The Ride To Cure Diabetes
October 2003 - Death Valley, Ca.
Team Chad & Dad
Raising $$$$ for Diabetes Research
In October of 2002 - Team Chad and Dad completed a 105 mile cycling trip from Furnace Creek through Death Valley National Park - to the top of Jubilee Pass and back! An incredible feat with an incredible bunch of riders dedicated to funding research that seeks a cure for diabetes.
With the help of many sponsors, Chad and Dad were able to raise over $7,500 dollars to help support diabetes research. The event raised ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
Now it’s time to get ready for Death Valley 2003.
Training Log 2003
[last update 10-09-2003]
During the Winter and Spring of 2003, Chad continued his usual training through downhill mountain bike racing.
He says that attempting to miss trees (uh - he did hit a few) is
good practice for dodging the coyotes and other wildlife that
might run in front of him during the ride.
Charlie on the other hand decided to have
his gall-bladder removed after an attack of pancreatitis. (You think
running into trees hurts?). Then in January he returned to the gym
and started frequent nautilus training and running on the treadmills.
Both Chad and Charlie got involved in the winter
spin-classes. Thats where a trainer plays some high energy techno music on a CD player while guys like us ride specially designed stationary bikes. These are designed to cause stress to anyone
over 50 (me). Yes I sweat a lot... and on one occasion during the
post ride stretches - I got a charlie horse in my upper right chest
causing me to grab it and almost collapse... scared the you know what out of the trainer. He thought I was having the BIG ONE...
Spring weather arrived and I moved outside (Chad kept going to the gym). I turned to running. Quickly came to the realization that I’m not as fast I used to be... and was happy
to finish the Kingston Class 10 K in about 50 minutes
Summmer arrived - and I started biking (still hadn’t registered for the Death Valley Ride). Then came the big
scare. My cardiologist thought I might need to trade my
pacemaker in for a defibrillator. That made me real happy. I kept training (including cross country running) for another month wearing a heart monitor. The month proved to be uneventful - and all this was
a false alarm. So I decided to keep training.
Took a nice 25 mile ride up to the Ashokan Reservoir (NY City Watershed). Fairly steady rolling climb for about 12.5 miles to my turnaround... then hauled butt coming back. Man it feels good to get some speed in again. There are a few sections where I can hit 32 to 35 mph. Flying bugs hurt at that speed.
Did another ride - 16 miles - flat terrain - average speed just over 16 mph. Nice steady spin. Hope that guy who ran the stop sign in front of me caught my drift.
Cross-Country [running] is in my blood. (Or maybe my blood is in cross country). I started the Kingston area summer series (a set of 6 races for 10 bucks - with water enroute - watermelon and beer at the end... Chad drinks my beer while I look for the oxygen tent).
The first night of the series it was muddy (from thunderstorms) - the trails were deep with water, bugs were out too... It was perfect weather.
About halfway into the 3 mile or so run, I twisted my left foot and caught myself on a tree along the trail before I fell @#$# over the proverbial tea-kettle. Finished the run on one foot - hopping all the way. Testing the left foot once in a while.
Second week in series. Took it easy - slightly twisted again - but not as bad.
Third week - took it real easy - just got very muddy.
Now I’m serious about biking. The clock is ticking and I need to get my miles in. So let’s try 30 miles. Nice steady pace. Rolling Terrain - some rough road similar to Death Valley. Temperature around 92. Humidity about the same... Hmmm looks like thunderstorms in that direction... feels like rain... guess I’ll head the otherway.
Good the rain is going the other direction. Time to stop at Stewarts for more Gatorade. Drink up - refill... and take off... Gee, I wonder if I zippered my seat pack so my cell phone doesn’t fall out... better stop... oh no brain... you forgot to unclick your feet... crash... @@$#!! You’d think I’d learn by now.
Well a few days have passed since fall. Man do I hurt. Couldn’t sleep last night. Trouble breathing... got x-rays today. Ribs aren’t broken - just contusions. So whatz a guy to do?
You got it... I completed my ride application - and so did Chad. They go in the mail tomorrow - US Express Postage. Death Valley - Here we come!
Now if you are still reading. Please hear my plea. We need to cure this disease - before fundraising kills me. Please send your donation today. Team Chad and Dad, c/o Lawrence, 39 Frederick Drive, Lake Katrine, NY 12449. Thanx
Well a few sore ribs didn’t keep me from doing another cross country jaunt. But this time I walked the 4 plus miles
through the rocky and muddy trails. Took about 51 minutes. Yes I was dead last... but I had fun and I made it to the end without falling or breaking anything. Hope to get back on the bike in a few days.
Well - the escapades continued... and life has has been kind of busy - so that explains the delay in updating this log.
Let’s see - in anticipation of the weekend of Walk To Cure Weekend (Sept 21) I got in a nice 50 mile ride. No one tried to run me over, no dogs attacked and it was a pleasant ride...
The week after the 50 mile ride - our JDRF chapter had a car show (held at local Shop Rite) on Saturday - of course
that was the day before our Walk To Cure Diabetes held on Sunday. Another quiet weekend.
Chad decided to take a ride after the Walk. Good idea - except some clowns in a grey Chevy Blazer decided it would be funny to toss a beer bottle out the window - whacking Chad upside the head. They are lucky that Chad couldn’t recover fast enough - because if he had - he would have caught them. Chad on a bike is faster than your average drunk in a Chevy Blazer. Chad is ok.
Well a week or so later - Chad and I took a ride. Intended to go about 60 - 70 miles. Of course that was before we selected a route that was mostly hills - with rough pavement... So 50 miles later we decided to pack it in and go home for supper and a nap. It was a great ride except for:
The monster dogs. There was one in a yard as we were climbing an incline. The dog barked and charged and I yelled SIT. It SAT! Phew! Then I heard the sound of dog paws slapping the pavement. I turned to look over my left shoulder - just in time to see a monster foaming at the mouth. So I yelled SIT YOU SON OF A #$%@&^! and then I stood up and peddled like crazy. That dog chased us for about a half mile... but we finally broke away. Our escape route was uphill - so this was great training for Jubilee Pass.
Three kids on bikes. We were riding a loop - that allowed us to pass these same three kids every 6 miles or so - and always
at different locations. So as we are hitting about 30 miles an hour... one of these guys puts his mountain bike perpendicular to
my path and forces me off the road on to the gravel shoulder. Thank God for my spin class training - and the exercises our trainer
put us through. This gave me the strength and focus to hold on and get back on the road after riding the shoulder for the a
distance of perhaps 50 to 75 feet... still going 30 mph.
Well - my bike has been tuned up by Bill at Kingston Cyclery. Trued up the wheels - new bearings - lubrication - new tires etc. The guy can work miracles. It is soooo smooth. This weekend we ship the bikes off via Truck. I will continue Spin Classes at our local gym. Chad will go to Vegas on business (Inter-Bike Show) then come back... for a few more nights at the gym.
Here’s to a safe trip and safe ride for all the JDRF Volunteers. You can help make this effort worth while - send a donation soon.
Thanx - from Charlie and Chad
For information on upcoming events or to volunteer, please contact JDRF at:
11 Marshall Road, Suite 1-H --- Wappingers Falls --- NY --- 12590
Phone: (845) - 297 - 8600 Fax: (845) 297 - 7887 email: ldelia@jdrf.org
To learn how you can help cure diabetes - click on one of the tabs above.
