All updates during the ride will be at www.gtd2010.org
Marcus
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Last 200 Miles of Training...
Ahh... 100 miles tomorrow in the Sierra Century and then 100 miles in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride.
And then - rest! Only 11 days to go! Check out the ride website - www.gtd2010.org
And - a note on Cards for Kids... we have cards coming from Taiwan! And hopefully we can establish a relationship with an organization in Taiwan that is also focused on raising money to eradicate children's cancer. Long story about how we connected - but it involved a flyer on a bulletin board at Starbucks here in Folsom!
TAFN.
And then - rest! Only 11 days to go! Check out the ride website - www.gtd2010.org
And - a note on Cards for Kids... we have cards coming from Taiwan! And hopefully we can establish a relationship with an organization in Taiwan that is also focused on raising money to eradicate children's cancer. Long story about how we connected - but it involved a flyer on a bulletin board at Starbucks here in Folsom!
TAFN.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Gearing up...
Just a short update... First - I added a couple of slideshows on the right. The top one is from this year's ride (so far, just training photos). The bottom one is from the 2008 ride.
Team Will activity is really gearing up. Last Friday was orientation. We discussed the logistics for the trip, do's and don'ts in the hospitals, etc. We met most of the Team Will riders and drivers and had a great dinner together. Today, Team Two had a route review...
While we expected the section in Colorado over the Rockies to be the most challenging, after looking at the schedule it may be Kansas and Missouri that are the most difficult. In Kansas, we have to cover 160 miles, drive a couple of hours and clean up before a 7PM rally (and then drive a couple more hours). The next day, we have to cover 130 miles, drive a couple hours and make a hospital visit at 4PM.
We have commitments for over 3400 Cards for Kids - including some from the Lance Armstrong Foundation! They are rolling in about 100 / day. And - Connecticut and Texas are currently in a competition for the most cards. Thanks to Ameritechnology Group for sponsoring Cards for Kids. And thank you to everyone who is making cards.
The ride jerseys are here! And - we should be getting the helmets shortly. Many thanks to Davis Wheelworks for helping with the helmets.
Training is going well. This Saturday, I rode the Lake Loop (around Folsom Lake) twice in a row (100 miles). I think there were more hills the second time. Anyhow - not enough electrolytes and I felt it for sure. I also broke a spoke near the end of that ride - hopefully I got that out of the way. Now on to the final training weekend (June 5/6) with back to back centuries... and then tapering. Lets get rolling already!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Our professional debut, CIA connections, early morning raids and our plan of attack.
The last week has been quite a good week for Team Will. First, we got our "training" kits. For those non-cyclists, "kits" are matching jerseys + shorts. Thank you to Ken for getting these to us as soon as they arrived! They look great - can't wait for the actual "ride" jersey. As Andrew (my 6-year old son) would say, "cyclists wear kits, bicycle riders just wear clothes". Once we all get dressed up, we actually look like we have our act together. It is amazing what matching clothes and Photoshop can do to an otherwise motley crew!
Team Will - Shift 2 - from left to right: Rob, Kenny, me, John, Louis, Randy
More riding and riding and riding and riding:
We spent Friday and Saturday doing back-to-back team rides, including testing all of the logistics, support and technology that we plan to use on the cross-country ride (June 15-24) --- and, as expected, we learned a lot! Friday was 120 miles - and the team completed that at an average pace of 19 miles per hour... Friday was the first day for most of us to interact with a moving SAG vehicle. This includes moving water bottle handoffs (to and from the truck), getting food, etc. During the cross-country ride, we don't stop...particularly if John is around :).
The CIA angle:
As one of or technology tests, we were carrying a SPOT tracking device on Friday... and it was broadcasting our location to a prototype version of the Go The Distance 2010 website that we be posting to during our cross-country ride (June 15-24). Although it isn't "live", you can have a super secret preview - check it out at: http://sites.google.com/site/teamwillride2010/Home. Keep in mind, this is a very early prototype and will change frequently. As of this posting, the top map on the main page shows the tracking capability.
