Bike Bites: RSVP2 Ride

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

~Meister Eckhart

Thank you for your support throughout the Summer Cycle Team 2015 season. You supported me in my quest to coach the team, ride the rides and most importantly raise money to continue to fight to find a cure for blood cancers and all cancer. We began training to ride America's Most Beautiful Ride(AMBBR) on February 14th and ended the season riding RSVP2, a bike ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC on August 15th & 16th. It has been a long and epic season.

Below is an overview of my season and details about my ride in the great Pacific Northwest for RSVP2.

Some Season Facts:

Our Team raised a total of $121,838
I raised $4,779 (this year I fundraised for both AMBBR and RSVP2)
We trained over 26 Saturdays (including both events) - 6 months of riding for a cure
We rode 2,408 miles in training rides and events
This completed my 23rd and 24th seasons with Team in Training

The season began in February with a team of 90 who trained every Saturday to ride AMBBR, a 100 mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe on June 7th. Below is the team in Tahoe.

AMBBR Team at South Lake Tahoe - 6-7-15

After Tahoe the a smaller group of about 35 TNT alumni trained on both Saturdays and Sundays through June and July to prepare for our two day, two hundred mile ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC.

RSVP2 was an epic ride. To start, Kim and I drove 792 miles to Seattle where the ride to Vancouver, BC began. I rode 215 miles on my bike, while Kim drove our car. After we arrived in Vancouver, BC, we then drove 934 miles to get back home. We had many adventures along the way, not to mention camping, but that is for another post.

We arrived in Seattle on Friday, August 14th around 10am at the Sheraton Wall Center. That afternoon our bike truck arrived and we put together the bikes that had been trucked to Seattle. We cancelled our "tune-up" ride as there was an intense rain storm which included thunder and lightening - first time Seattle had seen rain in many weeks! My nephew Jared arrived at 4:15pm as he was my date for the Inspiration Dinner.

Jared & I with jersey

At the dinner that evening - our honored teammate Dominic Adorno shared what our riding has meant to him. We stood in a large circle and each shared names of who we were riding for and were given a piece of purple yarn to remind us on the bike. The dinner ended with my team giving me my coaches jersey that had my brother's handprints on the back - I was deeply touched and speechless. The picture to the right is of Jared and I with the jersey. After dinner Jared hung out in our room and visited while I packed my gear for day one.

Some of the team ready to ride Day One

Day one of the ride our team met in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Center at 5:30am. We went over the 5 mile route to the start line, handed out route sheets, and then gave a very loud Go TEAM cheer, and we were off into Seattle at daybreak.

Everyone was excited. We needed to be at the start line at U of W by 7am. At mile 1.53 Jared was on the corner in my dad's red, white and blue bathrobe ringing a cowbell. When I put together the route sheet from the hotel to the start line, I had no idea that it passed right in front of his apartment. Time for a quick hug and we were off again. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of him!

Team Canada - Starbucks

We got to the start line by 6:20am. The team gathered for a couple more 'Go Teams,' then split into 7 ride groups, agreeing to meet in Bellingham, 110 miles later. I rode with "Team Canada": Lisa Toso; Lisa Guertin; Barb Ando; and Sarah Crawford. The early part of the ride was cool and followed bike paths a long Lake Washington. At mile 25 Team Canada stopped at a Starbucks for coffee and a bathroom break - see picture to the right.

Its raining

At mile 35 it began to rain and rained steadily for an hour - we were soaked to the bone and my cycle shoes were filled with water. One thing the rain did was get us to move along quicker. Once the rain stopped and we dried out some, it was smooth sailing to the finish. The route on Day One ended with us riding along the coast into Bellingham, a beautiful finish to a fun and beautiful day. We spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Bellingham.

Team ready to roll Day Two in Bellingham

Day Two began with the team meeting in the lobby 5:45am and we rolled at 6am. I was so excited, I forgot my coffee and needed to stop at 6:05am. Day two was filled with beautiful farmland in Northwest Washington. There were many apple and pear orchards along the route. We watched the sun come up behind Mt. Baker.

At mile 35 we crossed the border into Canada. As you can see from the picture below, they dedicated four lanes to us at the board crossing. We rolled up to the booths and showed our passports. It was really quite impressive to see all of these cyclists crossing the border together. Our boarder patrol agent was a nice guy and let us take our picture with him. It may have helped that we were wearing Canada jerseys.

Border Crossing into Canada

Once we left the border we headed east for about 20 miles of rolling hills. It was beautiful scenery. We stopped at a lemonade stand at a farm. They were taking donations for the lemonade toward Landon's (he was about 4 years old) college fund. He had run into the house the day before and asked if he could have lemonade stand and his mom asked if he know how far out in the country they lived.

Landon's Lemonade Stand

He said he knew that, but there was a bike ride and he wanted to serve lemonade. Here is a picture of Team Canada with Landon and his old dog Ho. Ho was trying to sit in the picture, but it was not easy for him. Needless to say it was the best lemonade stand EVER!

From the lemonade stand to the finish Team Canada rode well. The road took us along a river toward Vancouver, crossing two bridges, traversing neighborhoods and finishing the ride on on Sea Wall in Vancouver where we had incredible views of the city skyline and water. We finished happy and strong.

Team Canada at the Finish Line in Vancouver, BC

Here we are at the finish line - all smiles as we were throughout the two days on the bike.

I could not have done this without the women on Team Canada, my partner Kim who not only shlepped my stuff over the 215 miles, but has been there for me throughout this long and arduous season. Most importantly I could not have done this without the support of my friends and family! I am in awe of your generosity and support this past season and throughout my time riding for a cure.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

jBelow are some miscellaneous pictures from the ride: