8/21 Team Red Amish Ride!

Hey Everyone,

We're having a Team Red fun ride on Sunday, 8/21, at 10am, in Amish Country.  Invite your friends.  We're starting at Frank Morrone's place in West Coatesville.  See our Training Rides page for details.

There are a lot of you doing Livestrong or the Lancaster Covered Bridges ride that day - I hope you all have great rides!  We were hoping to have a large Team Red contingent at the Covered Bridges ride, but the registration closed early when they hit their rider limit - we'll be sure to add this ride to our ride calendar for next year.

For everyone who was not able to get involved with those rides, please join our ride - all abilities are welcome and we'll ride at a leisurely to moderate pace.

Frank Morrone sent me this a while back - these are his thoughts and Frank's excited about Team Red!

Frank Morrone

The Way I See It

O K  guys I am a Type 2 Diabetic. 

I am not proud of it.

The question is did I do this to myself or is there a genetic component?

I don't know and I really don't care.

What I do know is that I have a problem,

and that traveling down the road and arriving at the intersection of 

'Self Pity' and 'Why Me'

will not do any good.

But what to do?

Do I continue to feel sorry for myself?

What will  that solve?

Think about it.

If I do nothing except exercise the TV remote,

my glucose numbers will climb out of control

possibly to the point of loosing a limb,

or my eyesight

or worst of all my manhood.

It appears that I have a choice

either to slide into oblivion

or get off the couch

and get on my bike!

I chose the bike

and since being declared Type 2 Diabetic

my numbers have come under control

and I am down 40 pounds.

What we all have to remember is the simple fact. 

The couch kills.

Hills are tough.

The bike is life!

Come on board...  Team Red welcomes all Diabetics.

Team Red Update

Hey Folks,

The final Tour de Cure numbers are our confirmed fundraising was just under $10,000! 

Congratulations, and thanks to all of you we are doing a great job to fight diabetes!

See our new Hall of Fame page for a summary of our 2011 Tour de Cure.

Stay Tuned - exciting things are happening! 

• Team Red Jerseys for 2012
  We're looking for sponsors to help fund special jerseys for all of Team Red in 2012, and to make our Team Red tent at the Tour de Cure extra special for all our members!
  
  
• Upcoming Rides
  Keep an eye out for upcoming Team Red fun rides and training rides.
  
  
• Team Red Amateur Cycling Team
  There are rumblings about forming an amateur cycling team to do fun rides and races next year.  All will be welcome to join in.  We'll be forming a ride and event calendar soon!
  
  
• Team Red Leadership Committee
  We are forming a leadership committee for Team Red to help get sponsors, organize our racing team, design jerseys, compile a ride calendar, lead training rides, market Team Red to build Tour de Cure ridership, and to brainstorm on new Team Red ideas and initiatives.  If you're interested in getting involved, please contact Kevin Horio at kevinhorio@yahoo.com. We're holding our kickoff meeting in September and we need leaders from all areas in the region and of all riding abilities.  The only prerequisites are good intentions and a commitment to build Team Red!
  

Get ready for an exciting  year for Team Red next year!

Cheers,
k

Great Tour de Cure! How Was Your Ride?

Team Red - Part I

Team Red - Part II

What a great Tour de Cure we had this year!  The weather was great - not too hot, rain stayed away.  And in our first year of Team Red, we more than doubled our Team Red fundraising goal!  We raised close to $11,000 - and donations are still coming in!

Thank you to everyone on Team Red for doing such a great job!

Personally, I had a great ride - although I had a bike problem at about mile 50, so I had to SAG it back.  But, the pace was good, and the hills were rolling by pretty well.  So I was happy with my ride.

Comment to this post - how was your ride?

Tour de Cure in Less Than 1 Week!

OK, so we're almost there. 

TEAM PHOTOS
Remember to come to the Tour de Cure early and register, then make it to the Team Red tent by 7:30am for a Team Photo.  There will also be goodies for all Team Red members.

LAST WEEK OF TRAINING
We don't have any more training rides scheduled until the Tour.  This is the week to start tapering off your training so you go into the Tour de Cure fresh.  If you're doing the 63 mile route for the Tour, your typical final week would look like this:

   MON: 16 miles (easy) - that is if you're not hung over on Memorial Day, like me

   TUE: 41 miles (pace)

   WED: 41 miles (brisk)

   THU: REST

   FRI: REST

   SAT: 15-20 miles (very easy, spin, loosen up)

And, you're all set for Sunday.  And you should've tried to do a long ride 70-110% of your event distance some time 7 -10 days before the Tour de Cure.

If you feel you haven't been able to train enough for the Tour, don't worry about it.  It's all in fun, and sheer will can get you a lot farther than you think.  ; )

Good luck on your final week of training.


GARMIN 500 GPS GIVEAWAY!
Don't forget to keep fundraising.  We'll be drawing the winner of the Garmin 500 GPS right after the Team Photo.  The drawing will be amongst the top 15 fundraisers as listed on the Team Red Fundraising page (closing as of 6pm Saturday, June 4th).

So get your donations in so you can get a chance to win!


Cheers,
k

Close Encounters of the Canine Kind

I received this email from Frank Morrone, one of the Team Red members.  Some parts are funny, some touching.  Frank gave me the OK to post it on our blog.  He lives out in Amish country - that's a bit pertinent to the story...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

First time this has happened to me, it was an great ride though.
15 miles into a 20 mile bike ride All Hills, there is no flat ground out here
so on my way home it began I could hear the barking long before I saw the dog
I knew I was in for an adventure. I just conquered a half mile climb and did not have strength to out run a flea let alone a charging canine. I was charged by the dog at the top of the hill now the question that comes to mind would be so what was your course of action?

