GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 9/10 - The Home Stretch

Apologies for the late posting of this final blog for the 2012 GTD ride.  This entry will cover the final two days of the ride. 

 

Day 9 began for Flight A (Rob, Tony and me riding, Lisa and Larry driving) with about a 15 minute drive from the hotel to the start point in Fort Indiantown Gap.  While the humidity was up at the start, for once, the temperature was comfortably in the low 60’s.  We drove the pace through the hilly terrain and had a 19 mph average over the first 3 hours when we joined with Flight B. 

 

This ride was similar to Day 8 in that we primarily traveled through rolling hills and rural farmland.  Rollers create their own mindset.  While not as challenging as alpine climbs, it can be demoralizing to constantly climb and descend what feels like the same hill over and over and over again.  At times when you crest one hill, you can see the next two or three rollers in the distance.  Very beautiful to look at, but hard on the mind and legs.  That said, the team was working well by this point and everyone was taking pulls on the front.  Since this was the final full day of cycling and the legs were good, Flight A decided to spend some extra time in the saddle, finishing out Pennsylvania (man that’s a long state to cross) and across the Delaware River into New Jersey finally calling it a day at the 111 mile mark, leaving Flight B to finish up the final 27 miles.  The bridge across the river epitomized the “get it done” attitude of the day and prompted this exchange between me and Rob while riding:

 

Rob:       The sign back there said that bikes aren’t allowed on the bridge.

John:     Did it?  I didn’t see it.

Rob:       Yup.

                Me:        Well, we better pedal faster then, huh?  J

 

Once back in the van, we drove to lunch in Wayne, NJ to meet up with Lisa’s good friends Kathy and Mara who live in the general area.  It’s always great to see friends and family on the ride and especially great when they bring a resupply of bagels and strawberry milk (best recovery drink ever!!).  Thanks!!

 

 

Day 9 Summary – Monday, July 2^nd, 2012

Route – Fort Indiantown Gap, PA to Vernon, NJ

Miles – 138.5

Vertical – 8,398

Average Pace – 17.3 MPH

Events – None

Weather (Bangor, PA) – Sunny, low 62F, high 88F, wind SW 10 – 15 MPH

 

Day 9 Profile – Fort Indiantown Gap, PA to Vernon, NJ

 

 

 

Day 10 was a tale of two rides.  Shift 2 was responsible for a 50+ mile stretch from Abington, CT through Rhode Island to Wrentham, MA.  Once in Wrentham, we would join up with Shifts 1 and 3 for the final 28 mile promenade to Squantum Point and the end of the 10-day journey.  The 10:15 AM meeting time in Wrentham, meant that Shift 2 could sleep in to 5:15AM.  This was a real treat after many days waking before 3AM.  Additionally, the relatively low mileage on the day gave us the chance to ride the entire day as a full team of 7.  This is always fun.

 

To hit the sync point in Wrentham on-time we needed to average about 17 mph over three hours.  The team was relaxed and confident in this based on the past 9 days of riding and all was going on schedule after two hours in the saddle.  Then, at the 30+ mile mark, we hit a detour for a bridge under repair that unexpectedly added nearly 5 miles to the ride.  I didn’t have to say a word, everyone knew what was at stake and what we needed to do.  This was my proudest moment as a team lead on the trip.  We dropped the hammer and rode the final hour at a nearly 22 mph clip with everyone taking pulls up front riding as a team and staying together on the climbs.  As a result of this, we hit Wrentham right on time and even had a few minutes to talk to the other shifts before kicking off the easy ride to Boston.  This is not something we could have pulled off on Day 1 of the ride, but we were a sight to see on Day 10. 

 

The final promenade of a Team Will ride is always fun.  It’s an opportunity to talk to other riders you haven’t seen much of over the past 10 days and share stories and laughs.  The ride itself was largely uneventful with the exception of riding on a mulch path for a short distance and a minor course correction about 2 miles out from our final destination.  At about 12:40 PM we coasted into Squantum Point State Park and the end of our 3,550 mile journey to a nice reception of family and friends and the ceremonial wheel dip and plunge into the Atlantic.  A Boston Globe reporter was also there and wrote a nice story that was on the front of Wednesday’s Metro section. 

 

As I finish off this blog two days after the trip ended, I’ve had some time to reflect on the overall event.  In virtually all respects, this was our most successful ride.  As an organization, we stopped at 13 hospitals, attended 5 community events, raised over $110,000 for awareness and families impacted by children’s cancer, covered the longest distance yet for a GTD ride (3550 miles), and most importantly, got everyone there safely. 

