Gruene today rounds-out my 10-week training schedule

I headed to historic Gruene this morning to hang out with my buddies (the newbies) from Velo Valero, and we were joined by several members of the Broadway Bank team, and a solo rider from Clear Channel and from Golds Gym. It was like a mini Valero Bike to the Beach!

I felt strong all ride long. Depending on who you asked, we did anywhere from 34 and 37 miles. Several long hills, but none caused me any problems. My good friend Bob Harwood, team captain for HOLT CAT, changed allegiances (well at least for today) and wore a Pauline’s Last Hurrah jersey. It was a special ride for me, since I’d not seen Pauline’s image being worn by another rider. Very special…

The morning started out quite chilly, and didn’t really heat up. We returned to Gruene around noon, and hit the Gristmill Restaurant for a group lunch. Lots of fun. And lots of good people.

Thank you everyone for your tireless efforts to prepare me for the Valero Bike to the Beach on Oct. 4-5. I’m confident of putting in a good showing.

C ya on the road! Tony
Read Pauline's story and support my fundraising in her memory.

Santa Fe, NM, a riding paradise…2 weeks ago

I had the good fortune 2 weeks ago of traveling to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with 130 bike-riding top fundraisers of the National MS Society Lone Star Chapter. Wow, as much as I’ve only been riding for 8 weeks, Santa Fe must be a rider’s definition of paradise!

Chapter employees took on the role of volunteers and orchestrated the 4-day cycling holiday. But when my colleagues and I came back together at the end of the first day to go over our duties and tasks for the remaining 3 days, my boss told me that I could participate in the second of the 2 days of riding.

I had driven SAG on the first day, a 55-mile ride that went by way too quickly. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape. Flat, flat ground stretching for hundreds of miles, and then hitting mountains that shot up into a crystal clear, electric blue sky! Oh my, if my days had ended then I would have left this mortal coil a happy person. I was at peace!

Anyway, after getting over the shock that I could ride the 2nd day, I realized I didn’t have a thing to wear! I turned up on the day of the ride in sneakers, my signature neon yellow socks, surfing shorts (white with brilliant orange flames), and a borrowed BP MS 150 jersey. Oh, did I forget to tell you that I didn’t have a bike either!!!!!

Our good friends form Sun and Ski had brought out some rental bikes (brand new I might add). But all I had to choose from was a 61cm, which would have me stretched out way further than I could reach. I’m only 5 foot 10 inches! The second bike was a 51cm, but was a women’s bike…shorter frame, odd looking saddle! Anyway, I opted for the shorter bike. I went to have a light breakfast while the bike was fitted with cage pedals.

At breakfast, I sat with my now good friend Jenifer McIntosh. We’d been joking with each other for the past 24 hours. So over breakfast, she said since I was going to ride on a women’s bike, I should wear a women’s jersey (she happened to be wearing a bright pink, ‘Ride Like A Girl’ jersey). She dared me!!!! So in the middle of the dining room we took of our jerseys and exchanged them. You know me by now, I’m open to most any dare for fun!

The day was a rare treat for me, and I appreciate my colleagues working with me to allow my training to continue. One small problem, when I turned the front wheel it would hit my feet…it was a very short bike. But all those issues evaporated when I cleared the brush on one hill to be presented with a vista that only God could create. If you’ve never ridden around this area, in particular around Los Alamos, NM, I would highly recommend you add it to your Bucket List.

C ya on the road! Tony

Read Pauline's story and support my fundraising in her memory.

$100,000 v's $144.75...it all counts!

So we held our exclusive Top Fundraiser's Packet Pick-Up on Monday, at Pappasito's Cantina on IH-10 in San Antonio, and many of our Club 100 fundraisers stopped by. One in particular...

A little birdie had told us that this fundraiser was going to add to his fundraising account for the Valero Bike to the Beach in a big way this night. So, we rolled out out reporter friends at TV, lined up a microphone, and made the place welcoming. We were not disappointed. Valero Chairman of the Board and CEO Bill Klesse stopped by and wrote a personal check for $100,000 to start his fundraising (that's Bill and me, I think he's holding me up)!

We had some nice speeches at 5 pm, and we were pretty much done by 5:10 pm. I'd promised the Valero team and my staff that I would "spin" for the duration of the event. So I jumped in my riding gear. Jumped on my bike, parked in the back of one of our wonderfully decorated Toyota Tundras, and pedaled for nearly 3 hours.

Knowing I'd be on a bike, I figured why not be shameless and raise money at the same time for my fundraising (remember, it's going to be matched by one of my donors). So, at the end of the night, I had in the jar $144.75 as friend, riders and total strangers stopped by to visit with me and drop a few dollars in my kitty. Thank you everyone!

The Bike to the Beach is just days away, Oct. 4-5.

C ya on the road! Tony
Read Pauline's story and support my fundraising in her memory.

Tony completes his first Century...well metric anyway!

Today established a new chapter in my training, I completed my first EVER Century Ride…well metric century anyway! I rode 63 miles today in Houston’s Tour de Pink (that’s 101.388 kilometers for my family back in Australia)! I am so very pleased with my progress, even if I do say so myself!

The Tour de Pink support’s breast cancer research which, as you may know, was one of the three cancer’s Pauline was diagnosed with. This event also was my first organized bike ride.

Today’s ride was the outcome of my search for a training ride in Houston, since I had to run an errand for MS to our Houston office on Saturday. My good friend Margaret Shelton (also a member of Pauline’s Last Hurrah) is a university professor by day but the Tour de Pink event director by night. So she suggested that I sign up.

