Saturday I had the opportunity to drop in on the open house for the new Greenville Cycling Center presented by Jim Cunningham Coaching. Jim has put a lot of work — and investment — into this new business. It was great to see many in the cycling community come out to show their support.
I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to rush off to another event. Saturday evening was the return party for the Palmetto Peloton Project Challenge to Conquer Cancer Ride. It was great to see everyone again.
It was a pretty busy weekend — as you might have noticed from the lack of blog posts and the not so good video editing in the above clip! Hey, there is more to life than this web site… like making sure I complete all the training exercises Coach Jim is sending my way.
Okay, I admit it. The title of this blog post was more to get you to come read this blog. It is true. I did. However, you have to know the whole story.
Last year I became aware of a program that was brought to Greenville. It is called the Cycling CEO Challenge. It is one of multiple types of CEO Challenges including Driving, Skiing, Tennis, Fishing, and many more.
The idea came to Ted Kennedy as he was working with Ironman America as VP of Sales and Marketing. The first challenges were limited to the Ironman. Go to the CEO Challenge web site and you’ll see it has expanded well beyond that!
Ted says he loves his job and I can see why! One of the neat things about this program is that you get to spend some time with a professional in each of the various sports. Here in Greenville the participants got to spend some time with George Hincapie.
On Friday, the crew got to ride with Big George up to Saluda. They also participated in other events surrounding Hincapie Sportswear including a charity fashion show — they didn’t model, they just attended! On Saturday morning they had the challenge.
Each CEO Challenge event centers around a challenge between the various CEO participants. For the cycling challenge it is the King of the Mountain Challenge. It’s pretty simple — the first CEO to make it to the top is the winner. Do you think these guys are competitive? Don’t think they would be where they are professionally if they weren’t!
Instead of writing about the event, I’ll just let you watch the video. It captures the day pretty well. The only thing I wish I had on the video was a pretty spectacular save. We were following George along the route he rides often. He made a turn and the word didn’t get back quickly enough.
I was coming in the rear. I watched as several riders tried to slow to make the turn. Of course, this caused an accordion effect toward those of us in the back. One of the CEO participants locked up to avoid another rider in front of him. It was as if he was in a drifting competition! His rear wheel was spewing smoke from burnt rubber as he burned through his tire sliding this rear to his left.
I cringed and looked for an escape route. I was sure we were going to gave a pile up. However, he kept it up! As I was going pass him, I heard his tube explode as the rubber protecting it disintegrated. As those of us who continued straight came back, the pungent smell of burnt rubber was in the air.
Sorry I didn’t catch it with the camera. Of course, had I been riding with one hand on the bars, I don’t think I would have been up long enough to get a good shot. Great save!
Oh, I did pass George as we were climbing the mountain. However, it was only because he was going back to help pace one of the participants as he worked to reach the top. I had to go ahead so I could catch the eventual winner crossing the finish line.
Once again, Big George showed himself to be a class act. He is one of the main reasons why you have CEOs returning for a second opportunity to ride here in Greenville. If you are a CEO and a cyclist, perhaps you would like to take up the challenge and give Tim Hockey a run for his money in 2010!
I was looking forward to going over to Sunshine Cycle Shop to give some of the Blue Competition Cycles demo bikes a try. Unfortunately, I wasn’t mad enough to take one of the bikes out in the rain. That cross bike sure could have handled it, though!
I ride a Giant and love it. However, these Blues look and feel pretty good. The twenty-two pound mountain bike was n-i-c-e! The video you see here contains the first published pictures of the bike assembled.
Danny Macaskill is back on the Internet… and Norwegian television… displaying his mad skills in Lisbon. Sure, it’s a Volkswagen commercial, but he still amazes me. See if you get the same feeling that he is about to drop down on top of the car in one of the sequences.
Some might say that is cheapening his image by going commercial. I say more power to him as he finds ways to make a living and profit a bit doing what he loves. Though, I do have to say I like the Volkswagen commercial better than the s1jobs.com one.
Pretty soon I’ll be sending a DVD and a jersey of my Ride For Mike to his parents. I’ll also be sending one to his wife and little girl. It will be something for them to remember him by and to remind them that people still love him.
I figured I would go ahead and combine all the videos of the week in one place for archive sake. So, below are all the videos you may have seen last week during the Palmetto Peloton Project’s Challenge to Conquer Cancer ride. Then again, you may have missed one. Check them out.
Last week my teammates and I did a lot of riding: 100 plus miles on the beautiful Natchez Trace – in the dark, 80+ wonderful miles through the walking horse country of Tennessee, dozens of miles here and there, and – not to be overlooked – 85 miles that included 2.5 hours through tropical storm Rick. However, the miles I was looking forward to all week were those in Austin when I would once again try to catch Lance Armstrong during the LiveSTRONG Challenge.
I did it last year. A few of us riders took off from the start and caught Armstrong about 15 minutes into the ride. It was a once and a life time experience – at least I know that now!
