• Photos from the 2011 Ride for Mike Family Fun Ride
• Photos from the 2011 Ride for Mike in Support of Rebekah Grace Ellis

I also want to give an update on the pledges that have been made from the ride. We have now passed $13,000! This is well above the $4,400 goal I set before the ride began. Thank you so much to all of you who made the ride a success.

Right now I am just recharging my batteries. I’ll get back on the bike tonight for a very short spin. I’ll start to ramp up my off season from there.

A good sign is that I am looking forward to next year. I’m actually looking forward to racing. It will kind of be exciting to be a rouge assassin in the Upstate peloton.

Of course, I’ve also got to get busy during this off season with the next project for Ride for Mike. I’ll be coming to you all for help as I work to get this off the ground. So, stay tuned and get ready for 2012!

The Ellis children

The support I received was also overwhelming and I am thankful for all of the help that pushed me down the road. Receiving photos like the one above made every pedal stroke worth it! What a blessing to consider how the Ellis family will be able to go to Charleston for Rebekah’s surgery in December without having to worry about the expenses surrounding it.

So, why do I feel so “blah?” It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve participated in enough of these types of events with high levels of emotional and physical stress to know that it comes. This year I went into the Ride for Mike knowing that it would hit me soon after.

I think there is a physical reason why this happens. During the time leading up to the event your adrenalin is pumping. For sure during the event you are riding a wave of adrenalin just to make it to the end.

Then suddenly it is over. Your body realizes that the “flight” mechanism isn’t active. The adrenalin stops flowing. Some call it “adrenal fatigue.” Your adrenal glands move into recovery mode and it leaves you feeling lethargic and tired.

Probably the best way to handle this would be to go do some exercise. I think of a drug addict going cold turkey. Often it is best when trying to ween someone off of a drug to do it slowly. Take them down dose by dose. A little bit of exercise might be a good thing.

On the other hand, I am not one to break down everything into a chemical formula. Human beings are spirits. We are more than just a chemical makeup. There is that element that transcends our physical presence. That spirit also takes a hit after an epic event such as this.

Many, many hours have been invested in the Ride for Mike. A lot of hopes and expectations were bound up in it. Now that it done there is a hole. It is kind of like the day after Christmas. There is nothing to be sad about. Actually, there is a lot about which to rejoice! Still, you walk away from it with much fulfillment, but a bit of emptiness as well.

We can’t live our lives on the high. Just as our bodies can’t function properly for long periods of time on adrenalin, nor can our spirits skip from one emotional wave to another. Sometimes we just need to rest. We need to find contentment in what is. When we do, we can be ready for the next epic event.

I’m already thinking in that direction. You can find a sneak peak here… However, for right now I think I’ll rest a bit.

Got an extra car seat for me?

I-95 ahead... it's all downhill from here!

One thing I noticed immediately is that I had finally reached the “flat roads for as far as I could see” portion of the ride. Actually, if you notice the elevation profile below you will see that starting in Orangeburg the “EKG” flat lines. The route now starts a very gradual and consistent descent to the coast.

The elevation profile from Greenville to Charleston

It was hard to keep from overdoing it at this point. I settled in a rhythm that was moving along at an average speed of 22 mph. The terrain combined with a nice tailwind was moving me down the road! I reached Interstate 95 in fifty minutes.

I passed beneath the overpass and kept pushing to hold my average. My plan was to make as much time as I could in this first hour and then ease up a little to cover the last three hours. Somewhere around the second hour I would make a stop to catch my breath and then finish up the last two hours as best I could.

Yes, we did see a few Harleys

Out of curiosity, I flipped my computer screen over to see the wattage I had averaged over the hour since leaving Orangeburg. I saw the number “209″ and smiled. All of those hours training with Jim Cunningham were paying off. How many times did he send me out there for hours to average 210 watts? Now here I was over 8 hours into the 2011 Ride for Mike and I was naturally slipping into my training.

At 183 miles in we had reached Harleyville. I remembered the town from my planning because of its interesting name. It was one of the towns I referenced when I was raising $20 per mile.