As you can see, it looks as if we rode from Folsom, down the bike trail, past the airport and around to Beale Airforce base... and then stopped. That's because, we lost the SPOT! We didn't realize it until we returned to Folsom. The upside - if you are going to lose an expensive piece of equipment, a tracking device isn't such bad thing to lose --- because you know where it is!
So, with some impressive sleuthing, the internet and a couple of CIA contacts, Doug was able to retrieve it during an early morning commando raid (Doug is in charge of tracking, but due to the CIA connection - his name has been changed to hide his identity). I think it worked something like this: "Hi, I am here in my Porsche, and you have my SPOT, and I mean business... GIVE IT BACK - or else - I will go get my BMW motorcycle, because I mean business".
This live tracking capability is very cool. It will allow our fans, the kids we are going to be visiting, media, our sponsors and friends to track each of the shifts as we cross the country. You can check in on us and make sure we don't stop.
Saturday was another great day... we covered about 97 miles and climbed well over 6000 feet. The route went from Folsom thru Auburn to Meadow Vista and then on to Colfax. We got lost a couple of times - which reinforced the need for a little more discipline in the way we plan routes and program our bike-mounted GPS computers, as well as the GPS units in the SAG vehicles. Getting lost in Auburn isn't too bad as we know the area, but in Topeka, a wrong turn could send us a long way in the wrong direction.
Our Professional Debut:
On Saturday, our route took us the the foothills around Auburn. The 2010 Tour of California was starting the following day in nearby Nevada City. Our team was repeatedly misidentified as one of the pro teams that would be racing the next day as they warm up on the roads nearby. Several cyclists that we passed wished us good luck, "fans" waved and yelled at us... it was rather entertaining. I can see how it would be easy to think we were pros - unless of course you saw us.
Really - We are NOT geeks:
We were also testing our technology this weekend. We have the website mentioned above and can post photos & video from the road. In the SAG vehicles, we will have three cellular connections (Sprint, ATT and Verizon), each connected to an in-car WiFi network. In addition, we will have one portable Sprint WiFi network that we can take with us into the hotels. Each van will have a few still cameras, a couple of "flip" video cameras, notebooks, an iPad and if this weekend was an example, 6-7 smart phones. A couple of bikes have high-definition video cameras attached. All of this requires two power inverters and power strips to keep the stuff powered. There will be 5 complete setups of this type (one for each of 5 vans). Each riding team (3 of them) will have a SPOT tracking device providing real-time updates via satellite to the website. Two engineers in Folsom will be maintaining the website, collating photos and video, posting blogs, etc. SIMPLE - WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
Anyhow, it was really great to get out with nearly the whole team, including 6 of our 7 riders and 3 of our 5 drivers and get some miles in... by the end, we had a pretty good system going, and we had a lot of fun.
Cards for Kids:
In my last post, I discussed Cards for Kids. We are working with schools to create cards for us to deliver to the kids we will be visiting. At a high level, we will give a packet of construction paper, pre-printed stickers and instructions to teachers, den leaders, youth group administrators, etc. They will have the children in their organization make cards for the children in the hospitals. The key message is "You are my HERO!". As a reminder, the team will be visiting 18 hospitals as we traverse the USA.
Now - I need a little help. I expect this program will come with a $275-300 price tag by the time we are done. Our goalis was 500-1000 cards. At this point, we have commitments for over 1400 cards. That is about 5 cards per dollar! We are looking for someone to sponsor "Cards for Kids"... it is an opportunity to really do something wonderful! If you are interested, please let me know at "m a g r i n d s at gmail.com" (without spaces and replace 'at' with @). It is tax deductible.
This activity is going very well... and we are very excited by the possibilities. It is a positive experience for both the kids making the cards and for those receiving the cards. More great things to come in with Cards for Kids.
Our plan of attack:
Many people have asked for our route... each leg is below. These are the shift 2 / Team Intel legs.
