Less than a week now until the 2011 Ride for Mike! Thankfully, I’ve done this sort of thing enough times now that I know what needs to be done. It is just a matter of getting it done! Here is what I need to finish up.

Meeting my fund raising goal

Things are moving along on this front. I hope to meet my goal before I leave. If I don’t, we are going to continue taking pledges during the time I am on the bike. The plan is for us to be checking the email as I ride. I’ll know when a gift comes in and, believe me, it will be a great encouragement to keep me pedaling. Even if we meet the goal before Monday, I hope some of you will send in a pledge just to give me an extra kick along the way.

View Larger Map – Distance covered: 168 miles / Still to cover: 52 miles / $3,360 raised

Finish planning my route

Believe it or not, I haven’t finished planning out my route. There are multiple ways I can make my entry into Charleston. Right now I am leaning toward a slightly longer route that will allow me to avoid the congestion and elevation of crossing a bridge. It will only add two miles to the distance. My only concern is that it may send me through more traffic lights. The last thing I want to have is stop-and-go efforts at the end!

Prepping the car

We’ve done this before on the 2010 Ride for Mike. I won’t have as much signage on the vehicle this time, but we will have a strobe light on top of the car. Inside we’ll make sure we have plenty of power sources for the various electronic devices that will help us find the way and communicate with you all.

I’ll add some spare wheel holders to the rack so we won’t have to keep them in the car. Speaking of the rack, I’ll need to make sure it is well anchored since it will be carrying two bikes back from Charleston. Coming back from the 2010 Ride for Mike, we had some issues with that!

Lodging

Thankfully, the Beautiful Redhead has already taken care of this. We’ll be staying in a hotel only a half mile from the MUSC Children’s Hospital. I’ll problem just ride on the the hotel since we are not planning on having a welcome committee when we arrive. It is going to be great to just pull up to the hotel and crash!

Equipment

I’m taking my bike over to Sunshine Cycle Shop today to have it looked over. It hasn’t been long since I had a tune-up. I don’t expect anything major, but I’d rather have it discovered now instead of later!

I’ll be taking along my Giant as well. However, I hope I won’t have to take it off the car until we reach the hotel. I like having the backup, but with spare wheels to switch out in case of a flat I don’t think I’ll need it.

I will be running my Kysrium SL wheels when I start out. I’ll have my Elites as my initial back up and the Boyd carbon 50s will be on the Giant. I would start out with the aero wheels except for the fact it is the only carbon set I have. If I have a flat, I would have to switch out the breaks as well as the wheels.

I’ll be riding in the dark when I start off and then again as I come into Charleston. I have a pretty old but good lighting system. I’ll run it until the sun comes up. We’ll start charging it again once we get to Saluda. If everything goes as planned, I will only have to run it again for the final one or two hours of the ride.

Clothing

I’ll be wearing my Low Cadence kit for the ride. I’m sure I’ll start out with arm and leg warmers. Right now the forecast calls for temperatures in the morning of under 50 degrees. It will be a little chilly for me as I start out. However, as the day goes on it is going to be PERFECT riding weather: 0% rain, temperatures getting into the low 70s and manageable wind speeds out of the west.

I plan to take along an extra kit to change into about halfway. I’ll only use it if I am feeling pretty cruddy. Sometimes just getting into some fresh gear makes all the difference in how you feel.

Fuel

Tomorrow’s blog post will deal with how I plan to keep myself fueled on the bike. I won’t deal with it here. I’ve been testing out various types of on-the-bike fueling to see what works best for me. I’ll share it with you on Wednesday.

Other than those things, it is just a matter of taking care of myself. I’m pretty much off the bike this week except for some short spins just to keep my legs limber. I think my body needs the rest. I have some small strains and aches that need the time to ease up. Now is the time to rest, eat and drink fluids. This weekend I will be loading up the carbohydrates and really focusing on hydration.