This year I took off once again to relive the excitement of the past. Fifteen minutes into the ride there was no Lance and my teammates who started with me were no longer around me. One succumbed to cramps and another to a mechanical. I wasn’t sure of the status of the third. All I knew is that I was hurting and trying to stay with about 6 other riders who were putting the hammer down.
My mind went back to last year when I was on the super team of the Palmetto Peloton Project. We had a strong collection of riders and I came to Austin much fresher that year. It was a different experience entirely. That year we gloried in our strength – and I loved it. It culminated with enough reserves in the tank to ride with Lance.
Here I was again in 2009 trying to bring back some of that magic. I kept hanging on to the chase group knowing that if I could stay there then the crud would pass and catching Lance would still be a possibility. I was right. Twenty miles into the ride I was starting to feel better. I took my turns on the front and then slid back to recover.
Nearing mile 24, I was on the front. We were going through a small town when we came to an intersection with some policemen directing traffic. It wasn’t clear what we were supposed to do. I motioned to the guardians to give me a signal of how to continue you. They waved us directly ahead.
We then approached another one. There was on policeman on duty here and I motioned to him for a sign as well. He made a small motion with his hand and in a split second I realized I misread his signal. He told us to go right. I continued straight.
Unfortunately for me, all the other riders were paying better attention to the road markers. They whizzed through the turn and took off. The one guy who went straight with me got turned around faster and took off after them. By the time I got back to the turn, the group was out of sight.
I chased to get back on. However, I knew at that point it was fruitless. To be honest, I knew it was going to be tough the day before when I went for an easy spin around the city of Austin. A couple of times I gave my legs a test, but the screamed back at me and simply did not offer me any power.
My team this year was much different. Most of them had taken up cycling just recently. I was not on the “super-team” this year. My miles from Greenville to Austin included a fair amount of pulling my teammates through headwinds. There simply was not enough fuel left in the tank. Had I been able to catch Lance, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stay with him because I would have shot my wad to get there.
Now, does that mean that this wasn’t as good of a week? No – not by any means. It was simply different. This year’s team gloried in each new accomplishment – and we loved it. This year it wasn’t about me going fast with a bunch of racers. It was about watching relatively new cyclists grow by going farther than they thought they could. It was with pleasure and a sense of ownership that I pulled them (not to say they didn’t work hard!)
All alone somewhere in cattle country of Dripping Springs, Texas I had opportunity to think through these things. Finally, some other riders came along and swallowed me up. I gladly jumped into their pace line and began to think that while I might not catch Lance, at least I could get a good finish.
Will Flanagan was in the group and we stuck together for many miles. I owe him big time. Here I was the “racer” the “Lance chaser” and I was trash. Will had to pull me along. He didn’t complain when I began to ask to stop at the various SAG stops along the way.
Then with around ten miles to go I came upon Sally Dunn. I knew it was her because she had her pink cape on. As we approached her we called out her name. “Oh, hi, Jonathan! Your wife is just ahead!”
One thing I didn’t mention is that my beautiful redhead decided on Friday to do the 45 mile ride of the LiveSTRONG Challenge! She had never ridden over 20 miles in her life and here she was biting off quite a piece of cycling! I was a little concerned knowing the rolling nature and rough roads of the Dripping Springs area.
I caught her and we began to ride together. She was doing her best, but after the 20 mile mark she was starting to have some pain in her knees. She was really suffering up the hills. It caused me to slow down to nearly a coast.
Rider after rider passed me. Racer types, overweight types, older riders, and kids finishing their shorter distances. I recognized some of them from pace lines I had left behind earlier in the day. My competitive nature cringed as I watched them leave me in the dust.
I urged Annette on and we continued together. Rather than being frustrated about being passed, I put my focus on the fact that she was doing this for me. She isn’t a cyclist. She doesn’t want to be one. However, she wanted to experience this with me.
We rolled into the finishing shoot together. She was hurting so badly that she couldn’t put much pressure on the pedals. I looked back and she gave me a smile through a painful grimace. I finished my 90 and she her 45 together.
No, I didn’t ride with Lance. I rode with Annette — and I grew to love every minute of it.
For memories sake, I am also including last year’s video.
Once again it is getting late at night… at least considering that I will be getting up at 4:30 AM in order to get to Dripping Springs, Texas for the LiveSTRONG Challenge 90 mile ride. However, I do want to get this uploaded before I go to bed. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get back on the computer tomorrow.
I hope I will have a little time to breathe tomorrow and I will begin to tell some of the stories I’ve experienced during these days. Unfortunately, editing these videos seems to take up more time than I remember them taking! It is leaving me with less time to type the thoughts in my mind.
If things go well in Dripping Springs, I hope to have some good video of the LiveSTRONG Challenge ride. Arthur, Bob, and I are planning on making a mad dash to the front like we did last year. Who know who we might see up there…
This video uploaded while I was sleeping last night. Think I stayed up a bit too late getting these done. I have that very groggy feeling going on in my head… coffee… coffeeeeee…
It was an emotional day all around. The video of the actual LiveSTRONG Challenge ride may not get up until sometime early next week. It all depends on how things go on Sunday.
