Day 1 - QMDC Ride - S.F. to Santa Cruz - 85 miles

Day 1 started out with a wake-up call at 5:30 AM. Breakfast by 6:00 AM, checking the bike at 7:00 AM, then greetings at 7:30 AM. Below are some shots from the bike staging area.

On the road we ran into some pretty stong headwinds. After our lunch stop, I was dropped by the group of 5 riders I was riding with and struggled for a while until I found my cadence again. Along the way, I was able to get some pretty cool photos and video that I will post when I get home. For now, the photos below will have to suffice.

The last part of the ride was very steep hill right before the hotel. It was pretty grueling climb, but the reward of getting a post-ride massage and food frenzy made it all worth it. Below, JL gets his massage. Bryon and Summer chill. And John and Mari talk about the ride. Today was a good day. Tomorrow, we ride to Big Sur, an 86 mile ride.

Here is a video I put together of Day 1. Enjoy

Off to San Francisco

I am off to San Francisco today. There is a pre-ride event tonight at the Hyatt where the riders will check in and we will get the rest of our gear.


The flight up was pretty uneventful with the exception that I bumped into three other QMDC riders from San Diego. Brian came up and introduced himself, then introduced me to Mitch and James. Mitch and James have done the ride before and for Brian, it was his first time like me. We shared a cab from the airport the hotel which was nice.


After checking in, I made my way down to the registration desk and got my gear. Unfortunately I got the wrong bag and everything was several sizes to large. Luckily, I was able to swith out the items and now everything is good. The gear is top-notch with a hoodie, shirt, windbreaker/vest, armwamers, and leg wamers.


The hotel is comfortable and the service that the QMDC staff, Trek Travel, and Wheels on Wheels provides is impecable. Thank you for everything!

We Did It!

With your help, we were able to raise over $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). I would like to thank all of my friends for being so generous in their support and donations. To my wife and daughters who have had to sacrifice a lot during the 20-week training program, not to mention all of the time spent fundraising. To my fellow co-workers who so generously donated their time and support, I thank you.

This coming Saturday, October 18, I start the ride for the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge (QMDC) - a 600-mile ride down the California Coast from San Francisco to La Jolla to benefit CAF. I will be riding with other QMDC riders and Challenged Athletes during this epic ride.

Stay tuned for updated ride info from the road.

Finding Ways To Help Others!

After a long wait, the final winner has been declared for the Scott&BR Radio Contest. A huge congratulations goes out to Mike Henderson. Not only did Mike win the contest, but he also raised over $10,000 that he was able to use to help other challenged athletes make their fundraising goals. He gave $4,000 to Nina so that she could participate on the ride too. Mike has a huge heart, is compasionate in what he does, and is one of those rare people you meet that makes you want to do more for others. He truely does help in finding ways to help others.

Congratulations Mike. Well done!

Sunday (Almost) Century Ride

Today we did the Fallbrook Loop starting from Fletcher Cove. The day started a little crisp after a good night's rain. The ground was still a little damp, but not too wet as to cause wheels to slip. It was a smaller group today, with only 12 riders in Group 2 and only about 30 riders overall.

With us in Group 2 was Mike Henderson, one of two radio contestants from the Scott&BR Cycling Team left in the competition who are vying for that one free coveted spot on the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge. Nina is the other radio contestant who is left, and she was riding in Group 4.

Nina showed me a bruise on her thigh that she got riding the other day. Ouch! Evidently a car didn't see her and almost plowed her over. She managed to stay clear of the car, but got caught in between the railroad tracks and fell over. Luckily, she is going to be ok and it didn't stop her from getting out and riding this monster ride today.

During the morning announcements, Kristine Entwistle (QMDC Director) made a sad announcement about a fellow QMDC rider who was training in Arizona. The rider was hit by a car this weekend and was killed. It turns out that the rider was Scott Kaplan's cousin. Kristine was a little choked up because she knew this person and he had ridden in the QMDC before. Our hearts and prayers go out to Scott Kaplan and his cousin's family.

Kristine also asked us to watch out for each other on the road and be safe. We did just that. Since it was a small group today, it was pretty easy to stay together. As a matter of fact, a few times we stopped to wait for other riders only to find that everyone was there already, so we could just keep going. This kept us moving along.

The ride took us up through Del Dios and through Escondido. Since our usual SAG stop wasn't at the top of Del Dios Highway, we opted to stop for a bathroom break at the local community center which consisted of one Port-a-Potty. With 12 riders and only one of these, it made for a pretty long wait. Jeffrey shown is this picture is warning everyone not to go in there because it is scary.

