A Great Spring Weekend

This past weekend was so fantastic that it took me until today to write about it. To start with Jake and my buddy Roy both rolled into town last Thursday night. Jake was here for the music festival and Roy was here to visit with everyone he knows that lives east of the Mississippi River. We all went out to dinner Thursday night and had a good time.

On Friday, Roy headed north to visit his son and Jake and I were on two different radio stations to talk about Jake's Music Festival. We had lunch at Harmony Hall on Grand Rapids' west side. When we got home we did a little music festival work and then rode bikes up to Rockford Brewing and enjoyed a pint in the sun. It was a beautiful day for a 10 mile ride with a beer stop in the middle.

Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish at Jake's Music Festival

Saturday was the big day. Jake's Music Festival is our major fundraiser. The show takes place at Wealthy Theatre and we had 12 different acts performing. The crowd was fantastic and the bands did a great job. In this, our 12th year, we raised a little over $5,000. You can see more photos on our Facebook page.

Almost 50 people showed up for the first JDRF West Michigan outdoor team ride

Sunday was the best day we've had in months. Almost 80 degrees, sunny and very little wind. Sounds like a great day for a bike ride. So Mary and I headed headed to Grandville for the first JDRF team ride of the year. We had almost 50 people show up. That makes it the largest first ride ever and one of the largest team rides of all time. I'd say that bodes well for this upcoming season. We rode 29 miles, with the second half of the route being quite hilly. Check out the details from Map My Ride. As a side note, when we got home I power washed the patio.

Monday came. I went to work and Mary took Jake to the bus station so he could head back to Chicago. It was a long, very tiring, very fun weekend. 2016 is going to be a great year.

First outdoor ride of 2016

The weather has been very un-March-like for the past week. Warm and sunny, not what you'd expect in Michigan this time of year. In fact, last year on this date we still had 4 foot high snow banks on the side of our driveway. Today, I finally got a chance to take advantage of the nice weather and hopped on my bike for a short ride.

It's almost become a tradition that my first ride of the year is on the White Pine Trail. I could feel the long layoff in my legs as I headed north toward Rockford on a very slight uphill grade. I've been on the trainer some over the winter, but I probably averaged 20 minutes a week. Not exactly keeping the fitness level up there. Today I rode up to 13 Mile Road before turning around. The way home is always easier because that slight uphill is now a slight downhill. When I'm in mid-season form I can usually do the homeward leg 5 miles per hour faster with about half the effort. Today, not so much. See my earlier comment about the long layoff.

It felt great to be riding outside again. It was partly sunny, no wind, and about 60 degrees. I ended up with 17 miles total. I always feel good when I can get some miles in while it's still technically winter. Yes, I know I could ride in the winter like several of my team mates. But when it's 20 degrees and snowing I'm staying inside.

33 weeks until the JDRF Ride on Amelia Island.

Back in the saddle

And we start year number 12 of riding to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. When we started this ride our son Jake was a 13 year old middle schooler who had been diagnosed with T1D seven years earlier. We heard about the Ride to Cure Diabetes and along with a dozen or so people from West Michigan we embarked on training for first ride in Death Valley. Along the way we ridden thousands of miles and raised tens of thousands of dollars for diabetes research.

This year we will be taking part in the JDRF ride on Amelia Island in Florida. This will be the largest ride ever for JDRF with 600 particpants. We took part in the largest ride ever up until now, that was in Nashville in 2013. That ride had a little over 500 riders. The Amelia Island ride has the potential to be the first ride to raise $2,000,000. That is something we want to be part of.

The weather still isn't conducive to outdoor cycling, but we have done some indoor training rides. We're hoping the groundhog was right and that we'll have an early Spring. I have a personal goal of 1,500 miles this season.

Speaking of goals, Mary and I have a fundraising goal of $5,000 each. That's $10,000 for the two of us. Ian is not riding this year, something about being in his senior year of college. So dear reader, you only have to pick between two of us this time around. On the left side of this page you'll see two links; Donate to Mary and Donate to Tom. Please make a contribution to the Scheidel you like best.

Eight months until JDRF Ride #12.

Thank you to our donors

With the JDRF Ride season winding down and November being National Diabetes Awareness Month, this seemed like a good time to thank everyone who donated to our ride this year. The list below is probably not complete. For example, it doesn't show people who dropped cash into the donation jar at Jake's Music Festival. Remember though that we value each and every contribution. Every donation gets us one step closer to finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. The people listed below helped us raise $9,000 this year. Thank you very much to each and every one.

