|
|
|
8/26/2002
Hello again everyone!
First, I’d like to thank you all for being so generous! With your help,
we’ve raised over $1800 so far – and it’s only been three weeks! I have
no doubt that we will meet my $3000 goal :-)
When I started this adventure, Annette and I decided to replace the 18
year old Fuji Touring bike I bought when I was in the army. I’m now
riding a Trek 5200 professional road racing bike (the image in the
background [below - white background]). It’s one of the bikes that Lance
Armstrong has used to win the past four Tour de France stage races. The
frame on this bike only weighs 2.4 pounds! The whole bike weighs around
19 pounds. It’s really a great bike and pretty comfortable on long
rides.
The training is going great! I’ve been placed with the advanced riding
group. We ride faster and farther than the rest of the team. This past
weekend, the advanced group rode 32.3 miles. After the “normal” ride,
about 8 of us rode an additional 21.1 miles with the coach and his wife
(53.4 miles total!). Ok, it was all flat riding (no hills), but still
over 50 miles Since I’ve started riding again, I’ve gone 1,782 miles,
1,110 of them since I got my Trek in early July! By the time we ride in
the El Tour de Tucson on November 23d, I’ll have ridden well over 5,000
miles!
It’s been very interesting so far. The daily training schedule involves
a lot of slow, easy rides. The coach says we should be able to sing or
hold a conversation while riding. The idea is to develop the
cardiovascular system. The muscles develop better at a slow aerobic
pace, not by going as fast as you can. Those who know me well know that
I like going all out, so this has been a lesson in patience for me!
As we progress through the training, we will meet with the cancer
patients we are riding for to share our experiences and theirs. It
really takes the program to a personal level. You have helped me reach
my donation goal, so I would like to share my experiences with you. I’m
planning on sending e-mail messages with progress reports and any
exciting events that occurs during the training. If you would like to
get a copy of these emails, send me an email message so I have your
email address and I’ll add you to the distribution list. My address is
mike@mikeerides.com.
Team in Training is really geared for anyone, at any fitness level. If
you want to help a great cause and get a little healthier, I would
encourage you to checkout the Team in Training website (www.teamintraining.org).
Or I can ask our local coordinators to help find the contact person for
your location. This year over 10,000 Team in Training members will
participate in marathons in Hawaii and Florida, as well as the cycling
event right here in sunny Arizona. In May, the cycling team completed a
century ride in Lake Tahoe, NV (now THERE are some hills!).
I hope to hear from you in email and THANKS again for your donation!
|
