ACC (and we ain't talkin' college basketball)

A foggy morning at the start of the ACC

The Apple Cider Century was a great ride this past Sunday. The weather was gorgeous. It didn't rain and temperatures ranged from cool in the morning to pleasantly warm in the afternoon. Mary and I rode with a bunch of our JDRF Ride team mates. She did the metric century (61 miles) with Brian and Heather, while I completed the full 100 miles with Mike, Linda, Cathy, and John.

Mike and Cathy on the tandem, Linda chasing them

It felt great to get a century ride in this year. I was very disappointed after Killington having ridden only 62 miles. I know nobody else felt that way, but I tend to be my own harshest critic. Not only did I complete my seventh century ride on Sunday, I did it in my best time ever, just a shade over 8 hours. That was probably my last big ride of the season. Our Death Valley team mates leave for their ride in just a little over two weeks. I wish them warm sunny skies and minimal winds.

Tom and Mary after their respective century rides

Over 6000

Today I rolled over 6000 miles on my Cannondale. The computer showed 6017.5 at the end of today's 24 mile ride on the White Pine Trail. That's in just a little over 4 years. But considering I don't put many miles on that bike from November through March that's a pretty good number.
September has turned into the nicest month of our summer. Warm and dry during the day, not to mention sunny, then cooling off at night. Unfortunately, it's also dark by 8:30, so it's getting hard to get those post work/dinner rides in. We are registered to ride in the Apple Cider Century next Sunday. My plan is to do the full century since I don't have one yet this year. I'm hoping next Sunday is as nice as this Sunday.

Great day for a ride

Even though our JDRF ride is completed we still have team members who will be riding in Death Valley in October. So we are still participating in team rides. Today's was a nice 42 mile ride with several rolling hills. The ride started from Townsend Park and we were running late. By the time we arrived the team had already taken off. Fortunately they left a tip sheet and route map for us. I took a quick look, recognized the route so Mary and I took off north up Ramsdell Road. The route called for a loop that ended at 9 Mile Road, so we figured we'd ride the route backwards at that point and meet up with the team instead of trying to catch them. When we got to 9 Mile I took a closer look at the tip sheet and realized the team had started south on Ramsdell. We had ridden 4 miles in the wrong direction. So we turned around and backtracked the route eventually meeting up with the team on Honey Creek. So we turned around and rode the second half of the route with our buddies. They all ended up doing 45 miles, we only managed 42. It was a perfect day to be out, much better than the last time we all got together for a ride.

Jake's Music Festival on 09/19/09

Photo by Kevin Owens

Jake's Music Festival takes place in just 8 days. This is our fifth annual celebration of local music. We have a great line up of bands featuring everything from family friendly groups at 5:00 to some of the hottest bands in the area. You can find a full listing of bands at our festival blog.

Thanks to our main sponsors Frames Unlimited and Magic Hat #9. Because of them 100% of all ticket sales goes directly to our local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. And those tickets are only $8 this year. We'll also be having a silent auction and adult beverages at the newly renovated Wealthy Theatre concession stand.

Some come early and stay all night, or just drop in to check out one or two bands. Either way you'll have a great time.

Waiting for the return of my Cannondale

The ride in Killington did some very bad things to my road bike. It's in the shop getting four new brake pads, a new chain and a new cassette. Parts had to be ordered so I've been without my black and red beauty for almost a week. Luckily the old (as in heavy) mountain bike is still working, so I took that out over the weekend.

Abandoned gas station along the Kal-Haven Trail.

Mary and I and our son Ian, along with our friend Susan, rode the Kal-Haven Trail on Sunday. We started on the South Haven end and did about 15 miles. It's a flat gravel trail that was quite popular on Labor day weekend. It was great to get out on a perfect riding day. My Cannondale should be ready tomorrow, so I'll have it in time for this Sunday's team ride. Even though we are done with Vermont we still have about 10 West Michigan Riders heading for Death Valley. Ahh... heat.

Rain, rain go away

We are back from a very wet, very cold ride. The good news is that the Killington Ride to Cure Diabetes raised over 1.3 million dollars. There were over 330 riders assembled in the Green Mountains of Vermont for this epic event. The route was very interesting and quite beautiful.