The fund raising was going well by this point. I had hoped that some folks would get excited about the actual day of the ride and be willing to give toward the cause. At first, I was a little discouraged. During the first four hours, I believe one or maybe two pledges came in.

I think people were just waiting until I reached the harder sections! By the time I reached Harleyville, we were starting to get notified of multiple gifts. Annette would contact me on the radio when someone tweeted or made a pledge. Whether it was a $20 pledge or a $1000 pledge, it was like getting a shot in the arm.

I always wanted to know who it was who gave. Sometimes I would ride for a bit feeling perplexed because I didn’t recognize the name. At other times, I’d get downright emotional with my eyes misting up as I heard the name of someone who had already supported me in so many ways. Needless to say, if you gave during my ride, you played a bigger role in my success than you might imagine. Truly, it was OUR success — not just mine.

Taking a breather with two hours to go

Speaking of the radio. You may have noticed it in some of the pictures. You can see it hanging on the left side of my helmet in the photo above. It is a simple multi-channel two-way radio. I tried to find an ear piece that would work with it, but was never successful. It was by accident that I found this efficient location for it.

I had been keeping it in my pocket or trying to hang in on my jersey. However, it was awkward talking into it and depending on where it was on my jersey, it could be hard to hear. During the Family Fun Ride while trying to make an adjustment to my jersey, I tried to find a place to temporarily place the radio. I then thought to hang it on my helmet strap. I ended up leaving it there because it made it very easy to hear Annette and because it was so light, I didn’t really notice it. The only downside is that it looked funny!

I can't say enough about the wonderful support I received

We rolled blissfully along. Several times when traffic allowed, Eddie would come around a allow me to draft. We were not able to do it as much during this section because there was more traffic. The closer we got to Charleston the more traffic became an issue.

Another issue was my feet. My legs were feeling pretty good at about 10 hours in. However, my right toes were cramping something awful. This often happens to me toward the end of a very long ride. The problem here is that I wasn’t at the end! I still had up to two hours to go and the pain was increasing.

Finally, I pulled over because I couldn’t take it anymore. I sat on the back of the car while Annette started to massage my foot. It was feeling somewhat better when Eddie came over. “Let me do it,” he said. “Eddie, you don’t want to massage my foot!” I replied. “No, really, I do it for Melissa all the time.” He insisted that Annette move over and let him take over. WOW! He worked that cramp right out. I heard joints and ligaments popping and before long the pain was gone.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about Annette and Eddie. They completely served me the whole time. I was starting to feel selfish and spoiled by the time we reached the outskirts of Charleston. They protected me, feed me and cheered me all the way.

As we rode along we moved out of less populated areas into — not really towns — but areas with more residences. You could tell that you were coming up on a more populace area of the state. At the same time, I could never see any signs that would let me know where we were. Several times I pushed the radio button to ask, “Exactly where are we?” I was trying to get a reference for where we were in relation to Charleston as the light began to fade.

Fade it did! We were moving around Summerville through the small town of Knightsville. At this point we were about 205 miles into the ride. Traffic was heavy due to the fact that we were rolling in toward the end of rush hour.

On the map, it looked as though the area where we would be riding would not have heavy traffic. Once again, planning the route from a distance was proving problematic. Traffic was heavy in both directions.

As we made a left turn onto Ashley River Road I heard an “angry horn” blow behind us. The natives were getting restless. I don’t really mind traffic too much, but angry and frustrated drivers scare me. Combine them with growing darkness and I was starting to get nervous.

I wasn’t as nervous as Annette. She was the one following in the car and slowing the traffic. She was aware of the traffic and would work to let cars through as often as possible. The problem was that in some places the shoulder wouldn’t allow it. At the same time, as it grew darker she was less interested in exposing me to the traffic.

“We’ve got to get more lights on you,” she radioed. “Pull over and let’s get more lights on the back.” We pulled over on the side of the road and moved my warning light from the front of the bike to the rear. I then put on my helmet light for the front illumination. It was now I rued the depleted battery from earlier in the day.