I have to end by once again saying “Thank you” to all of you who have helped in someway. There certainly is still an opportunity for you to participate through participating in the Family Fun Ride or RFM Warm-up Ride. Of course, there is always the help of giving toward my fund raising goal for Rebekah Grace Ellis.

This time next week I will be on my bike about halfway between Greenville and Saluda, South Carolina. Wow! I have a lot to get done between now and then. One of the things I am working on is the Family Fun Ride that will take place this Saturday. If you plan to join us and you haven’t confirmed your participation, I need to hear from you!

Here is the plan… There are actually two rides that end up in the same location. I’ll give you the low down on the family ride first.

Family Fun Ride

Families can begin arriving in Greenville’s Cleveland Park at 8 a.m. to meet at shelter 5.  That is the shelter near the dog park. Once there you can receive your stamp that will give you access to the free meal at the end of your ride. Attendees will be at the shelter until 10 a.m. to check in riders and give instructions.

The route will be the length of the Swamp Rabbit Trail from Cleveland Park to Gateway Park in Travelers Rest. Maps will be provided at the shelter for those who have not ridden the trail before. I will also be posting a Google map here on LowCadence.com before Saturday.

The picnic (BBQ and the fixings) will begin at 11:30 a.m. and conclude by 2 p.m. This allows families plenty of time to ride the trail. There will not be a mass start. Just show up with your family and enjoy the trail on a beautiful morning with a goal to arrive in Travelers Rest sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Be prepared, however, to ride the trail back to Greenville. If you do not think you can make the trip back, please have someone bring a vehicle to Gateway Park to pick up you and your family. We would like to provide transportation, but we are unable to do so due to liability issues.

We hope you can join us. Rebekah will not be able to ride with us due to her health. However, she and her family do plan to be at the picnic as long as Rebekah has the strength.

Want to join us? We must have a count by noon on October 19th so we will know how much food we can provide. If you have not already, please confirm your participation using the form at the conclusion of this post.

2011 Ride for Mike Warm-up Ride

Technically, I shouldn’t be doing this, but I want to have the opportunity to ride with many of you who have supported the Ride for Mike. It probably wouldn’t work out too well to have you join me at 6 a.m. on the 24th on the real Ride for Mike, but we can get together earlier. That is the second ride taking place on October 22.

We will leave from the same shelter 5 in Greenville’s Cleveland Park. However, we will need to leave at 8 a.m. sharp. So, have your bikes unloaded and ready to go by that time. We’ll start off on the same route as the Family Fun Ride, but we will continue going past Gateway Park. We’ll then follow some of my favorite training roads in a loop that will bring us back to the Swamp Rabbit Trail and on to Travelers Rest. There we will stop (after nearly 50 miles) to have our lunch.

I say that I shouldn’t do this because my training plan says that I am supposed to do a simple two hour ride that morning. This one is going to be a bit longer at 3 to 4 hours in length. So, that means I am going to have to take it very easy. No attacks or breakaways allowed! We’ll all ride together and the best SAG driver in the world will follow us along the route to help out any who might find the going rough.

Want to join us? Just let me know you plan to come along by contacting me before noon on October 19th. Please use the below form.

– The form is now unavailable due to October 19, 2011 deadline.

You many still participate in the 2011 Ride for Mike by giving to the project.

There are many ways we can show we care. Meeting the needs of another person is just one way to express compassion. I know I have been asking for money a lot lately, but it really isn’t about the money. The fund raising is just a way to express how I care not only for little Rebekah, but for Mike’s family as well. It also gives others a chance to join with me.

The fact is, there are needs and compassion expressed in giving is effective. At first I thought it a little uncomfortable to make a public display of raising money for a family. Then I realized that for them it is a lot more than a fund that helps pay their medical bills. It is an emotional shot in the arm. It is a reminder that people care. Seeing many people taking an interest compounds the compassion.