Once we got north of Escondido, we hit the all-too-familiar Circle R Drive. This steep, windy road was no problem for me the last time, but this time was another story. About half way up, my legs started to tire and then I found myself dropping off the back. I couldn't make my legs go any faster; they just plumb gave up on me.

When I got to the SAG stop at the top, I felt a little funny. I had felt this way once before, during the Kitchen Creek ride. I knew that this day was going to suck, but felt I had to keep going. I figured if I didn't feel better by the next stop, I would SAG out and catch a ride back with Dan or Tina. Little did I know that the next SAG stop was over several mountains with lots, and lots, and lots of climbing in between. ^^^^^^ :o

Today we veered right off of Circle R onto W. Lilac road which connected us to Lilac road for some steep climbs. This brought us to the top of Couser Canyon road and some pretty spectacular downhill riding. I must say that I am more of a fan of downhill, then uphill, and today I felt like a kid in a candy store. I had dropped back off the group coming up the hill and waited at the top for Scott Bailey who was also struggling a little. Neither of us had ridden much these past few weeks and it showed. Once Scott reached the top, we started down the other side.

With no one ahead of me, I was able to rip through the twist and turns with barley a touch to my breaks. There were a few turns that required some quick braking, but not enough to stop the screaming descent. I had a smile on my face the whole way down and kept thinking that I could ride this all day long. Unfortunately, we soon found ourselves on relatively flat ground, but then another downhill section appeared that was just as good as the first.

Scott and I finally caught up to the rest of the group who had mistakenly thought there were only 10 riders in the group, which on the hills there usually were. :) Scott and I soon found ourselves dropped off the back again as the hills started rearing up through Sleeping Indian Road. After some rolling hills, we found ourselves looking on an awesome sight. We could see the whole valley below us with the ocean in the distance. At this point we knew we were almost home. Or at least close to home - but still 30 miles away.

The last part of Sleeping Indian Rd. was an extremely steep descent that got me up to 46 MPH. Now that was fun. We finally caught up with the rest of the group who had almost sent out a search party to find us. We turned right onto N River Rd. and wound up at the last SAG stop just a few miles away. We were greeted by a group of skater kids who were taking a break from a hard day of grinding.

At this point in the ride, I was totally cooked. I kicked off my shoes to get some circulation back in my feet and downed two PB&J sandwiches, some pretzels, raisins, licorice, half a coke, and a bottle of water. After refilling, we soon were off again and on our way to the Oceanside bike path.
Luckily, the tempo was pretty mellow on the bike path and we all enjoyed a nice talk with each other during the 7 mile ride to the coast. Once again, we stopped to regroup at the end of the path only to find that everyone was already there, so off we went.

The ride south was pretty mellow too. I started feeling better and soon found some reserve strength left in the engine. I figured if I pushed a little extra on the hills, I could stay with the group and not get dropped. On one hill, I guess I pushed a little too hard and the next thing I knew I was way ahead of the group. How did that happen? Pat Jak gave me the Oscar for best supporting role in a drama. He said that it was a great performance I gave earlier back on the hills saying I was tired. I would like to take this time to thank the Academy for this award... :)

At the beginning of the ride, we all joked around about riding a few extra miles at the end of the ride to go from a 96+ mile ride to a full 100 mile century. At the end of the ride however, no one was joking and we were all glad to get off our bikes a few miles short of a century. Besides, we will have plenty of chances to ride over 100 miles a day during the QMDC 600 mile ride starting October 18. I for one, can wait until then.

Double Century = Double The Fun

What an incredible ride we had this weekend up to Redondo Beach and back. For those of you who went, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. It started out with a cool, slightly overcast day but turned into a beautiful sunny day with a slight off-shore breeze.

Group 1 combined with Group 2 and about 20 of us rode the 102 miles up the coast with breathtaking views and serious headwinds. We started out the ride with several flats - ok to get those out of the way. Then it was up the coast for some pretty fun riding. The group pretty much stayed together the whole way. Some of us split through Camp Pendleton, but then we hooked on to Bryan Black's wheel and he pulled us back to the group. Thanks Bryon.
Just past San Clemente, we hooked up with Giberto, a challenged athlete that has a missing leg. It was impressive to see him pedal and keep up with even the strongest riders on the hills. We then proceeded through all the beach town communities up the coast with rolling hills and beautiful views of the ocean.