Barbara Robinson
Thomas & Florence Scheidel
Christine Behrens
Paul & Brenda Schab
Chris Radford
Chris & Paula Briggs
Wayland Christian Reformed Church
Janet Englerth
Karen Klienheksel
Perrin Brewing Company
Jim & Susan Hayes
Michael & Nancy Walenta
Leo Isaguirre
Megan Bean
Tod More
Kim Summers
Amanda Schab
X-Cel Chemical Specialties Company
Stacy Woock
Daniel Dillion
David & Rebecca Behrens
David Pasciak
Mark & Maria Gillette
Michele & Dan Terpstra
Dennis & Kim Moline
Henry & Mary Wieten
Mary Ellen Koziol
Bill & Ginger Young
Mike & Jean Oele
Roy Dodman
Sue Helmer
Thinking of Kayla, Trevor and Vanessa
Joe & Mary Powell

Rain in the Valley

Last weekend the Death Valley version of the Ride to Cure Diabetes took place. Seven of the eleven JDRF rides I've done have been out there. I rode in LaCrosse this year, but 12 of our team mates were in DV. This year was unlike any other. They had rain. Lots of rain. In fact the LaCrosse ride was hotter and drier than Death Valley. Over a 10 day period Death Valley got as much rain as they normally get in three years. And the Ride to Cure Diabetes was right in the middle of that.

Clouds and puddles in Death Valley. Photo by Katie Clark.

 

In a normal year the route heads out of the Furnace Creek Ranch and heads toward Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the world at 282 feet below sea level. After Badwater the route continues to the top of Jubilee Pass, which is 1,300 feet above sea level. The the riders all turn around and ride back to the ranch, finishing with 100 miles under their tires. This year however the road to Badwater was closed because of flooding. Flooding in the desert. We've hiked a few of the canyons in Death Valley and have seen the way the water carves our the rock. But we've hardly ever seen a cloud, much less any rain. The rain came down last weekend and the route had to be changed to roads that were mostly open.

As the riders exited Furnace Creek Ranch they turned left instead of the usual right and headed toward Stovepipe Wells. This took them by the sand dunes before they turned to ride to Scotty's Castle. Because of the weather the start of the ride was delayed and the route shortened. The full ride was only 70 miles. One of our riders wanted to go back out to get the full century, but the JDRF staff wasn't letting anyone back on the course once they finished. The weather was just too unpredictable. At one point the riders had to stop so a "mud plow" could scrap the mud and standing water off the road so the ride could continue. As soon as the road was cleared water started flowing over it again.

Last Saturday was not the typical Death Valley experience for the 300 riders who were there. But one thing was typical. The DV Ride raised $1,500,000 for diabetes research. A big thank you to all the riders and donors.

A beautiful day to ride

The problem with doing our big JDRF ride in August is that it lowers my motivation to do a lot of riding in September and October. If I was part of the group that will be riding in Death Valley this coming weekend I'd be training heavily. Since we got back from LaCrosse I've only been on my bike a few times (and I've posted here even less). Today it was just too nice not to be out on my bike. 73 and sunny in October is not to be missed. I planned on doing about 20 miles. As I started north on the White Pine Trail I really didn't have a route in mind. I passed through Rockford, carefully avoiding the seemingly thousands of people also out enjoying the sunshine. I decided to ride up to Indian Lakes Road and turn west. This meant travelling directly into a very strong wind. No problem since I would soon be turning south. I turned on Edgerton Road and realized I was riding one of my favorite loops backwards. I also noticed that the wind had shifted to the south. Again, no problem because this route has lots of turns and hills that should block the wind. Nope. Once I got off the WPT I pretty much had a headwind until I got to the home stretch. As I made my way through the loop to House Drive my odometer rolled to 20 miles and I was still at least five miles from home. Once again no problem, because after I climbed up to Pine Island Drive the rest of the route was downhill or flat. I ended up with 26 miles. That gives me 998 miles for the year. A fairly low total but if the weather stays like this I'm sure I'll be able to break 1,000.

