Getting a jump on things

Gussied up for the event.

This past Saturday evening was the Champions Dinner for the 2012 Tour de Cure. I was pretty inspired by all the great folks in attendance, especially the Red Riders (the participants who have diabetes) and the Youth Ambassadors. I'd been on the fence about riding next year but now I'm motivated to not only ride but also captain a team. I've put a call out to my bicycle-loving SCA friends to join the Hula Bears* and ride in memory of Tom B./Tirloch.

*We're Hula Bears because Tom was "the Bear" and loved Hawaiian shirts.

Endless Velo Love is riding for charity

My friend G.E. of Endless Velo Love is riding in the Venus de Miles at the end of August and would be extremely appreciative of donations to support the Greenhouse Scholars who provide support -- both personal and financial -- to under-resourced, high-achieving college students. She's even offering incentives and prizes to people who donate. Please take a look at her page and help her out. She's a good egg. :)

The big day

Sunday is the big day. It's the National Capital Area's Tour de Cure in support of the American Diabetes Association. At this point, I am riding the half century (+4 miles) plus an additional ten or so miles from my house to the start/finish and back home which will equal a metric century. It'll be the farthest distance I've ridden even if I'm able to do only the "official" route. I'm nervous about this -- dull surprise -- but I will ride with the knowledge that the donors to my fundraising efforts and the people for whom I riding in memory of and in honor of will be with me in spirit.

I made these tags to attach to my bike as a visual reminder of those who live and have lived with diabetes. If you donated and wish for me to include the name(s) of someone(s) special, please let me know in the comments or by email (melaniesuzanne AT gmail DOT com).

THANK YOU to everyone who has donated and/or cheered me on. You are all fantastic people and my life (and the lives of those who will be helped by the ADA) are better for knowing you.

Getting closer to the big day

It's only 31 days until the National Capital Tour de Cure and I'm at 85% of my fundraising goal of $1,000. THANK YOU to those dear folks who have donated to this worthy cause and who are supporting me on this journey. If you feel so included to help me reach my personal goal and help the American Diabetes Association with their goal of eliminating diabetes, please click the link below. And if you donate, please comment here or there with the name of someone you would like for me to ride in honor or in memory of. My bike will be adorned with ribbons emblazoned with the names of those loved ones. I'm also happily accepting "atta girl!"s. :)

I've decided to ride the 50 mile route -- it's actually 54.7 miles -- plus the twelve or so mile round trip from home to the start/finish line. That'll put me at just over a metric century which, at this point, will be a challenge but won't damage me. This Saturday will offer another chance at a decent training ride as Bike Me DC again conducts the crowd favorite "Fireworks Pizza Ride". The group will ride from Raflo Park in Leesburg to the trail head in Purcellville and back with a group lunch at Fireworks Pizza in Market Station. If I'm feeling especially spry and sassy, I will ride from home to the meet-up and back which should give me just about 47 miles when I include riding to and from the pizza joint. The temperature isn't supposed to be stinking hot like the past few days, but it'll be the warmest I've felt while riding for distance. Good training for the first weekend of June when it's usually REALLY stinking hot. Heh, spending Memorial Day weekend in New Orleans may actually benefit me by reminding me what REAL heat and humidity are like.

In semi-related news, a dear friend (hi Barb!) has signed up to ride in the Tour de Cure as well. I am incredibly proud of her for taking this step and getting out there. I've promised to be a gentle-yet-firm coach and help her get up to speed, so to speak, to prepare for the Fun Ride. Riding the trails together in her neck of the 'burbs will be a lot of fun.

Paul's Ride for Life & Cyclefest

This past Saturday was the fourth annual Paul's Ride for Life and sixth annual Cyclefest Expo in Reston, VA. Since we were riding the twenty mile route, we took our time getting ready and hit the trail just before 8:30am for the five mile ride to Reston Town Center via the W&OD. The skies were sunny when we left the house, but the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped significantly before we even got to Herndon. Check-in at the RTC pavilion was smooth and as we snapped photos of each other, two members of the Bike Me DC club joined us and we hit the trail.

This was the least blurry photo.

Yes, we dress to match our bikes.

The ride itself was pretty easy -- I mean, a third of the route was my usual commute and we've both traveled the entire route many, many times -- and everybody from volunteers to ride participants were enthused and high-spirited despite the chilly temperature. Most people alerted a pass with a "Good morning!" rather than the standard "On your left!" Lots of families joined the ride with kids on trail-a-bikes, in baby seats, or in trailers. One man even had a chihuahua in his front basket. Poor little guy looked chilly despite his fluffy jacket.  The rest stops were nicely appointed, but some hot cocoa would have been a nice touch. I was so cold when we left the second rest stop and headed back towards Reston that I suggested we stop by our house and get some warmer clothes. Mother Nature must've been listening, though, because the temperature shot up a few degrees and the wind dropped enough that I actually had a good sweat going by the time we got to our jumping-off spot. We decided to continue without stopping.

Rest stop #2 at W&OD and Claiborne Parkway.

When we got back to Reston Town Center, the Ride for Life volunteers were in celebration mode and the Cyclefest Expo was in full swing. We visited for a long while with a couple of women representing Tri Team Z. Scott's interested in triathlons and this looked like a great group with whom to get involved. He signed up for more information and will probably attend one of their next meetings.