Then we saw a sheriff’s car pull up. At first I thought he might be pulling over to offer us assistance. However, I remembered the horn from earlier and also other instances I have had in the past with coastal area law enforcement.

Sure enough he was stopping to find out what we were up to because they had received a complaint about us. As he approached us, he had a look on his face like we were crazy. However, as soon as Annette explained to him what we were doing and how far I had ridden, he softened.

“Well, I can’t tell you to stop,” he told us. “But I do need to tell you that we have received complaints. It’s not the bicycle,” he went on to explain. “It is the car.” I told the officer thank you for his concern and we would have Annette go around me at the sign of any traffic. Then I blurted out, “We’ll probably stop at the town line.”

Little did I know that the “Charleston Town Limit” sign would pop up only about 5 minutes later. I saw the sign and kept going. It was just too early to pull over. At the same time, the darkness started to swallow me up. Annette would come around me to let traffic by. The cars would come around and I would be left with only the lights on the bike.

We were now moving down a portion of 61 with a canopy of trees above it. The moon was a sliver — but I couldn’t even see that. The helmet light was giving me some warning of what might be ahead, but I could not see anything around me. There were no street lights. There were few residences in this historic plantation area and what structures there were were away from the road.

I pulled my phone out of my jersey pocket to take a look at the distance recorded on my Cyclemeter. 217 miles had been covered by this point. I had committed to 220. Maybe wisdom was the better part of valor and it was time to call it. I radioed Annette, “Honey, I’m going to call it a 220 miles.” I could hear the relief in her voice, “I think that is a good idea.”

Over those last three miles the traffic picked up once again as we started to move into a more residential area. The lighting improved, but that was offset by the rough road and heavier traffic around us. Then we ticked past 220 and we pulled over in front of a hair salon.

Tired and nervous, I called it a night

True, it wasn’t a triumphal entry to the gates of the MUSC Children’s Hospital, but as Mike McCaskill told me, “If anyone complains about it, just tell them to go ride 220 miles!” Even as I sit and type this, I don’t second guess my decision. We did what we set out to accomplish. Hundreds of people were reminded of the life of Mike and over $12,000 was raised in his memory to help little Rebekah Grace Ellis.

Really, THAT is what the ride was all about.

We averaged 19.7 mph between Greenville and Saluda. In just under 4 hours we were stopping at a Subway/gas station to eat a sandwich and rest a bit. The plan was to eat and prep for the next leg and get back on the bike.

Dave and Mary McQuaid met us there. We approached them and I asked Dave how he was feeling. I knew he had been sick since last Tuesday. Several times I told him he did not have to help me, but he insisted on being there to pull me for at least one hour.

Leaving Saluda for Orangeburg with Dave in the lead

So, ten minutes ahead of schedule we pulled off for the second leg between Saluda and Orangeburg. This would be a section I had never ridden before. Having driven I-26 in this general area, I knew that the terrain could be undulating. Still, I figured that it would have to start flattening out once we neared Orangeburg.

My hope was that Dave would give me some good help for the first hour and during the hilly sections, I would grunt through the middle hours, and then have a easier go of it during the last hour as I neared Orangeburg. Eddie wouldn’t be with us during the part of the ride, so I couldn’t count on any drafting help.

Thank you, David McQuaid!

We set off. Dave moved to the front and started to pull me along at a pace of around 18 mph. Because we were only covering 66 miles on this leg, I had figured that we could average under 17 mph and make in four hours. Now as we rolled along, I wondered about that. I was off with my calculations on the first leg. At the same time, I figured we would easily exceed the necessary average with Dave’s help.

Everything was going to plan. Before I knew it, we had finished the first hour and a quarter. We reached I-20 with Dave pulling me along — sometimes at 25 mph. Now I was going to lose him. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping that he would find that the ride made him feel better and that he was ready to pull me some more. As it was, I had to say goodbye and turn the bike toward Orangeburg.