The bad news is it rained. A lot. And it was very cold. On Saturday we were picking up the remnants of tropical storm Danny and two storm fronts from the Midwest. It rained all day and it was cold. The high temperature maybe hit 54. Not exactly the best riding conditions. To top it off the ride started with a very steep, dangerously slick 4 mile long downhill. Then we crossed a busy intersection and went down for another 8 miles. The wind from that descent along with the wetness increased the feeling of cold. By the time we got to the first break point I was chilled to the bone. The cold, wet, wind and lack of pedaling conspired to give me a very bad day.

Frozen Tom and cheery Mary at the Metric Century turnaround.

By the second break point I was violently shaking. I wanted to turn around, but thought that if I could just pedal harder and get my heart rate up I'd be able to get my core temperature up. Didn't work. I just kept getting colder. I can't remember ever feeling so bad on a bike. Even when I ended up in the med tent after the '07 Death Valley Ride I didn't feel as bad.

The third rest stop was the turn around point for the metric century ride (100 kilometers or 62 miles). Mary was with me and we decided to head back. I was actually happy, knowing there would be some climbing on the way back, thinking I would finally get warm. With about 23 miles to go I was in very bad shape, probably close to hypothermia. Our coach, Mike Clark, happened upon us and traded me his jacket for my vest. That one small act probably enabled me to finish the ride under my own power instead of in the SAG wagon.

Finishing early in the day does have it's rewards. We were able to watch most of our team mates cross the finish line. It was great to see so many do so well under pretty rotten conditions. But at the same time, I felt a bit of emptiness. 62 miles on a bad day is a pretty decent accomplishment. But my goal was to do the full 100. As people that I've trained with all summer crossed the line, beaming at their just completed century, I didn't feel like I was fully sharing their joy.

Watching out for Vermont wildlife on one of the final climbs of the day.

I know that given what was happening to my body, the wisest thing to do was to cut my ride short. But what bothers me is that I was able to stop when I was having bad day. My son has bad days with diabetes and he doesn't have the option of stopping. He can't say "I'm tired of diabetes. I won't deal with it anymore today." So my Killington experience was not everything I had hoped for.

This was my fifth JDRF ride. It was the first time I didn't complete the century. I will be riding again next year and the year after and every year until we find a cure. Thanks again to all my team mates out there on the road and to all our sponsors and donors. And thanks most of all to the young man who inspires me to do this crazy ride thing. Love you Jake.

Killington here we come!

We have finished six months of training in preparation for this Saturday. That's over 1000 miles in the saddle and over $6,000 raised. It's all for one purpose, to find a cure for diabetes.

Twelve years ago, on September 19, 1997, we were told that our then six year old son Jake had Type 1 diabetes. We were, like most parents, completely unprepared for that diagnosis. The following year was a blur as we learned the procedures we would need to follow in order to keep our son alive. The carefree days of Jake's childhood had suddenly turned into a life and death struggle. One of the most insidious aspects of diabetes is that on the outside the diabetic looks fine. But without daily insulin injections that person will die. Even with proper care the diabetic may develop complications that can lead to blindness, kidney failure and amputation.

We have never been the type of people who sit back and say "Why us?" when we get thrown life's curve balls. We are more likely to say "How do we fix it?" So when Jake was diagnosed, we set out to fix the problem. Neither Mary or I are doctors so we aren't going to find the cure on our own, but we can help raise money and awareness so that the doctors who will find the cure will have the resources to accomplish that goal. Therefore, we ride our bikes through the desert or the mountains in order to raise money to fund research. The donations of our family, friends and people we don't even know have already helped immeasurably.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year and in past years. Whether you are a rider, a researcher, or a financial supporter remember this - we will be known as the people who cured diabetes.

Bye Bye Bikes

We dropped our bikes off at VeloCity Cycles in Holland last night. Today they get loaded in the bike trailer and start the trip to Vermont. Coach Mike and Jeremy will be driving them through Canada to save time. That could make for an interesting exchange with the border guard. "Anything to declare?" "Just these 40 expensive road bikes." "How long will you be in Canada?" "Just a few hours." "Step out of the vehicle, please."
Then at midnight on Wednesday the majority of the team will follow in a charter bus. With any luck we'll probably get the same customs agent. "Anything to declare?" "Yeah, some guys stole all our bikes. Have you seen them?" "Step out of the bus, please."

WGVU-FM interview

Here is a link to the interview I did on WGVU-FM last Friday. Thanks to Shelly Irwin of the Morning Show for supporting our ride. There is also a link in the link list on the left.

Tom, Mary, Susan and Elvin at Lake Michigan halfway through our 39 mile ride.