I am gearing up for next year's cancer fundraising ride. It will be called the Ride to Conquer Cancer and it will take place over two days (June 20 & 21) from Vancouver, BC to Seattle WA. A much bigger event than in the past, this ride will be challenging and a lot of fun.
I am in the process of trying to get a team together and I will start fundraising in earnest in the new year. I hope to post from time to time regarding my involvement and fundraising.
In the meantime, I am coming back from another cycling, overuse injury. I hope to be in full shape in a month or so then I can train for the distance. For now, it's short rides at an easy pace.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Westside Cycling Classic
On my fundraising page, I promised that I would post updates of my training on this blog. I neglected to do that. But, this is my report after a great weekend of cycling.
First, I surpassed my goal of $5000 raising $5283. Thank you to everyone who donated. I am going to try to think of ways to raise more next year.
This year, there were incentives for the top fundraisers. The single highest fundraiser won a trip for 2 to the Tour de France. Any other fundraisers who raised $10,000 was eligible to spend the day with celebrities and VIPs on the Saturday before the larger community ride. Regretably, no one raised $10,000. However, my name was drawn from a list of all fundraisers to join the Saturday festivities.
My day started with breakfast at the Wedgewood Hotel. I want to thank Philip Meyer and the Wedgewood for their gracious hospitality. The group consisted of the celebrity riders (Trevor Linden, Axel Merckx, Ross Rebagliati, Alex Seida and Derek Porter), representatives from key event sponsors and two individual fundraisers; myself and Andrew Gregory, the top fundraiser. We went on a 65 km ride to Whytecliffe Park and back, including a ring around Stanley Park. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a perfect ride. I particularly enjoyed the company of Andrew Gregory. Not only the top fundraiser, Andrew is a survivor of testicular cancer and a great man. I was truly honoured to ride along side of him. He also rides a BH bike - one more thing to like about him.
We went our own ways for the afternoon and met again at Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar for dinner. Again, I want to thank Blue Water for an amazing meal. We listened to inspiring speeches from persons connected to the Cancer Foundation and Agency. It was a wonderful evening.
Unfortunately, something in the meal did not sit right with me. I was up in the middle of the night with stomach cramps and I was not feeling 100% in the morning. But, I wasn't going to let a little pain get in my way. I was invited to join the breakaway group on the community ride. We broke away with a comptetive spirit. Soon, the better riders had split off from the rest of the community ride. We rode 3 laps of a 12 km course. On each lap, we fought stiff headwinds along Marine Drive and a tough, pothole-filled hill on Camoson. The pace got tougher with each lap but I enjoyed the help of those around me struggling to keep up with the front group. By the time I crossed the finish, I was only about 10 or 12 seconds behind the leaders. Keep in mind, 2 of those leaders were veterans of the Tour de France.
The event raised over $130,000. I am proud to have been a significant part of that effort. It was a truly enjoyable weekend and I owe that to my donors. Futhermore, I want to acknowledge the tireless dedication of the staff at the BC Cancer Foundation. They made this event a fantastic experience and I hope to have as much fun for many years to come.
First, I surpassed my goal of $5000 raising $5283. Thank you to everyone who donated. I am going to try to think of ways to raise more next year.
This year, there were incentives for the top fundraisers. The single highest fundraiser won a trip for 2 to the Tour de France. Any other fundraisers who raised $10,000 was eligible to spend the day with celebrities and VIPs on the Saturday before the larger community ride. Regretably, no one raised $10,000. However, my name was drawn from a list of all fundraisers to join the Saturday festivities.
My day started with breakfast at the Wedgewood Hotel. I want to thank Philip Meyer and the Wedgewood for their gracious hospitality. The group consisted of the celebrity riders (Trevor Linden, Axel Merckx, Ross Rebagliati, Alex Seida and Derek Porter), representatives from key event sponsors and two individual fundraisers; myself and Andrew Gregory, the top fundraiser. We went on a 65 km ride to Whytecliffe Park and back, including a ring around Stanley Park. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a perfect ride. I particularly enjoyed the company of Andrew Gregory. Not only the top fundraiser, Andrew is a survivor of testicular cancer and a great man. I was truly honoured to ride along side of him. He also rides a BH bike - one more thing to like about him.
We went our own ways for the afternoon and met again at Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar for dinner. Again, I want to thank Blue Water for an amazing meal. We listened to inspiring speeches from persons connected to the Cancer Foundation and Agency. It was a wonderful evening.