The event offered several route distances. I really wanted to challenge myself given my 50 miles just last weekend. I was tempted to go for the 80 miles (and wish I had), but thought I should be a little conservative. After all, I wouldn’t want to have gone on the 80 miles and not completed it! I had no idea how I’d handle the 63, but handle it I did; it took me just 5 hours to complete the course (and stopping at all the breakpoints). I crossed the Finish Line feeling very, very strong and realized I could have handled the 80 miles. There was a 100-mile option, too! But I think I’ll hold that personal accomplishment for me and Pauline on the Valero Bike to the Beach on Oct. 4!

The event started and finished at Prairie View A&M University. Wheels down at 7 a.m. we were treated to brisk conditions, a little chillier than I’m used to. But sunrise came soon enough with a huge orange ball sitting on the horizon as the route headed east. It was magnificent. As the sun rose in the sky, which was the coolest electric blue all day, the mist laid heavy and carpeted the grassland of this rural setting, located about an hour or so west of Houston, Texas.

It was a very pretty ride, although there was a pretty good head- and cross-wind to contend with for most of the day. That said, I was able to keep a good speed for many miles (at least in the 19’s or low 20’s MPH).

ACCIDENT: About 15 miles out, I turned into the second to last breakpoint. My calf muscles had been twitching at the top of them for several miles just itching to cramp! But I had been repositioning my feet for many miles (turning them in, turning them out, pulling with my clip-less shoes instead of mashing) in order to relocate the muscle flex to another part of the calf. Anyway, I pulled into this breakpoint, had already unclipped my right foot, stopped the bike and proceeded to unclip my left foot when my calf cramped like a mule kick! Anyway, I lost my balance and fell to the left, still clipped in to my pedal and fell square on my left knee (I’ve fallen on this now for the 3rd time in 4 weeks)…and hit my helmet on the road to literally add insult to the subsequent injury. The guys from the local bike shop at the breakpoint came over to untangle me from my bike as I tried to work out how I could stand up with my calf in a major cramp spasm. Needless to say, I reached my feet and tried to stretch through the cramp…not wanting to look anyone in the eye because I was so embarrassed and so frustrated, since the day had gone so well!

Finally, I was able to elongate the muscle and just hop around as the “knot”-pain subsided. I looked down and had blood oozing from my knee and noticed a 2-inch high swelling protruding from the left side of my knee, and a growing lump on the right side of my left knee. I figured I’d broken the thing! I hadn’t, at least I don’t think I have as I sit at home writing my blog entry. But I was very worried about the joint seizing up. I grabbed a quick drink of water. Hobbled to the bathroom. Had to fix the chain on my bike, since it had come off during the fall. I quickly got back on my bike and on the road, hoping the knee mechanics would carry me to the Finish Line.

The final 15 miles were equally delightful. I forgot about my knee…well, decided not to look at my knee!

I soon hooked up with rider Number 10, her name was Joanne. She is a cancer survivor, and so I road at her pace (8 MPH) for the rest of the ride. What an inspirational story she had to tell. But that’s a subject possibly for another blog entry!

C ya on the road! Tony

Read Pauline's story and support my fundraising in her memory.

Completed 50-ride, successfully...

Finally breached the 50-mile (or 81 kilometers, for my family in Oz) riding test for me on Sunday, and still felt pretty strong at the end of the ride. The ride took place in temperatures running in the mid-90’s (35C), and that probably was the toughest aspect of the day.

The 50 miles represents the distance for the Valero Bike to the Beach from the Start Line to the lunch stop on the first day. So it’s be a psychological challenge for me.

I made the point of drinking, drinking and drinking some more. Carrying onboard a 24-ounce water bottle with POWERade and a 2nd water bottle with plain water, I filled them both two more times on the ride and had drained them both by the time I arrived back to the Start/Finish line. And I’m “relieved” to say that I did need a bathroom a few times during the ride! You’ll recall, in my early training I was worried about not having to use the toilet. I think I’ve found “my” hydration balance. Also, I've become a major fan of "Gu."

The ride itself left Comal Elementary School, out Highway 3009 (jarred the fillings in my teeth), headed to Gruene on Highway 1826 (smooth as glass), turned back towards New Braunfels, headed east to cross over Interstate 35 for the loop on Green Valley Road.

The heat and the distance left me thinking this was a brutal ride for me and my limited training. But it was a ride that helped me test several personal factors: stamina, strength and speed (I really used my big ring and small cog) on all the flats I put my head down and hit the pedals hard. It felt good!

Walking the bike while standing in my pedals is becoming a favorite pastime for the hills I encounter, and it makes me feel a good deal more in control.

I’m heading to Houston on Saturday, running some errands for the MS Society, and will be looking to jump in on a training ride on Sunday, Sept. 7. I’ve put out feelers to some of my friends over there to see what rides they might be participating in that I can join.

FUNNY: When I unloaded my bike the front tire was as flat as a piece of paper! Never had a flat until now and I guess the good thing is that it didn’t happen during the ride. I carefully ran my fingers around the inside of the tire and found no sharp objects. I ran my hand over the outside of the tire and found a piece of glass. It left a three side hole in the tire, so my buddy Pete Templin (by phone) said you could use the tire again, but how many future tubes are you willing to sacrifice! He told me about the “old dollar bill” trick as a temporary fix to extend the life of a tire, which I’ve heard before. Needless to say, I’m off to Bicycle Shack of Boerne Tuesday (they are closed Mondays) to buy a new tire.

C ya on the road! Tony
Read Pauline's story and support my fundraising in her memory.