Mountain biking in the wilderness

Nurnberg Lake in the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness

This past Sunday Mary and I went north to one of our favorite places in the world. We camped at the Lake Michigan Recreation Area, halfway between Ludington and Manistee and right next to the Nordhouse Dunes National Wilderness. We brought our mountain bikes and went riding along the old fire trails and dirt roads. It wasn't particularly strenuous but it was interesting, especially when we rode past a guy that was sighting in his rifle.

One of the spots I've always wanted to see up here in Nurnberg Lake. It's more like a large pond, but the only way to get to it is either by hiking or mountain bike. The lake is at the end of the wilderness area. If you go a couple hundred yards farther south you are in Ludington State Park. We parked our bikes along the shore of the lake and then walked along the "beach". The water level was very low, which is surprising since the Lake Michigan level is very high. After a few moments of sitting in the sun we got back on our bikes and returned to our campsite, ending up with 13.5 miles of riding.

Sunset on Lake Michigan

We finished the day by watching the sunset, having a delightful dinner of Dinty Moore beef stew, and caught an incredible sky show once it got dark. The moon had not risen and there is very little light pollution up there. We were able to lay out on the beach and gaze at the Milky Way and millions of stars. The most amazing thing was that the stars were so bright we could see a little bit, even without the moon. It was a great ending to a great day.

Ride number 11 is in the books

Eleven years ago I was serving on the board of the local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Our Executive Director came into a board meeting that spring and said "I'm riding for a cure in Death Valley in October. Who's going to do it with me?" And with that the West Michigan Team started. Last Saturday I did my eleventh ride for JDRF, this time in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

The official West Michigan team photo

West Michigan was well represented at the LaCrosse ride. There were 430 total riders and 43 of them were from our team. Most of us arrived on Thursday evening and got acclimated to the area. Our hotel was right along the Mississippi River and on Thursday night we were treated to a huge paddle wheel riverboat docked right outside our window.

The American Queen docked right outside our hotel.

Friday morning was the Rules of the Road meeting. This was much less intense than the meetings in Death Valley. I don't think they mentioned that you could die even once. After the meeting we did a little tune-up ride on a very nice bike path in downtown LaCrosse. A few of us also decided to ride across the bridge over the Mississippi that we would take on the official route Saturday morning. After the ride we changed and went up to the top of Granddad Bluff. This park offers a great view of the city and the surrounding valley. The Mississippi is not only an extremely long river, it's also very wide. In this part of Wisconsin the valley walls are studded with rock outcropping, very unlike you're typical upper Midwest topography. By the way, it was in the 90's on Friday afternoon. We took note of that in our planning for Saturday.

The view from Granddad Bluff of the bridge over the Mississippi.

Friday night we have the big pasta "carb-up" dinner and then the  West Michigan Team gets together to decorate our helmets. We discovered during our first JDRF ride in 2005 that when hundreds of cyclists are wearing the same jersey, black shorts and sunglasses its kind of hard to pick out your teammates on the road. So we starting adding matching sparkly decorations to our helmets to make ourselves more visible to each other. After we decorate we spend some time talking about why we do the ride. The stories are always inspiring, from the brand new cyclists on their first JDRF ride to the veterans that have been here since the beginning. We joke, we laugh, and even shed a few tears. Then it's to bed, because sunrise comes early.

Coach Kaat and Mary with their well decorated helmets.

As the sun came up Saturday morning over 400 JDRF riders were assembled along the banks of the Mississippi River. We rolled out in waves and headed for the bridge across the river. Once we crossed the Missisippi we were in Minnesota heading south toward Iowa. The irony of the Wisconsin ride is that the only part of the route that is in that state is the start and finish line. The route itself was relatively flat for a JDRF ride, with one notable exception. As you ride, the Mississippi is on your left and the hills and bluffs are to your right. Shortly after getting into Iowa we prepare for the "loop". This is a 20 mile stretch of road that serves to turn the riders back north. It starts with a three mile climb. It's not as steep or as long as the Jubilee Pass climb in Death Valley, but temperatures were getting to be Death Valley like. When we started climbing it was in the low 90's and the humidity was about six times what it is in DV. At times it felt like you were breathing hot soup. After the climb there was a series of rollers that got progressively higher. Then we made a right turn and were suddenly heading downhill at almost 40 miles per hour. All that elevation we gained was going away quickly and it was a blast.

Ian riding somewhere in Minnesota.