Unfortunately, something in the meal did not sit right with me. I was up in the middle of the night with stomach cramps and I was not feeling 100% in the morning. But, I wasn't going to let a little pain get in my way. I was invited to join the breakaway group on the community ride. We broke away with a comptetive spirit. Soon, the better riders had split off from the rest of the community ride. We rode 3 laps of a 12 km course. On each lap, we fought stiff headwinds along Marine Drive and a tough, pothole-filled hill on Camoson. The pace got tougher with each lap but I enjoyed the help of those around me struggling to keep up with the front group. By the time I crossed the finish, I was only about 10 or 12 seconds behind the leaders. Keep in mind, 2 of those leaders were veterans of the Tour de France.
The event raised over $130,000. I am proud to have been a significant part of that effort. It was a truly enjoyable weekend and I owe that to my donors. Futhermore, I want to acknowledge the tireless dedication of the staff at the BC Cancer Foundation. They made this event a fantastic experience and I hope to have as much fun for many years to come.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
I'm Expanding the Scope of My Blog
I decided to expand the scope of this blog. Until now, it has been entirely dedicated to last year's Tour of Courage. I will be raising money for the Cancer Foundation again this year as part of my particiaption in the Westside Cycling Classic. But, I also raise money for other charities.
As some of you will know, I am in a band with friends from law school. We don't pretend to be good but we have a lot of fun. For the 3rd year running, we will be participating in the Battle of the Bar Bands. This event takes place at the Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street on June 13, 2008. 8 Bands, made up mostly of lawyers, will play. Ticket sales and band sponsorships go to the Lawyers' Benevolent Fund - a not-for-profit society set up through the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association. The Benevolent Fund provides financial assistance to lawyers who cannot support themselves.
Our band, No Reply, makes a point of being different at the event. We play mostly punk music while most others play classic rock with a mix of a few top 40 tunes. We may not be good but at least we play good music.
I'll be posting on that initiative as well. Please check back often to keep track of our progress.
As some of you will know, I am in a band with friends from law school. We don't pretend to be good but we have a lot of fun. For the 3rd year running, we will be participating in the Battle of the Bar Bands. This event takes place at the Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street on June 13, 2008. 8 Bands, made up mostly of lawyers, will play. Ticket sales and band sponsorships go to the Lawyers' Benevolent Fund - a not-for-profit society set up through the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association. The Benevolent Fund provides financial assistance to lawyers who cannot support themselves.
Our band, No Reply, makes a point of being different at the event. We play mostly punk music while most others play classic rock with a mix of a few top 40 tunes. We may not be good but at least we play good music.
I'll be posting on that initiative as well. Please check back often to keep track of our progress.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
I'm Back on My Bike
I'm back on my bike and training for the Westside Cycling Classic. Once again, this is a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation and I am solicitong support from everyone I know. It's a different format than last year's Tour of Courage. This year, the route is a mere 40km and it will be held on June 1, 2008.
I'll post more as my training and fundraising progresses. Please take the time to visit my fundraising website at this link: http://donate.bccancerfoundation.com/site/TR/Events/WestsideClassic?px=1142208&pg=personal&fr_id=1370&et=JZzewUzc7-wEkQ2Gyv-MBg..&s_tafId=2241
(I'm going to try to make the link simpler).
I'll post more as my training and fundraising progresses. Please take the time to visit my fundraising website at this link: http://donate.bccancerfoundation.com/site/TR/Events/WestsideClassic?px=1142208&pg=personal&fr_id=1370&et=JZzewUzc7-wEkQ2Gyv-MBg..&s_tafId=2241
(I'm going to try to make the link simpler).
Friday, October 5, 2007
More Photos
The BC Cancer Foundation has posted photos of the Tour of Courage on Flickr. You can access them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bccancerfoundation/
Here is one of the few photos with me in it. I'm looking a little suspicious.
I haven't been on my bike since the ride on the 23rd. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and it is hard to work up the incentive to ride in the rain when there is no training goal. If we get a reasonably dry day this long weekend, I'll try to get out for a spin.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Pictures from the Tour of Courage
Here are some pictures of the Tour of Courage. The first shows Lance Armstrong giving us a talk at breakfast. The second shows Jordi and I before the start of the ride. The third shows me approaching the finish - all alone. And the fourth shows Jordi and I once I had finished.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The Big Day
Today was the big day - what I have been working toward in training, fundraising and injury rehab!
I got to the staging area a little early, checked in my bike and headed to the breakfast function. The food was great and everyone was upbeat and positive. After getting through the obligatory dignitary speeches, Lance Armstrong took to the podium and gave a very informal but good talk - mostly about cancer research, treatment and prevention and the differences between the US and Canada in those fields. Then, we headed to the staging area where there were more speeches and introductions of a bunch of people who were going to ride with us. Most notably, Lance, Axel Merckx (14 year pro cyclist and son of the great rider Eddie Merckx), Steve Bauer (Canadian cyclist who held the yellow jersey and had a 4th place overall finish in the Tour de France) and Phil Liggett (the bike race commentator for OLN).
