Day 1

Day 2

100% of 2007 Goal Attained!

Had a last minute donation this afternoon of $10...Reached my 2007 goal for fundrasing with the NMSS!

Again...it was an amazing experience, and everyone' kind words & contributions will not be forgotten.

Keep checking back for more updates on 2008 rides! And of course, I will be riding again next year in Waves to Wine!

Cheers!

Taking my bike to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving...

I am taking my road bike to Los Angeles over Thanksgiving to do some riding...

Per Southwest Airlines' website:

"Non-motorized Bicycles, including Bike Friday and Co-Pilot, will be accepted as checked baggage at no additional charge provided the limit of three checked bags is not exceeded; the bicycle is properly packaged; and the box containing the bicycle fits within the 62-inch sizing limit and weighs 50 lbs or under. (Maximum weight is 50 pounds and maximum size is 62 inches (length + width + height) per checked piece of luggage). The handlebars, kickstand, and pedals must be removed and placed inside the box. A $50.00 each-way charge applies to bicycles that don’t meet the above criteria. Bicycles packaged in a cardboard box or soft-sided case will be transported as a conditionally accepted item."

Just need to get some sort of carrying device!

Photographs from Waves-to-Wine...

A full post-ride update is in the works...

Here are some photographs for now!

Waves to Wine Photos <---- Click here

And you can continue to donate until October 31st!!!

Registered & Ready to go!

I left work a few minutes early this afternoon & headed over to Mike's Bikes to pickup some final provisions before the ride tomorrow. Talked with the guys, they gave me a few pointers for the ride & recommended some hydration supplements which I will add to my water bottles.

After that, I headed over to Parking Lot A near AT&T park to register, pickup my rider's packet & drop off my bike. The staff for the Northern California Chapter of the National MS Society were wonderful, smiling faces & seemed to be just excited as I am about the event. They mentioned there are nearly 1700 riders participating this year!

Lil' Red is now sitting in the bike corral, ready & waiting for her first long distance bike tour.

Hopefully there will be some wireless internet access at the campsite for Day 1, I am still considering bringing my laptop with my gear on the SAG wagon & uploading pictures after the day is over.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me with both donations and well-wishes through the past few months!

Team Wiz is now 2 strong!!!

My friend, confidant & fellow cycling buddy has decided at the last minute to join Team Wiz and embark on an amazing weekend adventure with me. A Cleveland, OH native & San Francisco transport whom I met through the wonderful restaurant reviewing world of Yelp.com, will be waking up bright & early Saturday morning to enjoy one of the best MS fundraising rides in the country.

I've learned there are many different fundraising rides over the next few weeks, but I can't help but believe the Waves-to-Wine event will be the most beautiful & trying of them all.

She is a card-carrying member (like myself) of the San Francisco Bike Coalition, and volunteers her time with them to promote safer streets for cyclists in the city of San Francisco. She is currently fighting Proposition H, which will allow for more cars on the streets of San Francisco. This will cause more congestion for cars, cyclists & pedestrians alike--while allowing unneeded parking spaces & garages to increase throughout the area.

Here's to you, Jessica!!! Such an awesome weekend ahead!!!

Mom & Dad leave on vacation tomorrow...

They are visiting Carmel, just south of Monterey--the home of California's 17 Mile Drive & Monterey Bay Aquarium. I found this quaint hotel near the Pacific Ocean & Sutro Baths a few months ago & they will be staying there on Friday! They're basically following me at different destinations on my ride north into the wine country.

Mom made this awesome sign for me too!

:-)

Hit the $2000 mark this morning!!!

It is truly inspiring to witness everyone's generosity in the fight against MS!

I wasn't quite sure how many people would donate, and a little nervous that I wouldn't even raise the $250 minimum. Obviously, we have raised much more than the minimum & are very close to reaching the $2500 goal. For my first major fundraising event & long distance bike tour, $2500 is not bad at all considering some of the challenges I faced with initial fundraising.

Some of the people who have already donated include friends & family both old & new on both sides of the country, both local & corporate business owners, concert going buddies, coworkers, artists, writers, teachers, and people who someday I hope to shake their hand & put a face with the name I now hold in highest regards.

