Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A nice afternoon ride

I got out on the bike for a solo training ride this afternoon. I started by heading up 7 Mile hill. It's a pretty tough climb and only one mile from the start, so you're not really warmed up yet when you hit it. But you are certainly warm by the top of the hill. I then rode north on Blakely to Kies. East on Kies to Meyers Lake Rd and then south to 9 Mile. That took me back to Blakely and then back down 7 Mile hill. It's a whole lot more fun going down and about 30 MPH faster. In all it was a 15 mile loop in about an hour. Lots of hill climbing which is really good at this point in the season.

In other news, Jake's Music Festival this past Saturday was a big success. We had more people in attendance, more sponsorship money and more donations than ever before. If you'd like to see some photos from the event click here.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Jake's Music Festival is this Saturday!

Jake's Music Festival takes place this Saturday at the Wealthy Theatre. We'll have some of the best local musicians performing from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. There's also going to be a silent auction, adult beverages on tap, and free cake samples. So come on over for a great time. A full line-up and more info can be found on our other blog. Just click here.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

First Team Ride

What a great day to be out on the bike. Today was our first JDRF West Michigan team ride of the season. We had about 25 team members there and rode 29 miles. We started in Grandville and then headed south through Jamestown and Burnips before turning east and then riding north to complete the loop. There were quite a few hills to negotiate but the weather made for a good time regardless.

Ian did a fantastic job. He pulled away from his Mom easily and finally dropped me about 25 miles in. He ended up finishing with the leaders. Must be all that soccer building up strong legs and good wind. He is going to do great in Death Valley.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Welcome to April

The weather has now turned more traditional April-ish (50s and rain) but the first few days were beautiful. I got some miles in and also got a bike for Ian. Well, it's just a loaner from Coach Mike until May, but it will help him get used to riding a road bike. By the way Mike, thanks for loaning him a bike that puts mine to shame. You are spoiling my kid!

We got Ian all kitted up; new bike shorts, a 2005 vintage red and yellow JDRF jersey,matching socks, my old Shimano shoes and some cool shades. With his red helmet he looked great on the orange, red and yellow Cannondale from Mike. We rode 16 miles on the White Pine Trail. I wanted a nice easy ride for his first time on a road bike. Ian couldn't get over how easy it was to pedal and how responsive the handling was. Way different than his too small hand-me-down mountain bike. He will be looking good for our first team ride this Sunday. By the way, if you'd like to donate to the little guy click on the link to the left or right here.