I think my solution was rather brilliant,  hey remember I am a Genius -- at least that's what I tell
myself.  Anyway the dog charged, first thing I said was Oh, I'm F****d, I said to myself
This is not the time to have a Brain Fart!!----Brainstorm, Got off the bike dog was barking
and I was keeping bike between me and the dog everytime dog moved, or turned I made
sure that bike was between me and the dog finally dog gave up, just looked at me
and ran back into yard. No harm done to man or beast.

                         Ciao
                         Frank

P S
I am doing the Cancer society ride July 10th it starts at the Ben. Franklin
bridge and goes 66 miles into Jersey  just wondering how many people
from team red might be interested. Cancer took my first wife, a marriage that
spanned 31 years she was diagnosed in March of 2001 and gone July of 2001
and now I tell myself Cancer is a sprint, Diabetes is a Marathon and both these affliction's must be conquered.

Last Weekend to Train before the TOUR!

We've got some great rides this week through Memorial Day!  See the Training Rides page for all the details.

Here's a summary of the rides:

• Thursday, 5/26 @ 9am - Andy's Ridley Creek Hill Ride (16 miles, hilly).  NOTE: Posted route may change for safety, i.e. traffic situations, etc.
• Saturday, 5/28 @ 10am - Frank's Amish Country Ride (West Coatesville, 13 miles, moderate hills, easy-to-moderate pace).  NOTE: Must RSVP to Frank by 6pm Thursday.
• Monday, 5/30 @ 9am - Valley Forge Hill Hell (22-33 miles, death-by-hills).  NOTE: Posted route may change for safety, i.e. traffic situations, etc.

I hope you can join us to get those last few training miles in before the Tour!

Thanks,
k

Help Out w/ Route Setup the Day Before the Tour!

We really need your help!  Allison, Molly and Jess will be heading out on Saturday, June 4th to hang directional signs and spray-chalk arrows along the Tour de Cure routes.  If we have enough volunteers to help out we can get this done in just two hours.

Please join in and/or recruit other volunteers to come out on Saturday morning, June 4th.  We will meet at 8:00AM for breakfast (location TBD) and then we’ll head out to assigned locations along the route.  The more volunteers we have, the shorter distance we’ll have to mark.  You’ll be done and on your way home before lunch time!!  PLUS, you’ll each get a sneak peak at the great changes we’ve made.

We will provide all supplies, detailed instructions and directions.   Please let Jess know if you are available and please share this with your fellow Tour team members, coworkers, friends, family members and students.

Don’t hesitate to contact Jess Beerman if  you have any questions at jbeermann@diabetes.org, or 610-828-5003 ext. 4642.

5/21 & 5/22 - This Weekend's Training Rides!

OK, we've got some great rides lined up for this weekend.

Here's a summary, see the Training Rides tab for full details:

• Saturday, 5/21 @ 10am - Weekly Schuylkill River Trail Ride (50 miles, beers after - shorter options available)
  This week starting at a NEW LOCATION - Phoenixville Trail Head to Art Museum and back, then relax on the deck at Fitzwater Station for beera and eats after the ride.  Folks deisring a shorter ride can turn around at any point and meet back at the Fitz.
• Sunday, 5/22 @ 10am - Brian & Kevin's Amish Country Ride from Gap to West Grove an back  (22 or 38 miles, very hilly, eats @ Chili's after)
• Sunday, 5/22 @ 10am - Frank's Amish Country Ride around West Coatesville (13 miles, moderate hills)
  Moderate pace - we will stick together and ride as a group, no one will be dropped.  A GPS may be helpful to bring on this ride.

Remember to let the ride leaders know you are coming so they can keep an eye out for you at the start of the ride.

Happy Training!

 - k

Many Training Rides this Week, and a BARBECUE!

Andy Poole will be leading a slew of rides this week, and topping it all of on Sunday with a post-ride BARBECUE!

See our Training Rides page for details on all the upcoming rides.

Here's a synopsis of this week's rides:

• 5/10 - Tuesday, 8:30am - Betzwood to Manayunk and back
• 5/12 - Thursday, 8:30am - Betzwood to Manayunk and back
• 5/14 - Saturday, 10am - Weekly Schuykill Path Ride 
• 5/15 - Sunday, 9am - Brady Gibney's Monthly Cadence Ride (from Cadence, Manayunk)
• 5/15 - Sunday, 10am - Ridley Creek State Park Hill Ride and BARBECUE!

Lots to choose from.  Please join in and invite your friends.  Also try to let the ride leader know you are coming so we know who to expect.

Have fun!  Keep training!  And don't forget to fundraise for the Tour de Cure and a great cause!

This Weekend's Training Rides - plus NEW Ride on SUNDAY!

*** UPDATE: Sunday's Ride/Run/Ride has been cancelled ***

This Saturday looks like it will be a great day for our Saturday training ride.   We'll be doing 37 miles as we ride from Conshy to Shawmont, then out to Phoenixville on the Schuylkill trail.  We'll take a poll and add a few nasty hills if folks want to build those into the ride - it would be good prep for the Tour de Cure.

Also, there's a new ride this Sunday - Join us as we ride from Conshy to the Art Museum where Andy Poole will run in the Susan G. Komen 5k Run.  Then we'll ride back to Conshy after the run.

Join Andy in the run or ride a few more miles with me on Martin Luther King Drive (formerly West River Drive, closed off for runners and cyclists - great to ride on).  

If you are doing the run with Andy, don't forget to register for the run at Susan G. Komen Run Philadelphia.  Like the Tour de Cure, the Komen run is a great cause to raise money to fight breast cancer.

Also - stay tuned in the coming weeks for an Amish country ride, and some hill rides in Ridley Creek State Park and Valley Forge Park.