Saying goodbye to a good friend and a good wheel

Things started to go south from there. Out on my own, the sometimes gently undulating hills started to seem like mountains! It was getting hard to hold a rhythm. I could coast down some of the hills, but then I would just have to climb up the next one. My legs were starting to tire. I was nearing the longest time I had ever ridden a bicycle.

I was coming down one of the downhills when I looked ahead and saw the longest climb of the leg. It was in an open field. I could see it winding up toward crest off in the distance. I groaned to myself and started to climb.

Nearing the top, the sound of Annette’s voice came over the radio. “Ummm, I think we made a wrong turn,” she said. “We are on 178, but we were supposed to turn off back there. We can keep going to Pelion or go back. The Pelion direction is much longer.” After climbing that hill, I thought seriously about just staying on 178 and taking the long way round.

As it turns out, that would have been a good idea! We turned around and I had to climb up the other side of the valley. “If we turn left up here,” Annette informed me, “we can get over to the road you meant to be on.” So, we turned and started off looking for the next turn. I had my Garmin pointing out to me the street names ahead. There it was: Charles Town Road.

I looked to my left to find a hard-packed dirt road. “Is this the one we are supposed to turn on?” I asked. “Oh, this can’t be right,” Annette replied. “Well, is there another road we can take that will get us to the original route?” I pleaded. “This IS the original route!” came the answer.

I remembered at that point that I had planned for a dirt road at this point. It would cut off the distance that 178 covered going through Pelion. I had looked at satellite images of the road and it appeared to be well groomed. Looking at it now, I felt confident that I would be able to make it. The road was so well groomed it was close to asphalt.

We turned on it and started along. I was starting to get my equilibrium back. This wasn’t so bad. It was a nice change of pace. Sure, we had lost some time with the wrong turn and now I had to work a little harder to keep a good speed, but we were back on track and enjoying a short cut.

Notice the spurs coming off the original route

Then we hit the sand. Gravel I can take, but sand that reaches up and grabs your tires trying to pull you to the ground is hard to manage. My front wheel would roll over a section of road and then the weight of my bike would send the rear wheel crunching through a thin crust. The sand would suck in my rear wheel and I would fight to hold the bike upright.

Stubbornly, I tried to keep going. I could do it, but the going was very slow. Finally, Annette convinced me to put the bike on the rack and allow her to take me to the next junction. That was Hwy. 302. I stayed in the car as we made the short connection to the next road we were to take.

Thankfully, this one was paved. We unloaded the bike and away I went. The road was pretty rough, but at least it wasn’t dirt! Things were still hilly at this point, but I really wasn’t thinking about that at the time.

Then not long down the road I heard Annette’s voice again. “I’m sorry, but I think we missed a turn.” I’ll admit that I was feeling a little exasperated this time. I only had so many miles in these legs. I didn’t want to use them all up backtracking!

The point is that we were following 178 for most of the time to Orangeburg. It was easy to get lulled into following the well paved road and miss the points where I had planned for us to cut some corners. This was another one of those instances.

We went back and I was relieved to find that the road we were going to turn onto was paved. This one was rough like all the other roads we had gone on, but at least it wasn’t sand… or so I thought.

After crossing 321 we faced yet another dirt road. I forged ahead. Once again the road started out fairly packed. However, I finally reached a point near the end of the road where I simply could not continue. It wasn’t a matter of making slow time. It was simply that I was so buried in the silty sand that I could not turn my pedals.

This time, rather than losing time putting the bike back on the rack, I just sat on the back of the car holding my bicycle as Annette rescued me from my poor route choice. I had to chuckle to myself that even Annette’s navigation mistakes were better choices than my planned directions!

Escaping the sand pits outside Orangeburg, SC

FINALLY, we were out of the sand. Annette looked ahead and told me there would be no more turns off of 178. We could be assured that we were through this mess. Quickly, I bounced back and was ready to go again. We could still make it to Orangeburg in close to four hours.

We made a right turn onto 178. As we rode along, I started thinking… “This is strange. If we made a shortcut to cut off a curve of 178, how could we be going in this direction without having crossed over 178 already?” I also noticed that the wind was now to my face. However, I put it out of my mind just glad to be back on 178.