If I could take every single one of you on my ride this weekend, I would.

Your generosity will keep a smile on my face as I pedal my way through some of the most beautiful views in the country.

THANK YOU!

Muscles Relaxed...

After finding out that my normal doctor in San Francisco is either retired or on an extended vacation, I scrambled to find someone who could see me about the pain in my right knee. A few minutes of research turned up Downtown Medical Center, in the heart of the Financial District--only a few blocks away from my office.

I called & scheduled an appointment at 4:30pm, and was able to visit with Dr. Bryson. He & I discussed the ride & the fact that I have been pushing myself harder physically than I have in recent history. He reccomended that I take it easy for the rest of the week, and prescribed be Naproxen. It's a combination muscle relaxer & pain reliever. This should be of great help over the next week or so.

I am visiting next week after the ride, to see if I have incurred any serious damage.

Places you can see the event...

A few people in/around the city have been asking where they can see the ride...

Here are a few of the best spots, in my opinion:

1. AT&T Park (watch the start, around 6am)
2. Crissy Fields (before heading across the bridge, 6:30am--lots of parking)
3. North End of Golden Gate Bridge (7am - there is some parking, and it's a beautiful view)

Route Information: http://www.wavestowine.org/route.html

Visiting the doc tomorrow...

My right knee is still somewhat irritated from last weekend, and I will be visiting my doctor tomorrow, hopefully I can get some extra strength tylenol and/or an anti-inflammatory. If anyone has suggestions for some over-the-counter stuff, please feel free to let me know.

I am also thinking about bringing some Icy-Hot for the overnight in Sonoma Mountain Village, that way my knee will be in good shape for the Sunday ride...as that will be the tougher day when fatigue has started to set in.

And the soreness sets in...

The rain subsided by 11am on Saturday morning & never returned! There was a cloud cover throughout the entire weekend, which helped keep everything nice & cool on the road.

Needing some stuff for the BIG weekend ahead, I stopped by Mike's Bikes downtown to visit with my new pals. I purchased a cycling jersey, knee warmers, cycling socks, tubes & a hand pump. This cycling venture definitely became much more expensive than I had ever imagined...but definitely worth it. I now am the proud owner of an awesome bike with all the needed tools/accessories, as well as a nifty looking outfit. I am the most stylish cyclist on the road!

I left from San Francisco, by 1pm & managed to ride approximately 60 miles through the North Bay & Marin Headlands before returning home. While I was sore, some stretching & a hot shower help manage the slight pains.

The story became much different on Sunday.

I decided on a shorter ride for Sunday, thinking it would be better to conserve my energy and taper off before Waves-to-Wine. I did the Paradise Loop, a similar route from which I had done on Saturday. By the time I was about halfway through, the muscles in my right knee were getting aggravated. I managed to finish the 40-mile ride averaging about 14 miles per hour, but today I am definitely hurting.

Planning on visiting the doctor sometime this weekend, hopefully they will prescribe me an anti-inflammatory to keep the swelling & pain reduced. I will be taking it easy until Wednesday, when I plan to do a short 15 mile flat ride to keep my legs ready for the weekend.

A good massage sometime next week is in order, as I will be one sore puppy when this is all over.

Rain Rain Go Away!!!

It's Saturday morning, and has been raining on & off all night. While it made for a soothing sleep with the windows open, the ground is now saturated & my final long distance training ride is up in the air.

Some of the PacWest crew is leaving in a half hour, and traveling north to Fairfax. Some other local routes would include either the Paradise loop or Rio Honda road & Skyline Highway down south.

I'm actually pretty bummed about the rain, normally I enjoy it...but the timing of it right now STINKS!

Thank you EVERYONE!

Just wanted to express my gratitude to all the people who have recently donated. I set my goal of $2500 in June, and for awhile I did not receive many donations.

Today, I am at 61% & over $1500 in donations! Wooohoo!

I'm guessing the next week or so will see many more donations from people!

We can do this! $2500...

I'll even send you a picture of me at the Finish Line on Sunday, September 30!

