me the opportunity to meet some incredible people.  I’ve gone on beautiful training rides and have improved my cycling skills by riding with great ride leaders.  I’ve been humbled by watching the way Scout Bassett handles herself at CAF events and the way David Lee cranks his hand-cycle on our training rides.  I’ve grown by persevering in my fundraising; writing letters to family and friends and being grateful to those who respond.   I’m happy to give back for the great opportunity given to me in the Scott and BR Cycling Challenge.  You can still contribute to this wonderful cause through my donations link on this page.


Thursday, Brian Brillo, Rob Millum and I helped Efrain Arvizu with his fund raising event at a Boxing event he helped to promote at Four Points Sheraton.  It was a lot of fun and I think we were successful in raising awareness for CAF in a community of boxing fans who never heard of the Challenged Athletes Foundation before.  Efrain raised a few bucks and we all got to know each other a little better. 

This week starts a new adventure for me.  I quit my job at DefenseWeb as a software engineer and my last day was Friday.  I'm going to get my Personal Trainer certifcation and try to get a business started to provide coaching and training to the over 40 crowd which I am a proud member.  I'll keep you posted on my progress through this blog.  All my best to the remaining contest riders and the rest of the great people I've met who are raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation through the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge.  I'll be back next week.

Sunday August 23, 2009 Training Ride

Today the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge training ride took us up the coast and along the San Luis Rey Bike Trail to Bonsall and east to the Circle R twist. I rode with Adam and Joy from the Scott & BR Cycling Challenge in Group 2. We had a great ride. The weather was mild and there wasn't much wind. One of the major climbs of the day was up Circle R. My riding buddy Mike Kassow rode that climb quit a bit a couple of years ago. I can tell my fitness has improved by the pace I was able to keep to the top. It's really nice to have evidence that the hard work is paying off. After refilling water bottles at the 2nd SAG, I felt my front tire getting "squishy" on a climb so I stopped to swap out my tube. Adam and Don who were riding right behind me stopped and helped me out as we watched the rest of the group ride over the hills. We were able to get the flat fixed in pretty short order, but our group was long gone. The three of us were pretty well spent so chasing down the group was not going to happen so we "noodled" back. Evidently Adam and Don's definition of noodling is different from mine so we were still moving along at a pretty good clip; just not hammering. The ride back along the coast was great. It's always nice to feel the ocean breezes after riding hard in the inland foothills.

I attended a CAF mixer at B&L Bikes in Solona Beach on Wednesday. We heard from Chris Chandler who had multiple deployments in Afghanistan. His second resulted in his losing a leg in an IED explosion. He still went back and deployed 3 more times as an amputee and completed jump school and got this "jump wings". Chris has been racing triathlons since 2008 as part of Operation Rebound, inspiring other troops to remain active and overcome perceived barriers by taking part in sports. Challenged Athletes Foundation fund raising makes this possible.

This week, the Scott and BR Cycling Challenge will cut to 8. Regardless of what happens, this has been a fantastic experience. It's been great riding with great people who are very committed to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.