Tag Archives: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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The Century

One of the first rites of passage for a road bicycle rider is the day the decision is made to ride 100 miles or do ……….the Century. In the early days of riding a road bicycle, one has to get used to bike position, saddle comfort, the rules of the road, riding in traffic, riding in a group, wind, rain, and a host of new challenges. Once these are addressed and the mileage improves from day to day, the decision is often made to do a Century ride as a test of one’s fitness and prowess on the road bike.

I remember first learning to ride back in the day when I bought my first Trek road bike. My mentors, Larry Cohen and Chuck Martin got me started and soon enough I was riding, 30, 40 miles and then a longer ride of 50 miles. After a season of good riding, I was encouraged to ride a Century. I forget actually which one it was, but I can tell you I am a veteran of many Centuries . Hilly ones, flat ones in Ohio, windy ones near the Atlantic Ocean, and many more. I learned a lot over the years. Important things like proper clothing, comfortable shorts with chamois, chamois butter or Vaseline to protect the guys, and prevent chafing. Repeated pedaling and perspiring can make a ride pretty uncomfortable if you are not prepared with good lubrication down below. Rain exacerbates the situation and a good lightweight rain jacket stuffed into the back of your jersey is key. Like we always say, no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing.

Nutrition is key as well and back in the day, we could not get enough bananas or Fig Newtons. These were also stuffed into the back of our jerseys and I can remember many times on a hot day, 60 miles out, stuffing the Newtons and bananas in my mouth and wondering how in the heck I was going to get back. Stops at convenience stores along the way were a good option and many times I waddled into the stores with my bike shoes and cleaned out the racks of snacks. I used to use a product called Cytomax, which was an electrolyte powder added to my water bottle. I carried extra in a little bag so I could re-load on the way when I ran out of liquid. You can’t drink enough on a Century.

My friends George Sagan and Art Bonavoglia and I rode a Century one time with a local touring club. These club guys were stuffed into their lycra bike kits and stopped every ten miles for a hoagie, pizza, or other method of what they called refueling. George looked at me and said, ” lets keep riding.” I thought to myself- we could actually gain weight on this ride. LOL!!

Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe

One of the prettiest Centuries I rode was in Lake Tahoe for the Team in Training event which was a fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Lots of Centuries are benefits and folks donate money for your cause by matching your miles with dollars. When you are out there suffering at about 90 miles, you think of the good cause for which you are riding and smile. It brings you to the finish line.

One of the fun things about a Century is riding with a group, in a good paceline at a good effort. It makes the miles go quickly and if you are unable to keep up, just keep peddling and another group will come up behind you and you can jump on their train. Nothing like racking up the miles with a good group of riders. And if you are fortunate enough to latch on to a tandem, you can really fly. On the Tahoe ride, our group was behind a couple on a tandem who stopped for lunch and got married on the ride. Pretty cool to be part of their wedding party on the road.

Don’t miss jumping on the tandem bus.

Did a couple of 100 mile races back in the day too. Higher paced rides, which had me laying in the grass at the end, stuffing the Newtons in my mouth and swilling Cytomax out of my bottle while prone on my back. Danny Chew, the many time Race Across America champion, and national class road racer, caught our group one time after getting lost up near Meadville, Pa. He laughed at us and abused us a bit saying he caught us after going about 20 miles out of route. Whatever Danny. We were used to his abuse. Mr. Bike was pretty strong back in the day. As weekender Joe Blows, we were no match for riders like him. But we all had fun at the end remembering the good times on the ride and the usually spectacular scenery.

Lake Tahoe vistas

Another cool thing about riding Centuries is the sense of accomplishment after you finish. Although 100 miles is nothing to a Tour de France rider or a national class road racer, for the local Joe Blow, it is truly an accomplishment accompanied by the confidence that you can do it. The rite of passage is met, and you are on your way to being an experienced cyclist. This leads to more Centuries, races, events, and rides that make you stronger and move you to the next level of fitness.

Riding Centuries is a great way to make friends, spend time with new friends, and have a lifetime of great memories like I do. Thanks to my friend Scott Weiner, I had the opportunity to ride a Century in Maryland a couple of times with 3- time Tour de France Champion, and World Champion, Greg LeMond. Greg had great stories all along the route and signed autographs late into the night. A truly gracious champion who was happy to ride with 6 of us on a couple of sunny weekends in Maryland benefitting One in Six Organization.

Joe Blow and Champion- Greg Lemond. Such a gracious guy!
Poor Greg- had to listen to my stories along the route too.

So, in summary, if you are new to road riding, don’t think that riding a Century is out of sight. Keep riding and getting your miles in. Take advice from experienced riders who are happy to share their knowledge with you. ( Thanks- Mac Martin, Matt Eaton, Danny and Tom Chew, Bob Gottlieb and Jay Wolkoff- for always taking the time to ride with us back in the day preparing us for events). You can ride a Century too as a new rider. Just do your homework, hydrate, eat properly,and take the right clothes. Your preparation will certainly be beneficial and you will have accomplished 100 miles on a road bike. Thanks for reading and keep peddling.