“Ummmm, Jonathan,” I heard over the radio. “We’re going the wrong way on 178.” Well, there was my answer. We pulled over and once again I got in the car. I figured I had ridden out to this point, I could ride the car back to where I made the wrong turn.

Now we were heading in the right direction. Still, I was surprised to find that the roads continued to be over rolling terrain. Granted, I could tell the hills were more shallow, but every bit of climbing was unwelcome. I was looking for some good old flat ground for as far as I could see.

So, it was almost a surprise when we finally pulled into Orangeburg. Then I got a double surprise when I pulled up at the Substation II where I planned to stop for another sandwich.  My mom and my sister Suzanne pulled up! They had come down I-95 from North Carolina just to see me arrive.

My mom and sister surprised me in Orangeburg!

Having them there, coupled with the realization that I now only had one leg to go immediately made me forget the struggles of the last four and a half hours. The 66 mile leg had turned into a 76 mile one. Still, the sign outside the restaurant read, “Charleston 75.”

I could do this! I was going to make it, but the adventure certainly wasn’t over. I didn’t leave Orangeburg until nearly 4 PM. The sun would set just before 7 PM. More excitement awaited us.

Once again the McCaskills showed their support by showing up at 5:30 to follow us out to the GHS Children’s Hospital entrance. As we drove toward the location, I thought of Mike McCurdy and John Davidson who had planned to help me out of Greenville — that is until Mike got hit by a car while riding his bicycle last Wednesday! Of course, I didn’t want to think too much about that!

We pulled up and started getting set up. Then I heard a voice from a nearby car. It was Eddie Helton. For some reason, I had completely forgotten that he planned to come along to take photos of the ride. Yes, he was planning to follow us for the whole 12 to 14 hours it would take to get us there. Before the day was over, I learned to appreciate a lot more than his photography skills!

At the start of the 2011 Ride for Mike

I started out trying to be very careful with my pacing. Without too much effort I was matching my plan for 18 mph. Because it was early in the morning the traffic lights were mostly green. However, by the time I got out of Greenville, I was under the pace I desired.

The other issue was that I was dressed with Saturday in mind. On that day I nearly froze on the 2011 Ride for Mike Family Fun Ride. Not wanting to face that, I had dressed pretty warmly. Well, by the time I reached Mauldin I was starting to feel a little fatigued because of the heat. I decided to ditch the warm jacket.

Now it was time to just settle in. There isn’t a lot to comment on other than the fact that the sunrise was beautiful. I knew the route from having ridden it several times before. My lighting system was showing me the way as the darkness slowly faded. All was right with the world!

Heading off into the sunrise

Just as the sun began to rise to the point where I could see the road ahead of me, the two lights mounted to my handlebars went out. Well, that battery didn’t last very long! It didn’t bother me that I didn’t have a light at that moment. I could see just fine. The concern that began to creep into my mind was the fact that I wouldn’t have the light when I reached Charleston and its traffic.

Not far out of Saluda, Eddie came around me and started to slow. I knew he was indicating that he would be willing to motorpace me for a time. At first I thought to myself that doing so would be “cheating.” However, then I started to think back to all the people who had helped me get to this point. I could not be here alone. Not only would this be an opportunity to receive some help along the way, it would also be an opportunity to give Eddie the pleasure of helping.

That is one thing I have learned through all of this. It is said, “It is more blessed to give that to receive.” It could also be said that for some of us it is easier to give than to receive. It is most likely pride that causes us to think we “must do it on our own.” However, doing so robs us of some incredible blessings!

Somewhere between Greenville and Saluda

So, I pulled up to Eddie’s bumper and away we went! Once I looked down at my computer to see we were doing 40 mph. I wasn’t there for many miles, but by the time I backed away from him I was averaging over 19 mph.

As it turns out his help was a good thing. We rolled away from GHS just a few minutes late. At the same time, I must have misjudged the distance. The bottom line was that even coming into Saluda with a 19 mph average, we were just 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Had I averaged 18 mph as I had planned, we would be behind.