Past Long Beach, we headed through a industrial area complete with factories, smokestacks, and warehouses. We stopped at a taco stand to wait for some riders and decided we should probably just keep moving along. This brought us to a series of three bridges that I swear felt like they were drawbridges raising up while we were riding over them. They seemed to go up and up and then once you got to the top, the wind hit you smack in the face and slowed you down to a crawl.

About 15 miles just this side of Redondo, we made a left turn and stopped at a 7-11 for a quick water fill up. This was much needed since the next five miles were a stair step hill climb that seemed to go on forever. The pace was keep pretty high, but we all managed to stay together. Once we got to the top, however, we were treated with a pretty fast descent into Redondo Beach.

Once we got to the hotel, tacos and drinks were waiting for us. They mentioned this at the start of the ride and for the last 25 miles I thought of nothing else. It is amazing how you will push your body if you know there is a taco waiting on the other end.

A few of us gathered at the hotel pool and jaccuzi and hung out for a while. Anish, one seriously strong rider and I went in seach of a stretch of beach along the boardwalk and went swimming in the ocean. The waves weren't that big, but they were just fine for some body surfing.

Around 6 PM, we all met in the hotel lobby before walking over to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I sat with Mike Henderson and his lovely wife Crystal at dinner and had a pleasant conversation. Mike and I are throwing a Silent Auction and Sushi fundraising party on Monday, September 29 at the Southwestern Yacht Club. It allowed us a chance to talk about the event and what still needs to be done.

Bed came early for most of us because after all, we still had over 100 miles to ride the next morning.

Morning came all too soon and we found ourselves having breakfast with the other riders at the hotel restaurant. Mike MacGregor, Nina, Mike Henderson, and I all sat together and chatted a little. After getting our fill of food, coffee, and filling our water bottles, we were off again.

We started off with 9 Group Leaders in our group, so it was suggested that a few of them ride with Group 3 and 4. The first few hills were a wake up call to the legs, but we all knew that those 5 miles of up hill the day before would now be 5 miles of down hill today. We managed to catch almost every green light coming down the hill, then made our way through industrial world (it was here one rider pointed out Jesse James' West Coast Choppers building), over the three drawbridges, and into Long Beach.

The ride south of Long Beach was pretty windy, but that didn't stop us from cranking along, with a lot of pulls by Anish and Bryon. With those two out front, no one else really needs to pull, but we all took our turns regardless. We then found ourselves passing the rolling hills of the many beach communities along the route and pushed pretty hard south of San Clemente Beach just before Camp Pendleton. It was here that we stopped at the SAG Wagon with sandwhiches, soda, and even brownies that were made by John Welch's wife. They were awesome.

It was Mike Henderson's B-Day today and someone made him a sign wishing him well on his 49th B-day. Mike's goal is to live to 110, so he is not even half way there yet. Mike is no stranger to back to back long rides on the weekends. He helps out with Trek's Saturday rides and usually puts in between 125 - 175 miles on any given weekend alone. He has an incredible heart and is a great guy. Happy Birthday Mike!

It was at this SAG stop we met up with some of the riders that didn't make it up with us on Saturday. They rode up in the morning from Solana Beach and were going to ride the rest of the way back with us. It was nice to see some familiar faces, including Scott Bailey and Nancy.

I was chatting with Scott through the campground when all of the sudden several riders blew past and if I didn't jump on, I knew that it would be a long ride back to Solana Beach. I managed to hook on to the back and held on through Camp Pendleton. About six of us managed to keep a pretty constant paceline of 22 mph through Camp Pendleton and came out the other side completely wiped out. However, that didn't stop Bryon and Anish from picking it up a notch and leaving us all behind.

I had a little left in me and managed to catch back up to them only to get dropped again, only to catch up again, and get dropped. The last time I caught up with them, I flatted and had to stop to fix it. By the time it was fixed, almost the entire Group 1/2 riders caught up to us and we all headed into the home stretch. Once the last hill was in sight, everyone sprinted to the finish. It was fun to watch.

Once we rolled into the parking lot, we were greeted by Kristine, Kris, and Deb Hoffman. It was a nice welcoming committee and we all patted the other riders on the back for a job well done and for completing (for most of us) our first back to back century rides. I feel that this weekend helped everyone bond together a little bit closer. We all know now that we can do 20o miles in two days and feel that come mid October, we will be ready to ride 600 miles in 7 days.

Well done everyone!