 

For Shift 2, I stand behind my comment at the outset that this is the strongest cycling team I’ve ever ridden with for Team Will.  We had some inter-team challenges along the way and lingering frustrations to be sure, but there is no doubt that when it came time to get the job done, this team was up to the task.  We covered our 5 hospital visits, 3 community events, nearly 1300 miles and countless climbs with dedication and professionalism.  I want to personally thank the Shift 2 riders – Tony Reyes, Amy Chow, Tom Weissgerber, Rob Strong, Mauricio Solis and Ricky Ng for making this trip a success and a special thanks to our drivers – Larry Nevers, Julie Ryan and Lisa Depew for providing the best support a team could ask for on a ride.  Drivers never seem to get the respect they deserve on this trip, but I’m here to say that you all are the backbone of this trip.  YOU GUYS ROCK!!

 

On a personal note, I attended 2 of our shift’s 5 hospital visits meeting many new heroes along the way (special shout out to Haven, Michele and Reid) while riding 935 miles over the 10 days.  The strength of the team and generally favorable winds from day 5 onward made this an easier trip than most.  The legs, body and mind are tired but will recover soon enough to take on new challenges. Right now though, the focus is on getting back into “Dad Mode” and spending more time with Josh and Connor (family reunion in Portland this weekend!!).

 

For Team Will, the 4^th GTD ride is over,

but the journey continues so long as kids are battling cancer.  This organization survives on the backs of its volunteers.  If you have read this blog and been inspired by the story and the cause, I ask you to take the next step and help us plan and execute GTD 2014.  It’s coming sooner than you think!!  J   Contact me at John.Depew@team-will.org for more details.

 

 

Day 10 Summary – Tuesday, July 3^rd, 2012

Route – Abington, CT to Boston, MA

Miles – 84.3

Vertical – 4,411

Average Pace – 16.3 MPH

Events – None

Weather (Wrentham, MA) – Mostly sunny, low 67F, high 85F, wind NW 5 – 10 MPH

 

Day 10 Profile – Abington, CT to Wrentham, MA

 

 

Day 10 Profile – Wrentham, MA to Boston, MA

 

 

 

Thanks for reading,

John Depew

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 8 - Pennsylvania Pain

Today, Sunday, we covered ground in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  As the profile shows below, we never got very high, but we had scores of rollers to climb over all day so we had to stay on top of our game to cover the distance in time.  Flight A took things out a little slow at the start, but by mile 40, all 7 riders were on the road and the group started to rock.  The countryside in Eastern Ohio was very idyllic.  We actually saw 5 Amish buggies taking families to church.  This along with the fog covered valleys and picturesque farms really made an impression.  Several riders commented that this was the best day yet. 

 

By mile 95, Flight A had met their goal of riding into West Virginia and they called it a day.  That left Rob, Tony, Mauricio and me to take it home.  By this time, the weather was getting very hot and humid and the hills were getting more frequent and steeper.  This was like Missouri hills on steroids!!  The good news though was that we made it to the finish just in time, well maybe 5 minutes over.  This was a great team effort to get it in on schedule!!

 

At dinner tonight near Jonestown, PA, we had a great meal of beer and pub food.  The team is tired, but also confident and relaxed in knowing that they are all strong enough for whatever the GTD 2012 can dish out at them.  The past week (yes, it’s only been a week) has been a huge learning experience for all of us.  Our team is firing on all cylinders and will be flying by the time we hit Boston on Tuesday!!

 

 

Day 8 Summary – Sunday, July 1^st, 2012

Route – Brownsville, OH to Monongahela, PA

Miles – 137.7

Vertical – 10,061

Average Pace – 18.4 MPH

Events – None

Weather (Zanesville, OH) – Fog early, mostly sunny later, low 68F, high 93F, wind SW 10 – 20 MPH

 

Day 8 Profile – Brownsville, OH to Monongahela, PA

 

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 7 - Midwest Fest

Busy day again today.  Because of the time change as we cross into Indiana, we only had 7 hours to cover 129 miles before heading out to two different afternoon hospital visits in Dayton and Columbus, OH.  In our favor was the relatively flat terrain of Central Illinois, but that was countered by a steady headwind at the start for Tom, Amy and Ricky.  By the time Flight B (Tony, Rob, Mauricio and I) arrived at the 40 mile mark outside of Charleston, IL, we were trending behind schedule.  On a day without any post-ride events, we would ride the route normally and run over our 12PM stop time if necessary, but with the entire team booked for two hospital visits, that wasn’t possible today – and hospital visits are always the priority on a GTD ride.  Instead, we split the team up (something I really hate to do unless absolutely necessary) leaving Flight A to finish the first 60 miles and sending Flight B up the road to ride from mile 60 to mile 129.  Lisa did a great job handling the two person driver duties solo.  Thanks Hon!!   The split team maneuver allowed us to finish with just enough time to load the vehicles and head out to Ohio and the hospitals.

