Press Coverage

There is a great article in today's Grand Rapids Press, and on MLive, about the Grand Rapids Bicycle Film Festival. The trailer for "More Than 100 Miles" will be shown and I was interviewed by the Press writer for being a local film maker participating in the Festival.
The best part though was to see one of my photos of our team in Death Valley printed big as life in the GR Press.
The Film Festival takes place on Saturday, February 7 at Wealthy Theatre, doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more info click here.
To read the full article on MLive click here.
Hope to see everyone next weekend at the festival.

Killington here we come!

We are officially registered for the JDRF ride in Killington, Vermont. The ride takes place on August 29, 2009. That is 6 weeks earlier than the last four years when we've ridden in Death Valley. So that moves up our training and fund raising deadlines. Once the weather warms up (and it will warm up someday, right?), we'll be doing longer rides earlier in the season. To prepare for that Mary is riding her trainer this winter and I'm working out at the gym. From a fund raising stand point the on-line donation pages are up and running. If you'd like to donate to me click here. If you'd like to donate to Mary click here. We also have links on the left side of this page. Thanks in advance for helping us fund the search for a cure to diabetes.

Watching paint dry...

...also known as video editing. We have been working on editing the documentary pretty extensively this week. It is a long slow process, as we have hours and hours of riding footage to go through, plus many excellent interviews. Right now we are concentrating on the Asheville Ride. It's amazing watching that event again and seeing all the West Michigan riders. They are nervous at the start, working hard during the ride, and emotional at the end. We've already built quite a bit of the training/fundraising section and next we move on to the Death Valley Ride. We are still on schedule to have a world premiere before spring. So keep a eye on this blog for more details as they become available.

Baby it's cold outside

This recent cold snap of sub-zero temperatures has made outdoor training non-existent. I know there are several members of our ride team who cycle outside regardless of the weather conditions. We have a name for those people. Insane. We have been getting our fitness work done inside however. I went to the gym last night and played basketball and lifted weights. I do that at least 2 or 3 times a week in the winter months. It's quite a workout shooting hoops with guys 20 and 30 years younger than ones self. Mary was on her trainer again last night. She logged 5 more miles on her indoor ride to Vermont. Actually our son Ian was jumping on her trainer over the weekend. At 13 he's the right height for Mary's bike, but he wears my cycling shoes. The kid is like a puppy. When he grows into his feet, watch out!

Grand Rapids Bicycle Film Festival

The trailer for our documentary will be shown at the Grand Rapids Bicycle Film Festival on February 7. The festival takes place at Wealthy Theatre from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The event is a fund raiser for the Western Michigan Mountain Bike Association. If you're on Facebook (and who isn't these days?) here's a link to more info about the evening. It sounds like a great time with several bike related films. So please stop on down and get a chance to see the "More Than 100 Miles" trailer on the big screen.

Training & movies

Mary got on her new trainer for the first time yesterday. She set it up in front of the TV in the basement and rode about five miles while watching the cycling movie Breaking Away. We watched this 1979 bike classic during our first JDRF trip to Death Valley. On the bus ride from the Las Vegas airport to Death Valley Coach Mike popped in the DVD of the movie. The rest of the weekend had a sort of Italian feel. It was capped off near the end of the ride when a female tourist from Genoa asked Joe Schmieder for directions. Watch the movie and you'll understand the reference. Also, it stars a very young Dennis Quaid in a supporting role.

Welcome to 2009

Mary used some of her Christmas money to buy a trainer from VeloCity in Holland. She bought it yesterday and I set it up in the basement today. Her goal is to ride 745 miles on the trainer this winter. That is the distance between our house and Killington, Vermont. Then once the weather gets nice she plans on riding 745 miles outdoors. In other words, to Killington and back before we ever get there for the actual ride. Mike Clark talked to her about watching these real cool race DVD's while she trained. Mary commented that she'd probably be watching "The Sound of Music". I personally rode for 15 minutes at the gym on Saturday morning. Yuck.
Good luck to Mary, the trainer is not my idea of a good time.