We had a plan when we started the ride. Go out quickly while it was cool, spend minimal time at the break points and get to the climb before the cut off time. We did all of that and then put the second half of the plan into place for the ride back. Slow down in the heat, use a pace line and cool down at the break points. This all went according to plan as well and we rolled back into LaCrosse with 16 members of the West Michigan Team. Mary and I both completed a full century. Ian wasn't feeling well but still rode 60 miles. Crossing the finish line and hearing all the cheers of the families, volunteers and our fellow riders was exhilarating.

Part of our paceline that eventually numbered 16 riders.

I also felt quite honored this year. The JDRF organization created a special jersey for everyone that had ridden in 10 rides or more. Mary and I, along with six of our teammates, received these jerseys. I don't know for sure, but I think we had more 10 ride jerseys than any other team at LaCrosse. We did some other amazing things as a team. Seven of our members completed their first century rides. We had five junior (under 18 years old) riders. Most importantly, we were part of a ride that raised $1,430,000 towards diabetes research.

10 ride jersey winners. Steve Clark, Mike Clark, Katie Clark, Derek Dykstra, Mary Scheidel, John Jasker, Tom Scheidel. Inset; Cindy Aley.

Thank you to everyone that has contributed and supported us, not just this year, but for the past 11 years. Our commitment is to keep riding until there is a cure for Type 1 diabetes. After a weekend like this we know the cure will be here soon.

Team Scheidel, Tom, Ian and Mary, riding to cure diabetes.

Team Scheidel is ready to roll

We had our final pre-LaCrosse team ride yesterday. Mary, Ian and I rode 24 very pleasant miles in the Fruit Ridge area of Kent County with several members of the West Michigan team. According to Map My Ride our average speed was 15.3 mph. Considering that it was a group ride with some rolling hills that is a pretty peppy pace. While I'd like to have more miles in  by now (I'm only a little over 700) I do feel ready for the LaCrosse ride. Yesterday the group rode well together and I was feeling strong.

We leave Thursday morning for Wisconsin. We'll have dinner with the 400 other JDRF riders in attendance. On Friday morning there will be a Rules of the Road meeting and a short tune-up ride. Friday evening is the pre-ride dinner which is always very inspiring. Then at sun-up on Saturday morning we take the first pedal stroke of our 100 mile journey. Approximately 8 hours later we'll be done and a little bit closer to a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Ian, Mary and Tom are ready to ride in LaCrosse.

Thank you very much to everyone who has donated so far. We could still use a few more contributions before we head out. So if you are so inclined please click on one of the "Donate to..." links on the left side of this page. Thank you.

Longest ride of the year

On Sunday evening a big storm blew across west Michigan knocking down trees and knocking out power. We didn't lose any tree but we did lose power for about 6 hours. Luckily we had done our team ride earlier in the day, so even though it was windy we didn't get caught in the storm. Did I say it was windy? That might be the understatement of the summer. 20 mph sustained winds from the west, and the south, and occasionally the north, with stronger gusts. It was also very warm Sunday, with the thermometer hitting 90 degrees. And we rode 71 miles with 2,300 feet of climbing. It was a day to test one's metal.

The route left from Spring Grove Park in Jamestown. The ride was split into two loops. The first 30 mile started at 8:00 a.m. and the second 40 mile loop started at 11:00 a.m. Since my longest ride to this point was only 45 miles I decided to do both loops. The wind was blowing as we started, but thankfully most of the route ran north and south. So you would think a cross wind wouldn't be as bad as a head wind. You would be wrong. It was very difficult to hold a line when fighting an intense cross wind. It felt like I was having mechanical problems with my bike. But it was just the wind.

After we finished the 30 mile loop Mary joined us for the second loop. This one was also mostly north and south but still pretty difficult. In fact the winds kept getting stronger all day. In the evening we would know why. Between the hills and the wind our 12 person group got pretty stretched out on the Ottawa and Allegan county roadways. But we managed to get back together at stop signs and finished at roughly the same time.

It is now only 11 days until we ride in LaCrosse. I rode 75 miles last week and 71 on Sunday alone. While I don't feel in my best cycling shape ever, I think I'm good for the LaCrosse ride.

Remember, this is a fundraiser to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Please click on one of the "Donate to" links on the left side of the page and follow the easy directions. Thank you.