 

Flight A took the Dayton Children’s visit while Flight B had the honor of visiting Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.  We really appreciate the hospital  staff taking time to work with us given that they run with a reduced headcount on the weekends.  We met 5 heroes and their parents.  Reid was a 5 year old cutie who was a bundle of energy and made a point of running and jumping around with his brother.  Very nice to see.  Pictures of the visit should be posted to Facebook in a day or so.

 

With the visit done, we are currently in the van on the way to Lisa’s cousin Mike’s house in McConnelsville, OH.  Mike and Katy have graciously opened his doors to us for food, laundry and a place to sleep.  WE CAN”T THANK YOU BOTH ENOUGH!!!!

 

Day 7 Summary – June 30^th, 2012

Route – Findlay, IL to Hazelwood, IN

Miles – 129.1

Vertical – 3,424

Average Pace – 18.4 MPH

Events – Dayton Children’s Hospital, 2PM, Nationwide Children’s Hospital – Columbus, 4PM

Weather (Terre Haute, IN) – Sunny, low 73F, high 99F, wind SW 10 – 15 MPH

 

Day 7 Profile – Findlay, IL to Hazelwood, IN

 

 

 

 

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 5/6 - Kansas and Missouri

OK, fell a little behind on the blog after two very dramatic days both on and off the bike.  To catch up, I’m going to post days 5 and 6 here. 

 

We finally caught a bit of a break on day 5 as we hit Kansas and finally got a tail wind to go with a generally downhill profile.  The downside was that we hit a massive record setting heat wave that engulfed the entire Great Plains and Midwest region.  In fact, we cycled right through Hill City which had the highest temperature in the nation Thursday for the 5^th consecutive day.  Fortunately, our shift runs from 4AM to noon, so we miss the majority of the heat, but it was still cooking out there!!

 

The ride itself was fairly uneventful, and that’s the way we like it.  With the wind and terrain on our side, we were able to keep a high average pace and finish over an hour early.  This was critical since everyone was feeling the effects of the Utah and Colorado days.  With the riding done, we hightailed it to Shawnee, KS to spend the night at our driver Larry’s house.  Larry and Eileen (and daughter Noel) have been big supporters of Team Will over the years putting our team up for the night, doing our laundry and providing great home cooked food in 2008, 2010 and again this year.  Thanks Larry and Eileen!!  J

 

At 5PM Shift 2 headed over to Pizza West in Shawnee for a fundraising event.  We had a chance to spend dinner with some of our supporters and families impacted with cancer.  We also had the chance to meet 5 of our heroes (kids who have personally battled cancer) in person.  Always nice to get their autograph on our cycling jersey.  J

 

With the fundraiser done, it was back to Larry’s house for a rather early bedtime – 9PM.  This gave me nearly 6 hours of sleep which has been much more than the previous two nights.  That really helps the recovery for the next day on the bike.

 

Day 5 Summary – June 28^th, 2012

Route – Colby, KS – Downs, KS

Miles – 141.3

Vertical – 3,039

Average Pace – 20.8

Events – Fundraiser at Pizza West in Shawnee, KS, 5PM

Weather (Hill City, KS) – Sunny, low 80F, high 108F, wind WSW 10 – 15 mph

 

Day 5 Profile – Colby, KS to Downs, KS

 

 

Luck was still on our side on day 6 (Friday) with another good tail wind.  We had an extra early start as we needed to drive 45 minutes from Larry’s house to our start point in Independence, MO.  Missouri is an interesting place to cycle.  You never get very high, but with the constant up and down the rolling hills, you end up climbing quite a bit.  With a  relatively easy day in Kansas on Thursday though, the team has recovered it’s swagger and we were off and running covering the route  with nearly a 19 MPH pace.  I personally covered a shade over 100 miles giving me 575 miles for the trip so far.  The legs are tired but still feel pretty solid.