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Cycling the Miles for a Cause

IMG00227-20100731-0812IMG00375-20110730-0915DSC00468 A number of years ago my next door neighbor’s son came to me and asked me to do the MS150 Bicycle Ride to Erie. It was dubbed the “Escape to the Lake” and it was a benefit for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society http://www.nationalmssociety.org It was a lot of fun and especially for a young 8th grader who had never ridden much outside of our local North Park. This ride is always well attended and supported and the fun thing that year was staying overnight in my freshman dorm up at Allegheny College in Meadville,Pa. As I walked around campus and stayed in the dorm, I thought to myself,” Did I really do this” It seemed like the distant past.

As time went on, I opted for the camp out at Allegheny and also at Edinboro State University because I enjoyed the down time in my camp chair and sleeping under the stars in my dome tent. Always liked camping but I am the Lone Ranger when it comes to that sort of activity with my family. The neighbor kid eventually grew up and got married but I still kept up on the MS 150 until AAU Basketball got in the way of those weekends and I had to make a choice between being a good father in the stands at courtside or riding the MS. Fatherhood won out. But the MS Rides live on and they benefit research that is finding a cure for a very debilitating central nervous disorder. The money you raise goes to a worthy cause and you get a wonderful ride in the country with a well organized event as your reward.

Moving on, I had the opportunity to ride some events with my friend Scott Weiner down in Maryland at the Catoctin Challenge. The Maryland events were fun and organized by a really funny and good guy, Phil Heffler, who made a habit out of heckling his riding friends. He painted” last hill” on the road for miles even though there were many killer ascents ahead of us. He painted lanes for his riders and then a separate lane for a girl who was riding. Those signs read,” this lane for good riders.” Then he had the separate lane for his lady friend right next to it. Really hilarious stuff and Phil roamed the course having fun berating his friends and supporters. Phil organizes rides every year from Frederick, Maryland to Pittsburgh and if you want to take part in his hilarity and well orgnized rides, contact Phil- pheffler@aol.com

Several Maryland rides benefitted the 1-6 Organization http://www.1in6.org for men who were abused as children. This organization was supported by the Roz and Marvin Weiner Foundation as title sponsor with the honored guest being none other than our 3 time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. The interesting thing about riding with LeMond was that he is a very engaging person. The funny thing is that most of the people on the ride either did not know much about LeMond or had their own agenda on the ride so about 6 of us got to ride both days with the former Tour champion. The stories that he told on the road were amazing and the development of a lot of current companies involved in cycling equipment had their seminal influence from LeMond. Scott time trial bars, Giro Helmets, and countless others were entrepreneurial and research endeavors by LeMond. You learned a lot about world class cycling and the development of product by riding weekends with Greg LeMond. These were also camping events and my fix for the outdoors under the stars was satisfied in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland.

My friends Pete Hilton, Eric Durfee(the local) and Mike King and I rode in “America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride” in Lake Tahoe one year which benefitted the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. http://www.lls.org Riding a road bike around the most beautiful lake in the country surrounded by the Sierra’s is indeed breathtaking. This ride also supports a very worthy cause and riders come from all over the country to these events. My friend Tim Hamburger is very involved in this organization and if you are inclined to ride or support this organization, Tim would be appreciative. His countless hours of training riders for this event is exemplary and his volunteering spirit is appreciated by all of his riders and event organizers.

Sometimes, these events hit close to home. My friend Jim Pottinger is riding an event in Vermont to beneft the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in honor of his son who has T1D juvenile diabetes. Becket is a cheerful little guy but the stress that he goes through with daily testing of his blood and the disruption to his young life as well as his parents is something that the JDRF addresses on a daily basis. http://www.jdrf.org Please consider supporting Jim on his ride. http://jdrf3.convio.net/goto/BecketsBikers

This weekend, Maggies Marauder’s go into action at the MS150 Keystone Ride up in State College,Pa. Pete, JR, Cyndee and Barry, Don, and a bunch of my pals will take part in this ride that benefits MS. Maggie Schneider is dealing with MS and this group rallies around her as she rides to raise money for the issue that she deals with on a daily basis. Consider supporing the Marauders who are led by team captain Bob DeZort and the memory of our friend Chip Kamin who helped found the group that rides in this event.

Riding the miles for a cause is not only worthwhile and a really fun event to benefit a particular organization, but it is amazing to see the folks who can ride those kinds of miles. You have the experienced cyclists who ride a lot of miles and these events are not much of a challenge. But you see most of the people on less than adequate bicycles riding with a smile and making it to the end with folks scratching their heads and saying,” How could that bike and that person make it 150 miles?” You see the same thing at marathons and ask the same question. But the heart of individuals who have a goal not only physically but the goal to support their favorite cause is impressive. Please consider supporting these organizations, riders, and I encourage you to take part in these events if you have never done so. A worthy cause, riding a lot of scenic miles, camping under the stars( or hotel room if you prefer) great entertainment, good food, all make for an exciting weekend. Now that I don’t have the AAU Basketball excuse anymore because my baller is headed to college, I may have to make a return to the roads of the cause. Thanks for supporting and reading.