Backing out of Woodside Tour this weekend...

After much thought & some discussion with more experienced cyclists, I have decided to hold off on the Tour for Woodside this weekend. It is to be held south of San Francisco, and is designed to raise $$$ for schools in the area.

I have been told that my 75 mile ride on Saturday will be plenty, and that I should probably do an additional 35-50 mile on Sunday while I gear up for the 150 mile tour the following weekend.

I can't believe it's only a week or so away, I'm excited & nervous at the same time.

150. 150. 150.

Yikes.

Feeling a little better...

My back and shoulders are still hurting from last weekend, but I managed to get out on a 20 mile ride after work today. Departed from the Financial District in Downtown, moved along the Embarcadero through Fisherman's Wharf & the Marina District and then headed across the bridge.

1500 ft of climbing & then a quick ride down to Fort Cronkite (near Lisa Wiz's work) before heading home.

Total riding time was 1.5 hours, average speed was 13 miles per hour.

Off to Sushi for dinner & drinks with a friend!

Back & Shoulder Problems...

After a long weekend on Treasure Island, doing a photo project for Treblezine at the Treasure Island Music Festival...I am hurting. My back has been bothering me since I got home on Sunday night.

I have been keeping relatively mellow the past few days, in hopes that my back will get better. One of my biggest fears is that I will have severe lower back pains on the 2nd day of Waves-to-Wine & it will be extremely tough to complete the 2nd portion of the tour.

Also considering going to a masseuse in the next week or so, maybe she can work out some of the knots in my back from carrying around all of that camera equipment.

We'll see.

Donations also accepted for a good chiropractor! ;-)

Official W2W Schedule Posted...

I have already decided to take Monday, October 1st off from work. Coincidentally, it will be the day I left from New Orleans, LA in 2006...a completely different life changing event for me.

My job downtown is only a few minutes away from the ballpark, so I will be headed over there after work on Friday, September 28th to take part in the pre-ride festivities. I imagine that my pasta consumption the week before the ride will be higher than ever...if there is anyone that wants to cook me a pasta dinner that week, you are more than welcome to do so. :-)

After the 80 mile ride to Rohnert Park on Saturday, I will be camping at Sonoma Mountain Village with the other riders. They have beer & wine! And massage tables! Awesome! The overnight festivities end at 9pm, and off to sleep I will go.

Sunday morning, breakfast begins at 5:30am and the 2nd day's ride starts at 7am. This should be a fairly easy ride, except for the fact that it's another 70 miles. As long as I stay stretched & well-rested, I should be able to complete this in a reasonable amount of time.

PDF Version of the Schedule

60 miles! My longest ride yet!

Bright & early on Saturday morning, I met with the rest of the PacWest Athletics crew and we embarked on quite the journey. It started in San Francisco, moved across the bridge and through Sausalito. We then continued through the Marin Headlands, and onward towards Stinson Beach--this was actually part of the route which I will be completing on September 29th.

When we reached Stinson Beach, I checked my tires had a CLIF bar and refilled my water bottles....Not quite ready for what was ahead. We started our ascent to Mt. Tamplais, which I never thought would end. Nearly 3500 feet later, my thighs were burning and I was in a completely different weather climate. It was now sunny & warm, where Stinson had been overcast & cold. I had actually traveled above the clouds.

We spent a few minutes resting at the top of the mountain, before descending through the trees back towards civilization. When we arrived in Mill Valley, we started heading east toward Tiburon & the notorious Paradise Loop. This portion of the ride was relatively flat with some rolling hills & gave us a view looking south at San Francisco and eventually of the east bay.

Finally, we were headed back towards San Francisco...one final ascent from Sausalito to the Golden Gate Bridge and back to my apartment.

As detailed in the Route Map, we traveled 60 miles, with a total of 4500 feet of climbing.

This was by far the toughest ride I have done yet...and I am told the Waves to Wine route will not be quite as tough as the one I completed on Saturday.

Downtown - Tower - Beach

Left work this evening to a cloudy, windy ride.

No problems, except WIND!

Still a great ride, though.

Here's the route:
Bike Route 50 to the Zoo from Downtown