 

At the 10AM mark, Flight A loaded their bikes and headed off for St. Louis Children’s hospital.  This is our third hospital visit (forgot to mention our day 4 visit to Rocky Mountain Children’s Hospital in Denver – awesome time!!) of the trip.  Tom, Larry, Amy and Ricky met many new heroes.  There are pictures of the visit located on Team Will’s Facebook site (http://www.facebook.com/teamwillcycling). 

 

 

Day 6 Summary - June 29^th, 2012

Route – Independence, MO – Hallsville, MO

Miles – 140.8

Vertical – 8,339

Average Pace – 18.8

Events – St. Louis Children’s Hospital, 2PM

Weather (Independence, MO) – Sunny, low 75F, high 101F, wind WSW 10 – 15 mph

 

Day 6 Profile – Independence, MO to Hallsville, MO

 

 

Thanks for reading,

John

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 4 - Rocky Mountain High

Our Wednesday ride through the Colorado Rockies was awesome in many respects but we also had a few mishaps.  This is the queen stage (meaning hardest) of the entire 2012 GTD event with over 11,000 feet of climb across 134 miles.  The high points of the ride are trips over Vail pass and the Continental Divide at Loveland Pass (elevation 11,990).  To be sure, this is an absolutely stunning day of scenery.  In order to make sure everyone had a shot at the Divide, the plan was to put John, Ricky and Rob loose as Flight A to tackle Vail Pass with the hope of saving the rest of the team for the climb up the Continental Divide.  On a brief decent on the Vail Pass climb, Ricky came into a corner a little hot and lost control, landing hard on his left shoulder.  He was able to ride to the summit, but needed to call it a day there.  At the top of Vail Pass, Flight B joined us for the technical descent.  About 1/3 of the way down, Rob hit a grove and got a pinch flat that caused him to crash also.  Fortunately there was only minor bike and body damage and Rob was able to finish the day.  With the exception of Ricky, the entire team was able to summit Loveland Pass.  Well done all!!

 

All this excitement forced us to run past our finish time by 30 minutes, but given the challenges of the day and the difficulty of the terrain, this was still a great accomplishment for the team.  Even better, both Rob and Ricky are planning to ride on Day 5.

 

Day 4 Summary

Route – Gypsum, CO – Golden, CO

Miles – 134.7

Vertical – 11,141’

Average Pace – 16.8 mph

Events – Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children visit, 1PM

Weather (Eagle, CO) – Mostly sunny, low 55F, high 86F, wind SW 10 – 15 mph

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading,

John

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 3 - Soldier Summit

What a difference a day can make.  Yesterday we were treated to mostly tail winds and moderate temps.  Today, was an exercise in heat, headwinds, lots of climbing and general fatigue.  Today’s route took us from just west of Salt Lake City, counter clockwise south to Provo. From there we jumped on Hwy 6 for the climb up to Soldier Summit and the decent through Price Canyon to Wellington.   The required pace (17.6 mph) was a challenge given the constant head winds.

 

A special shout out the folks at Calvary Chapel in Salt Lake city.  They put us up for the night, fed us an awesome meal and gave us a place to do laundry.  This was a really great break from the hotel and restaurant routine!!

 

 

Day 3 Summary

Route – Magna, UT to Wellington, UT + 8 miles

Miles – 140.6

Vertical – 7150’

Average Pace – 17.6 mph

Events – None

Weather (Spanish Fork, UT) – Sunny, low 64F, high 92F, wind SSW 15 – 25 MPH

 

 

 

Typical Day For Shift 2

Shift 2 is responsible for riding from 4AM – 12PM every day.  For those that are curious, the general schedule follows.  Each day, the team is split into two groups (Flight A and Flight B), each with its own vehicle.  Flights are based on rider condition and the day’s terrain.  Flight makeup changes from day to day.

 

 

 

Morning Prep Activities - Load the vehicle, get gas & daily food supplies, eat breakfast, call riders on the road to verify sync point, drive to start.

Ride Time Responsibilities – Vehicle with 2 drivers will provide direct support.  Other vehicle can rest or run errands.  Need to have Instamapper tracking turned on.

Post Ride Activities – Load bikes, drive 250+ miles to night lodging, nutrition/hydration, hospital visit, blogging/posting, planning, laundry, showers, nap.