Little Rebekah is at a tough point right now. I’m not a doctor, but I’ll put it as simply as I can. Her heart is not like the hearts of most. Let’s just say that the plumbing leading into, within and going out of her heart is not complete. For this reason she does not have the typical connection from her heart to her right lung. The heart also seems to be routing blood back to itself.

There is the possibility of an operation that would allow the doctors to take the “pipe” that is reconnecting to the hear and connect it to the lung. This would help to relieve pressure on the heart and also get some blood flow to the lung. Frankly, it would be experimental. There are no blueprints to go with because no one else has a heart like Rebekah.

That is why I ride. That is why I raise money. My three children are strong and healthy. However, I can imagine what I would feel if one of my own faced what Rebekah is facing.

I have also seen how doing the Ride for Mike has encouraged Mike’s family over the last few years. I actually did not know them that well before Mike passed, but now (though they are miles away and our contact isn’t constant) I feel a deep connection with them. This endeavor has created a bond that I cherish.

That leads me to my final point. It is amazing how when you set out to help someone you find that you are helped in the process probably more than they are. I am so thankful for the Ride for Mike, because not only has it allowed me to help others — it has helped me to grow.

It is true that money can be the root of all kinds of evil, but when money is used for good it can result in a beautiful flower. I hope that the 2011 Ride for Mike will nurture the spirits of the Ellis family. I pray that the money will help Rebekah to grow and flower.

Thank you to all of you who have given so far. As of this morning, we are at $3,250 of the $4,400 goal. If you would like to participate, give here and learn more here.

This is for David McQuaid. Dave is planning to meet me in Saluda, SC to help pull me along on the 2011 Ride for Mike as I travel on to Orangeburg. I greatly appreciate him taking a day from work to come help me out.

View Larger Map

My plan for the first leg is to ride straight through to Saluda. I’ll stop there at a Subway and grab some carbs for the next leg of the trip. I’m thinking that I can arrive there with about an 18 mph average. That would put me in Saluda in about 4 hours.

Of course, there is a part of me that would love to beat that average. It is a balance between keeping my time in the saddle down and not using too much energy. The last time I rode to Saluda I averaged over 19 mph. However, I was putting out wattage consistently around 230 watts.

I do think that I can keep my speed up. The difference this time on this section is that I am not having to hold a consistent wattage. Rather than training with wattage, I’ll be performing with speed. While in training I kill myself on the downhill trying to keep my wattage up, on the actual ride I can just coast down and maintain my speed while conserving energy.

That is my goal: go as fast as I can with the least amount of effort possible.

4:15 a.m. and 240 miles to go!

Today is kind of cool as well because I’m following Steve Sperry as he SAGs for a group of riders who left Greenville at 4:15 a.m. this morning to ride their bikes to Savannah, GA. It is about 240 miles – very close to my target. If you want to follow along, you can check out Steve’s Facebook page. I think they plan to be in Savannah by 8 p.m. tonight.

You’re invited to the first ever Ride for Mike Family Ride. It will take place on Saturday, October 22, 2011. Leaving from Cleveland Park in Greenville, families are invited to ride at their own pace to Travelers Rest where we will have a picnic. The ride will begin at 8 AM with the picnic taking place at the Gateway Park beginning at 11 AM.

FAMILY FUN RIDE

A longer ride leaving at 8 AM from the same starting point will take the Swamp Rabbit Trail and then follow a route into northern Greenville County for a total of 50 miles. This will be the Ride for Mike 2011 Warm-up Ride. It is a social, “no rider left behind” ride that will also conclude at Gateway Park where participants will enjoy the picnic. A SAG vehicle will be available.

There is no cost for the event. However, we must have a count for those planning to attend the picnic. Please contact us at lowcadence@pait.org to let us know if you plan to attend and how many will be in your party.

Come show your support for the 2011 Ride for Mike supporting Rebekah Grace Ellis and her family while enjoying the beautiful Swamp Rabbit Trail. You can also show your support by giving a tax-deductible gift for the Ellis family by following the instructions at the 2011 Ride for Mike gifting page.