I chatted with a representative of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling a bit. They've organized a ride from a Reston Park-n-Ride to the Udvar-Hazy center this coming Saturday (available to WABA members only for insurance reasons). I'd love to participate, but I've already committed to another ride out to Purcellville. The rep said that this was the first of what will hopefully become a regular ride; I hope he's right because it sounds like fun. We also discussed the issues that we suburban cyclists have which differ from our urban counterparts such as faster-moving traffic, limited access roadways, and scarcity of cyclists which means that drivers aren't as aware that we're on the roads. I also stopped by the Friends of the W&OD tent and asked how one becomes a friend of the trail. Seeing as how I use it for business and pleasure, I feel like I should give back, you know?

By this point, Scott's and my teeth were chattering and we decided it was time to head home. We'd been given coupons for a free water bottle from The Bike Lane and we swooped by the shop for swag before hitting the trail to go back home where there was hot showers, fluffy PJs, and lots of napping with warm cats.

According to an email sent out by the event organizers, 460 riders participated on Saturday and by all accounts, everyone had a pretty good time. I know that we enjoyed ourselves and will be back again next year. I may even feel comfortable enough riding one-handed on Circe that I can take some pics on the road.

Paul's Ride for Life

This coming Saturday is the fourth annual Paul's Ride for Life in Reston, VA. According to the event's website, this ride is dedicated to the memory of a cyclist, Paul Rossmeissl, who died in June 2006 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident on the W&OD. Paul's unfortunate death allowed three organ recipients to live. All proceeds from the ride go to the Washington Regional Transplant Community. 



If you're localish, this event might be of interest. It looks like Saturday is going to be pretty nice for cycling with overcast skies and a high of 55F. Well, it'll be nice for me as I prefer chillier days. Scott and I are being punks and riding the twenty mile route, but we are going to ride our bikes to and from the event which will put another ten miles onto the day for us.

In addition to the ride, the sixth annual Cyclefest Expo will be going on from 10a-3p in Reston Town Center. "Multiple vendors"? Oh, yeah; I'm there. Although, I'll be on the Dolce which doesn't have much in the way of cargo capacity... Hrm. I suppose putting Lily's metal or Kate's wicker basket on Circe would be the peak of silliness.

Training

It's T-minus 58 days to the Reston, VA, edition of the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure and I am at 61% of my $1,000 fundraising goal. Based on promised donations by family members, I'm going to get pretty darn close to my goal and may actually have to ride the full century plus the ten mile round trip to and from the Tour starting/ending point. This mileage calls from serious training because, at this point, I've put only twenty miles in one trip on my road bike.

Luckily, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow and I will take advantage of that blessing by getting my booty in the saddle and taking a long ride. My goal is to ride to Rosslyn/Arlington and back which is about fifty miles round trip. Should be fun!

Eastern half of the W&OD. Source.

I've thought of doing something additional for my charity ride for the American Diabetes Association. If you have donated to my effort and have someone you would like for me to ride in honor of (including yourself) or in memory of, I will write your/their name on a ribbon and attach it to my bike for awareness of just how many people around us are touched by this disease.

More thanks

My apologies for the tardiness of this post. Many, many thanks to G.E. of Endless Velo Love for the donation to my fundraising effort for the American Diabetes Association. You've helped put me at 33% of my goal of $1,000 by June 3rd, 2012. THANK YOU!

I'm currently registered for the metric quarter-century route because that's the distance my teammates are riding. However, I want to put my booty where the money is -- or something like that -- and equalize the route mileage with the funds raised. If the Tour de Cure folks will let me change my registration thusly, I will ride 50+ miles for $500 raised, 75+ miles for $750, and 100+ miles for the full $1,000 enchilada. We all know I can do fifty without blinking an eye. Seventy-five and one hundred will require some training, chafing, and possibly tears.

Come on. You know you want to make a girl cry.

Thank you!

Many, many thanks to Rootchopper of A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel for the donation to my fundraising effort for the American Diabetes Association. You've helped put me at 18% of my goal. THANK YOU!

In other news, today's commute was another glorious one. There was a light, warm breeze for most of the trip and birdsong filled the air. I even stopped to listen to a robin perched on the branch of a bare tree. At first I though he was a cardinal because I could see only bright red, but then he turned and I saw the definitive robin profile and brown wings. A couple of commuters smiled at my floral basket (or maybe my bare knees when my skirt hiked up a bit).

Speaking of the skirt, I noticed absolutely no Mary Poppins effect on Smith Switch and Waxpool. In fact, I got more crowded and squished against the curb than usual with vehicles accelerating and passing aggressively. I get more space in jeans and a windbreaker! Hmph. And I am NOT going helmetless to see if that "helps".

I've decided to rename the Ariel as "Lily". I find it rolls off the tongue more easily, and I'm pretty fond of lilies. I'll refrain from renaming her "Tulip" or "Hydrangea" in the future. Maybe.

Putting my cycling to good use

Because some family members and close friends are living with diabetes, and I have flirted with being diagnosed myself, I am riding in this year's National Capital Tour de Cure and raising money for the American Diabetes Association.

Please visit my page if you are able to help me reach my goal of $1,000. I am grateful for anything you are able to give, even if it's just an "atta girl!" :)




Thank you!