 

 

Thanks for reading,

John

 

 

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 2 - I-80 Blues

Monday saw our longest day of the trip with nearly 150 miles of cycling from 27 miles W of Winnemucca to Elko, NV.   To cover this in 8 hours, we needed to average a whopping 18.6 mph including any stops.  Stopping is something that we work hard to avoid on this ride as it can make a challenging schedule even more difficult.  When we need bottles or food, we drop out of the paceline to the support van and get refreshed on the fly.  If someone has a flat, we leave them behind.  The van will help them repair the tire and shuttle them back up to the paceline.  This is a critical aspect of the Go The Distance Ride and one that we train for in the months leading up to the event. 

 

Today, the majority of the ride was spent on I-80.  Lots of scenic desert landscape, loud trucks and (thankfully) a light to moderate tail wind for most of the day.  The team performed brilliantly finishing the route 45 minutes early at an average pace of 20.4 mph.  The early crew (Flight A - 4AM start) had Amy, Mauricio, Tony and Tom riding with Larry and Julie driving.  The second group (Flight B) consisting of Rob, Rickie and myself with Lisa driving joined around 6:30.  I’m proud to say the reinforcements rode exactly 100 miles at an average pace of 22.0 mph.  Great day to be on the bike.

 

Once the early crew had ridden their 80-100 miles, they jumped back in the van and hightailed it to Salt Lake City for a visit at a children’s hospital to visit with kids battling cancer. These visits are the cornerstone of the GTD rides since the children and their families are what this is all about.  By all accounts, this was a great trip, lifting the spirits of both the kids and the TW crew.  Well done all!!

 

Day 2 Summary

Route – 27 miles W of Winnemucca, NV to Elko, NV

Miles – 148.8

Vertical – 5056’

Average Pace – 20.4 mph

Events - children's hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, 4PM

Weather (Winnemucca) – Sunny, low 48F, high 87F, wind WSW 15-25 mph

 

 

 

 

On a side note, we just crossed $107,000 in donations.  We are inching closer to our goal of $125,000 by the end of the ride.  Check our progress here:  http://www.crowdrise.com/gtd2012/fundraiser/teamwillcharity

 

Thanks for reading,

John

 

Day 1

Great first day with the group starting at 4:00 am. Very inspiring visiting William Kiefer's grave site. One of our heroes, Nicole, also stopped by the 'packing of the vans' event last night, smiling and offering encouragement. Thanks, Nicole! Tomorrow we head to Utah, with a hospital visit in Salt Lake City. The weather has been perfect, and it looks like that will continue tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your support, we appreciate you!

GTD 2012 - Shift 2, Day 1 - Go Time!!

After 12 months of planning and many thousands of miles of training, we toed the line at 4AM this morning.  The entire team has worked hard to get to this point and I’m pleased to say that this is the strongest and best prepared team I’ve been part of on all my Team Will rides. 

 

Day 1 Summary

Route – Fairfield, CA to Nevada City, CA + 7 miles

Miles – 130.2

Vertical – 7128’

Average Pace (free running clock, 4AM start – 16.5 mph

Weather (Folsom) – Sunny, low 50F, high 80F, winds SSW 5-10 mph

 

 

The day began with Flight A (Amy, Mauricio, Ricky and me cycling and Julie and Larry driving) in Fairfield.  With the first 60 miles being pancake flat, the strategy was to run a high pace to get some time in hand before the climbing started.  By all accounts, this worked as we hit Folsom with an average speed of well over 19 mph.  We had the added honor of meeting one of our heroes, Emily, and her family on the bike trail in Rancho Cordova.  We could only stop for a few minutes, but it was great to meet her and get her autograph on our jersey.

 

Flight B (Tony, Tom, met us in Sacramento where they did an interview for Ch 31’s Good Morning Sacramento near the resting place of William Kiefer (Team Will’s namesake).  From there we rode the bike trail to Folsom where a nice crowd of family and friends cheered us on.  We also got the help of a couple of Team Revolutions guys to set the pace on the road to Auburn (thanks Team Rev!!).  At Auburn, I called it a day with 95 miles in the books.  Flight B continued on to Nevada City, CA and the hand off to Shift3.

 

All in all a great day on the bike.  The very mild weather and light wind made for excellent conditions and the team is really coming together.   There were a few learning moments, but that’s typical of day 1.  Tomorrow will be a very long day as we cross Nevada.  Should be fun!! J

 

Remember, you can track our progress across the country here - http://www.team-will.org/tracker

 

Thanks for reading,

John

 

 

 

Getting ready to cross the country with a great group of people to bring hope to children with cancer!

Ken Scarberry  |  Executive Director  |  Team Will  |  (916) 520-HERO (4376)

kscarberry@team-will.org  |  www.team-will.org