If you enjoyed this video, be sure you go back into previous posts to check out the rest of this year’s segments. I sure have enjoyed living them! Thanks, Team Awesome! I’ll be your exit buddy any day.
We have. We rode through tropical storm Rick as it moved across Texas. It certainly was a dark and stormy night. Team Green was ready.
I’ll spend some time later blogging about exactly how the ride progressed. For now, I am still very tired and after a busy day of Palmetto Peloton Project related activities, I’m ready to hit the sack. I’ve got to get some rest for the ride coming up Sunday.
However, before I climb in the bed, I’m putting up two new videos for you all. By the way, thank you so much to those who let me know they actually watch these things. I do wish they could better capture what happens out there. At least I know that as my teammates come back to view them the videos will serve as a spring board for bringing back to their minds the events surrounding these feeble attempts to portray those memories.
First, Part One of Day Four – it was a very interesting day on the road — in the van that is. We learned to practice that informal motto of the Marine Corp: adapt, improvise, and overcome. Team Green did!
Next up is Part Two of Day Four – or was that the beginning of Day 5? Hmmmm, it started at midnight and ended around 6 AM in the morning. Most amazing was that once it was all pedaled and done we learned we had ridden straight through the middle of a named tropical storm! Rick dumped his best on us, but we came through together as a team.
I believe that the connection that cyclists have with cancer warriors is the suffering. A cyclist may be 70 miles into a ride with a 20 mph headwind and rain beating down on him. His body is cold with his muscles and joints aching from the exposure to the elements and exertion. Yet, he pedals on to reach the goal ahead of him. He attacks the pain – or at times locks it away in the corner of his mind. He finds away to go through the pain.
I do not have cancer and don’t mean to speak for those who have fought – or are fighting that battle. However, I have seen in those whom I have been privileged to know that same spirit. I cancer patient has much more pain and aching than I’ll ever know on the bike. Still, she will attack this invader and go on with courage. What an inspiration these brave warriors are to all of us.
I’m pretty tired right now. We rolled into Vidalia, LA last night at midnight. I slept pretty well, but the effort of the last couple days is beginning to show a bit. Forgive me if this blog is a little short… but at least there is some video today.
We started the morning in Tupelo, MS and got in the van to ride to a rest area on the Natchez Trace. This is a scenic highway that cuts through Mississippi. It has become a favorite route for cyclists, and I can tell why. It was a wonderful ride on some great road.
Being pumped on the way out we thought we could get in over 100 miles for the day. However, no sooner had we gotten started when Jerry’s rear wheel flatted. It was a little frustrating because the follow vehicles had been told it was against the law to do so on the the Natchez Trace. So, we were scrambling to get the tire changed.
Thankfully, Bob Cramer, with Great Escape, was starting the leg with us. He was able to help us out. I know we wouldn’t have been able to do it as quickly! He had us back up and going in no time.
From there there isn’t a lot to describe — one light in front of me… one light in the back of me. We just kept going into a setting sun. We had no incident following the flat and so we were making great time.
The most eventful part of the trip were the deer. We could hear them off in the woods to either side. Then we started seeing them dart out across the road. There was one time that a doe came across the road IMMEDIATELY in front of me. The riders behind me were freaking out because from their perspective the deer was about to take me out! However, it was really about 10 feet in front of me. I could hear the hoofs tapping the asphalt as she crossed.
Toward the end of the ride Bo, the closer, started smelling the barn. We had to hold him back — as well as Meggan (who we always have to hold back) — because Nikki was feeling the effects of her accident a couple days earlier. At first it was frustrating because we were afraid we wouldn’t get our century ride if we had to slow too much. However, it ended up be a good experience because Nikki really worked hard to stay up and the team began to work for her.
Working together helped pull her through some slight climbs along the way and then we would bomb downhill for a bit. As a team we neared our transition point and the century was right at our fingertips. Then we were afraid that the transition would be BEFORE the magical 100 mile mark. We were on pins and needles, but shortly after we crossed the Mississippi River the computer flipped to to triple digits!
For me it was a great night. I tried to pull on the front as much as possible to help the crew keep it moving. Three of the five of us had never had finished a century. It was encouraging to think that I was helping them reach that goal that most cyclists aim for.
Today we have some time down. Unfortunately, it will be hard to spend any of that time sleeping. Maybe we can find some hot spots so that other members can get in their blogs. I’m certain there are some spots out there as we drive today to College Station, TX.
Texas… ah, that word sounds good! We’re almost there!
Jonathan started riding mountain bikes in the early 1990s. After discovering the ride can start at the end of his driveway, he moved to the road in 2006. Now at 43 he is riding and racing for fun while working to create the I Do It For Foundation.
