Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Buddy Rides

One of the great things about Team in Training is that there's a built in buddy structure. When you and your team are all working towards the same goal, it is really easy to encourage each other to meet up and ride together. Unlike Doug, I have never done any endurance training (and have never wanted to before this), so it is particularly important to have this support structure.

Yesterday I went on my first buddy ride with one of the great people from my Team. We met at Theodore Roosevelt Island at 10am, and went to ride the "Arlington Triangle" 17-mile ride.

View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com

It seemed so simple, but apparently my choice of this ride was foolish, as, although it looks simple on the map and the cue sheet, the trail markers were abysmal leading to about 30 minutes of riding around in circles trying to find the W & OD trailhead. Nevertheless, we persevered. The hills along the Custis Trail (which parallels I-66) were brutal after more than an hour riding, but it ended up being some very good interval training at the end. Erika and I agreed that hills are BAD...hopefully the next ride will have fewer!

In the end, it always go back to the fact that however hard it is for me to go over those hills, it is nothing compared to what those I am biking for are dealing with. Please go to my donation page and help those that I'm riding for so that I can continue training for them!

And what should you do after a hard ride? Why go to the pool of course:

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The First Of Many Early Wakeup Calls...

On Saturday, August 23rd, at 7:30AM, Doug and I left the house on our bikes for our first ever Team in Training group ride (which ended up being about 28 miles!), beginning our quest towards our first century ride, and helping raise money to fight blood cancers.
Clearly, this is a picture from before we started any serious riding....

There is a great park in Washington, DC, right next to the Potomac River, called Hains Point. It is often used by exceptionally good riders for time trail training, as it is a flat 2-mile loop with two wide lanes. We added an extra 6 miles each way by riding our bikes down to Hains Point through Rock Creek Park (an easy downhill on the way from Adams Morgan, but a somewhat torturous uphill on the way back) and the goal was 5 laps around the park, which we accomplished. Here's a map of our ride:

View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com

We were far from the elite, but the first meet-up with our group was a great time. We will be spending a lot of time "in the saddle" with these folks, all of whom are involved in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for their own reasons. Some have friends or family members that are fighting cancer, others just want to do something challenging and support a great cause while doing it. I've discovered you can get to know people pretty quickly when you're riding along for 20+ miles at 15 miles-per-hour chatting!

But in the end, it is all about having something in common: a committment to riding for a great cause, and feeling like you are truly making a difference.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Committing to a Cause

Hi there everyone!

Doug and I have joined forces and decided to do something really exciting. On November 22nd, 2008, we will be traveling to Tuscon, AZ to ride in El Tour de Tuscon, a 109-mile bike ride. But we're not just doing it for ourselves, we are doing it for a great cause.

We have both, separately, committed to raise $4,200 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and joined their most successful fundraising program, Team in Training.

To contribute on behalf of Anya, click here
To contribute on behalf of Doug, click here

Through this blog, we will be sharing our experiences, challenges, and stories from the road (and pictures of course). Please join us in supporting this great cause, and we hope to hear from you on these pages as well!

- Doug & Anya