So, the first leg of the journey was complete. The key for me by that point was that I was fueling myself according to plan. There was one stretch where I could tell I wasn’t hydrating as well as I could, but I quickly recognized it and focused on slowly getting the liquids in. It was also helpful to be able to spin the lactate acid out of my legs when I was drafting behind Eddie.

Pray hard. Ride hard. Trust God

I knew that the next leg from Saluda to Orangeburg was going to be a tough one. Eddie was going to have to leave us during this stretch, but Dave McQuaid would be there to help me along the first hour. It was what happened after he left us that will forever stick in my mind.

The only negative is that I was on pins and needles hoping that everything would come together. I don’t think I realized just how much it was weighing on me until it was over. It was as though all the tension just melted away and I was very tired.

Late Friday afternoon was spent trying to firm up exactly who was going to show up and when. We had planned for a “rolling start” for the families in Cleveland Park. However, as I checked with more and more people, I started to realize that almost all of the families either planned to just drive to the picnic or would ride a shorter distance on the trail from a point closer to the park.

Well, I didn’t want my volunteers to have to wait out there for just one or two people to show up. I started trying to get ahold of the folks planning on doing the entire trail to let them know there would not be support at the starting point. Finally, by 5:15 I had gotten that sorted out.

While I was doing that, I was loading chairs into the back of the Suburban to take out to TR. Annette was at home trying to pull together the other last minute details. Finally, we had as much done as we could and we went out with the McCaskills for dinner.

Some of the hearty souls starting out on the 50-miler

Getting up in the morning it was a shock to walk outside and feel how cold it was! Thankfully, there was basically no wind. However, down in Cleveland Park it had to be just touching 40 degrees. Once we started rolling, it felt even colder!

We rode out on the trail while members of the Community Service Council from Bob Jones University took a van and the Suburban out to TR to set up for the picnic. David McQuaid and his family were so kind to ride with my children out to TR. That was the one piece of the puzzle I was concerned about. So thankful for friends who took a load off my mind!

The sun came out when we reached Travelers Rest. It was now time to get off the trail and head out on the roads. It was certainly a learning time for the group. Not everyone had ridden in a group — even one this small.

It was also the beginning of the challenge of the hills. On one particularly extended climb a couple of the riders decided to get in the SAG. That filled up our rack and the seats in the little Honda Fit. However, we were once again on our way picking up a bit on our average speed.

Just as I thought we were getting in a rhythm I heard a chain drop. I went back to help the rider get it back on and then we started off. However, the bike was making a weird grinding sound. So, we pulled over once again to learn that his derailleur appeared to be bent.

We tried to straighten it and then started off again. Immediately there was another problem. We pulled over again. This time I took a closer look at it and realized that whole mechanism seemed to be dangling from the braze-on. I tried to tighten it and then we got back on the bike to ride. Almost immediately the problem returned. After more examination it appeared that the threads were striped. So, it was impossible to tighten.

Ooooo, what to do? The car was full. I knew if one of the riders in the car got out to ride and this rider got in, it would make our average drop. We were already getting close to being late for the picnic. I was stumped.

Kraig then said that he would call his wife to come and get him and for us to go on to the picnic. He would have her pick him up and take the back to the shop. I told him to please come out to the picnic and bring his wife with him. We then left him with me feeling like heel!

Okay, that issue was now out of the way. It was time to get the lead out and move down the road! I had to fight not to push the pace too much. All the while I was thinking through the route to find out where I could take a corner off the loop and get us to the park faster.

Suddenly, I started to feel the rear of my bike begin to go soft. I looked back. Yep, I was starting to get a slow flat. Several times along the way I would instruct Annette to drive ahead of us and get the pump ready. I would stop pump up the tire and then we would be off with very little delay. I just did not want to take the time to change the tube!

We pumped it up for the last time at Herdkoltz Park. I decided to take the group down Rutherford to Buncombe. Meanwhile, I sent Annette to our house to get a new rear wheel for me. She would meet us somewhere on Buncombe to make a wheel change. It was my job to make it there!

It was close! I probably had 20 pounds of air in the tire when we pulled over for the change. The Beautiful Redhead was awesome! I was already waiting with the wheel off and she jumped out, handed me the new wheel, and relieved me of the flat one. We were back on the road in no time and it appeared we would make it to the picnic!

Indeed we did! When we got there, we found a number of the folks still hanging around. Chuck Binns, with The Pit Crew BBQ, was there with his smoker! I hadn’t expected that. We had arranged for him to just have some BBQ delivered, but this made it very special.

Then I saw Kraig there with his wife. I was so glad he decided to come. He found out that the part was under warranty and he would be back on the bike in no time.

As I looked around, everyone was having fun and little Rebekah had been there the whole time. What a cutie! She patiently posed for picture after picture and performed numerous fist bumps, high fives, and “give me some skin.” She also gave out some very special hugs!

The princess of the picnic!

The students with CSC took away any responsibilities I had at the event. It was fun to not have to worry and just enjoy the time of fellowship and good food. Before I knew it, it was time to pack everything up and head back home.

Of course, on the way I had to stop by Sunshine Cycle Shop to try to solve the mystery of the tire. Still not sure of the exact cause. There was a slight puncture, but there was nothing lodged in my tire. It must have just been something that went through the rubber and fell out. Whatever the case, they got my tire changed and gave me some spare parts to take with me on Monday.

Wow. I have such great friends. Thank you so much to all of you who support me in ways that don’t cease to amaze me. I love you all.

Now I just need to rest up for Monday…

It has been a joy to see so many people get involved. Just the other day I was talking with someone whose wife knew about the ride through him. As they talked about it a little more, she realized that she had worked on the team that cared for Rebekah at the GHS Children’s Hospital! Suddenly the ride took on a whole new meaning for her.

As you have an experience with someone close to you who is going through a trial. It is amazing how it alters your view of the trial. Sometimes we are so disconnected from the needs of others because we are not close enough to them. Well, take sometime to get close to someone with a need. It might change your life.

Well, here is the purpose for this post. I want to give some last instructions for those planning to attend the Family Fun Ride or the Ride for Mike Warm-up Ride. We’ll cover the later first since it is the simplest.

Ride for Mike Warm-up Ride

Meet at shelter 5 in Cleveland Park early enough to be ready to roll out by 8 AM. We need to get going to leave plenty of time to make it to Gateway Park in Travelers Rest before lunch concludes. Dress in layers and make sure you start off with some water.

We’ll follow the route I have planned which includes the full length of the Swamp Rabbit Trail and then looping back north of the trail back into Greenville where we will connect with the trail once again and finish the ride over the same course we started out on.

At least half of the ride will be on the SRT. So, you only have to worry about the hills in the middle section. This will not be an overly easy ride, but not an epic one either. If you have never ridden 50 miles before, you may find this tough.

We will have a SAG vehicle following us for refills on water or food. We can place some of the layers you wear there as well should we start to get warm. We will also have room for two (maybe three) riders to bail out and finish the ride in the vehicle… but don’t plan on it!

Family Fun Ride

Okay, we’re going to start with the conclusion of the ride to help explain the beginning. Lunch starts at 11:30 AM and will run until 1:30 PM. Families can start their rides at any time between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. A 10 mph average will have you covering the trail in 1:30. So, judge your start time on how long you think it will take you to reach Travelers Rest.

Of course, if you leave early and find you are making good time, let me suggest that you stop at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery. It is located about a fourth of the way along the planned route. We will have a water stop just as you reach Sulphur Springs Road (near an old railway car). If you find you arrive in Travelers Rest before 11:30 AM, you can grab a warm drink at Leopard Forest Coffee or stop in a Cafe at Williams Hardware.

There are also some play areas in the park where we will hold the picnic. So, there will be things for your family to do if you arrive early. Take your time. Enjoy the trail. Learn a little bit about Travelers Rest.

You can get a general idea of the trail by looking at this Google Map. Please be aware that there are several road crossing along the trail. Be very careful when crossing. Also note that as you enter Falls Park it is best to follow Howe Street and then rejoin the trail at the main entrance off of Howe Street.

