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 2nd, 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 4th 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 3rd, 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
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