A great day to ride

It was absolutely perfect to be out riding today. We had a team ride in Holland that left from Coach Mike's house. The route was basically half the Holland Hundred in reverse. We rode through Saugatuck, past Hutchens Lake, then Fennville and New Richmond. We had about 30 riders out on the roads. I did the shorter of the two routes, knocking out 43 miles. That gives me my first 100 mile week. The Killington ride takes place 7 weeks from yesterday, so it feels good to finally be getting some serious miles in.

Remembering Rod Stephens

Rod and Diana Stephens at the Whitefish JDRF Ride in 2007

The JDRF family lost an important member recently. Rod Stephens, former JDRF board member and Ride Team member in 2005 and 2007, passed away on July 3rd after a long battle with cancer. Rod worked for Herman Miller and was instrumental in that company becoming a sponsor of the West Michigan Ride Team. Rod was a great guy and will be missed by all who knew him.
I first met Rod when we served on the JDRF Board together, shortly after our sons had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Our families got together a number of times over the years and it was fun to watch the kids grow up. Rod didn't ride with us in 2006 because of his cancer, but he recovered and rode in the Whitefish, Montana ride in 2007. Even when the cancer returned last year Rod maintained a positive attitude. I will miss Rod and our families prayers go out to his family.

A memorial service will be held this evening at Fellowship Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan.

Jake's Music Festival

While we are preparing for the ride in August (20 miles for Mary yesterday, 16 miles for Tom today) we are also preparing for a great evening and our major fundraiser. I'm talking about Jake's Music Festival. This is an evening of music featuring independent bands from West Michigan who donate their time to the JDRF cause. This year marks our fifth annual event. The show happens on September 19, 2009 at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. We just confirmed all the bands and we have a dynamite line-up. There is a link to our Music Fest blog on the left or you can just click here for more information.

Beautiful Sunday Ride

Today was a great day to ride. Warm, sunny and only a little breezy. Mary and I rode all the way into Grand Rapids and went to the Fulton Street ARTisans Market. Lots of really cool artsy things there and we saw our friend Karen Schuler, who makes really nice purses. We rode the WPT south past the ball park and crossed the river at North Park. Then we rode thru Riverside Park and turned east on Knapp. We took Knapp all the way to Diamond and turned south. Crossing Michigan St. was a little dicey, but not bad on a Sunday afternoon. We next turned east on Fountain and in two blocks found ourselves at the market. For the route home we basically took Fulton down to Monroe then hooked back up with the trail in Riverside Park and backtracked home. Urban riding is very different than riding the nice quiet country roads we usually frequent. I'm not sure I would want to do this on a weekday with normal traffic. Although some good news on that front. Monroe is almost done being repaved and they've added a bike lane from Leonard St. to Ann St.
I also rolled over 500 miles for this year's training. Not nearly enough considering how soon the big ride is, but I'll be putting in lots of miles over the next six weeks.

Getting back into it

We have not done a lot of riding lately because of work and vacation. However, vacation is done, see the family photo from Olympic National Park in Washington. And work, while busy, is not the all consuming beast it was before we left on our trip. So now it's about the ride. The Ride to Cure Diabetes. We leave in about 7 weeks and I have to admit I don't feel ready. But I intend to get a lot of miles in between now and then.
Yesterday I rode the WPT south around Whitecaps park. Today Mary and I went north on the trail all the way to Cedar Spring and back. We were on a scouting mission for the 6 x 46. More on that ride later.
Also, the first JDRF ride of the year took place last weekend in Sonoma. A couple of first time riders we know from Tennessee took part. You can read about their story by clicking here. There are also photos of the ride posted here. I have to admit I like the new green and blue jerseys.

Happy, Happy

Happy Father's Day. Happy first day of summer. Happy happy joy joy.
We went out to Lowell to visit my parents this afternoon and took our bikes along. The kids drove the car home and Mary and I rode home. It was a nice 17 mile ride with a few hills, but more down than up. We took Lincoln Lake Road north to 3 Mile west to Alden Nash. Then we went across the south side of Murray Lake and hooked with 5 Mile. As we got closer to home and 5 Mile becomes Cannonsburg we turned north on Blakely and then west on 7 Mile. We got to go down the infamous 7 Mile Hill. Mary hit 39.8 miles per hour and I managed 42.2 mph. Big fast fun!

Ride photos

Here's one shot of the West Michigan Ride Team as we buzz around Hutchins Lake on our 48 mile ride this past Sunday. You can see more photos at our Google photo site. Just click HERE.

Feelin' Good

I had an unintentional athletic layoff. Between Jake's graduation open house and traveling for work, I didn't ride my bike, play basketball or work out at the gym for a week and a half. I was concerned that the 50 mile team ride yesterday was going to be very tough. But an amazing thing happened. I felt good. Really good. I kept a great pace. My back didn't hurt (which has been a problem this year). And I finished with a little energy (not much) to spare. I was quite surprised, then I figured it out. By taking that time off I actually gave my body a chance to heal. Imagine that. Not getting beat upon on the basketball court by 20 somethings and chasing crazy Melanie through forests on our mountain bikes gave me a chance to recuperate. Now it's time to go out and start beating on my body again. Killington is only 11 weeks away.

This one goes to 11

Mary played bike commuter today. Actually she didn't play it, she did it. She rode her bike the 11 miles to work early this morning, traveling mostly on Grand River Drive. And then she returned home this evening, via Bianchi bicycle, another 11 miles.
I went out to the Owasippe Scout Reservation near White Lake for some mountain bike riding. I met up with Ride teammates Derek, Amy, and Melanie. We did an 11 mile loop. (again with the 11) It was a great route and a fairly tough ride. Melanie was cranking full speed on the down hills. I was using a little more caution, being my first time at this particular spot. We all had a great time on a very beautiful day.

Festival Show Times

The screening times for the Festival Film Competition have been announced. Since our documentary was one of the award winners it will be shown all three days of Festival. All showings take place at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Show times may vary slightly.
Friday, June 5 - 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, June 6 - 3:35 p.m.
Sunday, June 7 - 3:35 p.m.
So this is an excellent opportunity to see the film if you haven't had the chance yet, or if you'd like to see it again. Plus, like everything else at Festival, it's free admission. For more information check out www.festivalgr.org.