The entrance to Gateway Park is beside Sunrift Adventures. You may see a bunch of tents and stuff set up near the entrance. That would be the Travelers Rest Farmers Market (another thing you might enjoy!) Our event will be deeper in the park. You will go past the restroom area and then you will see our location. If you are driving to the picnic, Sunrift offers some helpful directions to their location.

Thank you for joining us! I hope you will have fun with your family and enjoy the BBQ and fellowship with the Ellis family. It looks like God is going to bless us with a beautiful day! I look forward to spending some time with those who will be there when our longer ride concludes.

If you have any questions, please contact me at lowcadence@pait.org.

Last night I worked some more on the bike. My chief mechanic, John James at Sunshine Cycle Shop, gave the bike a thumbs up in the morning. I’m pretty confident in the Felt AR.

I did make some changes. After Phil’s comment yesterday, I decided to go back to the aero wheels. I also installed my lighting system.

The lighting system makes me laugh. It is a dual light set-up that is intended for mountain bikes. The battery is so large, you have to put it in your bottle cage. The system also has a helmet mounted lamp that runs off a nicad battery you keep in your jersey pocket. However, when people see me coming down the road they are going to think a motorcycle is coming at them! And that is just fine with me!

The battery is supposed to last up to 3.5 hours. That’s plenty of energy for the time I’ll need lights. The question that has really been weighing on my mind is will my body have enough energy to keep my legs moving for the time I need to turn them?

Nutrition strategy

I’ve been doing more that a century every weekend for the past 5 weeks. One of the reasons for this is to get miles in my legs. Another reason is to test out various types of on-the-bike fuel. I think I’ve settled on what works best for me and a plan that will help give me the energy I need to not only make it to Charleston, but also to be able to recovery quickly afterward.

I’ve divided the ride into three sections. Each of those sections will be approximately 4 hours in length. I’ll be basing my fueling on that schedule.

Each hour I will consume a Honey Stinger waffle. I’ve tried all the other types of bars, but I find these to be the easiest for me to eat and they set well on my stomach. In the last four (or more) hours I may accelerate that time frame.

Between the waffles, I will suck on or chew the GU or Honey Stinger chews. I tried Shot Blocs first, but something about them just didn’t sit well with me. It could be the size and the consistency of them.

Obviously, I’ll be drinking water all this time. I plan on downing one to two bottles each hour. I will also be drinking a “meal bottle” mixture that combines Cytomax with a simple carbohydrate powder. Each of those bottles tops out at around 400 calories and the sugars in it should take the fast train to my muscles. The Cytomax will also provide me with some electrolytes – as will the chews.

After the first four hours, I will stop and eat a sandwich at Subway. Then it will be back on the bike with my predetermined routine. I do have a tendency to forget to eat like I should in the beginning of a ride. So, I’ll set the alarm on my Garmin to alert me when I am supposed to eat. Toward the end of a ride, I tend to not feel like eating. That is where Annette comes in. She’ll be there to encourage me to stick with the plan.

We’ll stop again in Orangeburg where I’ll eat another sandwich. Hopefully, it will be around 2:30 p.m. at that time. I’ll have four or five hours more to ride. If I have fueled correctly up to this point, I believe those last hours won’t be as painful. I’ll be eating to maintain my strength by that point. The most important fueling will take place earlier in the ride.

I can’t forget about the prep work though. Fueling will start a couple of days before the ride. Rest, hydration, and carbohydrates are the order. I need to be getting in bed early and sleeping well in the days before the ride. If you see me around a couple of days before, you will find me walking around with a water bottle in my hand. I’ll be eating pasta and other forms of carbohydrates as well.

The need for proper fueling was the most important lesson I learned from the 2010 Ride for Mike. I nearly blew it early on in the endeavor and it made some of those days much harder than they needed to be. I lost 16 pounds during that week long trip! There were several days where I rode through a bonk to finish.

This time, I don’t want to just finish. I want to finish strong.

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.

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.