The VIP group of riders left 5 minutes before everyone then the 90 km riders. I was in the front of the pack through the start and we caught the VIP group at the Camoson hill. Lance peeled off to catch a flight but the rest stayed with the pack. When we finished the 2nd UBC loop and turned onto SW Marine, I found myself alone and out front. I slowed down and let the others catch me as we headed out to Iona Park. I managed to stay toward the front of the pack the entire ride until we were back in Vancouver just onto SW Marine. My chain came off so the pack flew by as I fixed it. I tried but I could not catch up. I was fine while I was able to suck the wheels of a peleton but my legs had enough when I was pushing it solo. Also, my mishap happened with about 6 or 7 km left so we had already ridden more than 90 km.
Despite the chain problem, it was a great ride. The weather was nice - the wind was up in places but the pack acted as a shield. The riders were great, especially Axel Merckx with whom I was able to chat a little. Most of all, I had never ridden in a pack like that before. It was fun and a lot easier than riding solo. It gave me a new appreciation for big stage race riders when they have a mecahnical problem. Of course, they draft team cars and teammates usually drop back to help get them back in the peleton. Even so, 3 or 4 riders in a bunch do a lot more work than a big bunch.
Reaching the finish was exhilerating and a relief. Elena, Jordi, my mom, Elena's mom and our friend Olga were cheering me on. Because I was separated from the pack, they made special mention of my name and the fact that I was riding in Don's memory.
My ride data is a little off today because I walked my bike around a little after the ride and the computer was recording it as if I was riding a 5 km/h. So, my average speed was a little higher and my total distance and time were a little lower but you get the idea. It was a pretty fast day for me. I remember my total time was 3:00:31 at the finish.
Distance: 98.64 km
Time: 3:04:59
Average Speed: 32 km/h
I hope I get a chance to do this again next year. Thanks again to everyone.
I got to the staging area a little early, checked in my bike and headed to the breakfast function. The food was great and everyone was upbeat and positive. After getting through the obligatory dignitary speeches, Lance Armstrong took to the podium and gave a very informal but good talk - mostly about cancer research, treatment and prevention and the differences between the US and Canada in those fields. Then, we headed to the staging area where there were more speeches and introductions of a bunch of people who were going to ride with us. Most notably, Lance, Axel Merckx (14 year pro cyclist and son of the great rider Eddie Merckx), Steve Bauer (Canadian cyclist who held the yellow jersey and had a 4th place overall finish in the Tour de France) and Phil Liggett (the bike race commentator for OLN).
The VIP group of riders left 5 minutes before everyone then the 90 km riders. I was in the front of the pack through the start and we caught the VIP group at the Camoson hill. Lance peeled off to catch a flight but the rest stayed with the pack. When we finished the 2nd UBC loop and turned onto SW Marine, I found myself alone and out front. I slowed down and let the others catch me as we headed out to Iona Park. I managed to stay toward the front of the pack the entire ride until we were back in Vancouver just onto SW Marine. My chain came off so the pack flew by as I fixed it. I tried but I could not catch up. I was fine while I was able to suck the wheels of a peleton but my legs had enough when I was pushing it solo. Also, my mishap happened with about 6 or 7 km left so we had already ridden more than 90 km.
Despite the chain problem, it was a great ride. The weather was nice - the wind was up in places but the pack acted as a shield. The riders were great, especially Axel Merckx with whom I was able to chat a little. Most of all, I had never ridden in a pack like that before. It was fun and a lot easier than riding solo. It gave me a new appreciation for big stage race riders when they have a mecahnical problem. Of course, they draft team cars and teammates usually drop back to help get them back in the peleton. Even so, 3 or 4 riders in a bunch do a lot more work than a big bunch.
Reaching the finish was exhilerating and a relief. Elena, Jordi, my mom, Elena's mom and our friend Olga were cheering me on. Because I was separated from the pack, they made special mention of my name and the fact that I was riding in Don's memory.
My ride data is a little off today because I walked my bike around a little after the ride and the computer was recording it as if I was riding a 5 km/h. So, my average speed was a little higher and my total distance and time were a little lower but you get the idea. It was a pretty fast day for me. I remember my total time was 3:00:31 at the finish.
Distance: 98.64 km
Time: 3:04:59
Average Speed: 32 km/h
I hope I get a chance to do this again next year. Thanks again to everyone.
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