6/15: Sacramento Rally @ Capital
Truckee, CA - Reno, NV
6/16: Mill City, NV - Carlin, NV
6/17: West Jordan, UT - East Carbon, UT
6/18: Gypsum, CO - Genesee, CO
6/19: Hoxie, KS - Glasco, KS
6/20: Marshall, MO - New Florence, MO
6/21: Camargo, IL - Franklin, IN
6/22: Flat Lick, KY - Jupiter, NC
6/23: Pittsboro, NC - Allen Grove, NC
6/24: Elizabeth City, NC - Kill Devils Hill, NC
OK - enough for now... thanks for reading.
Team Will - Shift 2 - from left to right: Rob, Kenny, me, John, Louis, Randy
More riding and riding and riding and riding:
We spent Friday and Saturday doing back-to-back team rides, including testing all of the logistics, support and technology that we plan to use on the cross-country ride (June 15-24) --- and, as expected, we learned a lot! Friday was 120 miles - and the team completed that at an average pace of 19 miles per hour... Friday was the first day for most of us to interact with a moving SAG vehicle. This includes moving water bottle handoffs (to and from the truck), getting food, etc. During the cross-country ride, we don't stop...particularly if John is around :).
The CIA angle:
As one of or technology tests, we were carrying a SPOT tracking device on Friday... and it was broadcasting our location to a prototype version of the Go The Distance 2010 website that we be posting to during our cross-country ride (June 15-24). Although it isn't "live", you can have a super secret preview - check it out at: http://sites.google.com/site/teamwillride2010/Home. Keep in mind, this is a very early prototype and will change frequently. As of this posting, the top map on the main page shows the tracking capability.
As you can see, it looks as if we rode from Folsom, down the bike trail, past the airport and around to Beale Airforce base... and then stopped. That's because, we lost the SPOT! We didn't realize it until we returned to Folsom. The upside - if you are going to lose an expensive piece of equipment, a tracking device isn't such bad thing to lose --- because you know where it is!
So, with some impressive sleuthing, the internet and a couple of CIA contacts, Doug was able to retrieve it during an early morning commando raid (Doug is in charge of tracking, but due to the CIA connection - his name has been changed to hide his identity). I think it worked something like this: "Hi, I am here in my Porsche, and you have my SPOT, and I mean business... GIVE IT BACK - or else - I will go get my BMW motorcycle, because I mean business".
This live tracking capability is very cool. It will allow our fans, the kids we are going to be visiting, media, our sponsors and friends to track each of the shifts as we cross the country. You can check in on us and make sure we don't stop.
Saturday was another great day... we covered about 97 miles and climbed well over 6000 feet. The route went from Folsom thru Auburn to Meadow Vista and then on to Colfax. We got lost a couple of times - which reinforced the need for a little more discipline in the way we plan routes and program our bike-mounted GPS computers, as well as the GPS units in the SAG vehicles. Getting lost in Auburn isn't too bad as we know the area, but in Topeka, a wrong turn could send us a long way in the wrong direction.
Our Professional Debut:
On Saturday, our route took us the the foothills around Auburn. The 2010 Tour of California was starting the following day in nearby Nevada City. Our team was repeatedly misidentified as one of the pro teams that would be racing the next day as they warm up on the roads nearby. Several cyclists that we passed wished us good luck, "fans" waved and yelled at us... it was rather entertaining. I can see how it would be easy to think we were pros - unless of course you saw us.
Really - We are NOT geeks:
We were also testing our technology this weekend. We have the website mentioned above and can post photos & video from the road. In the SAG vehicles, we will have three cellular connections (Sprint, ATT and Verizon), each connected to an in-car WiFi network. In addition, we will have one portable Sprint WiFi network that we can take with us into the hotels. Each van will have a few still cameras, a couple of "flip" video cameras, notebooks, an iPad and if this weekend was an example, 6-7 smart phones. A couple of bikes have high-definition video cameras attached. All of this requires two power inverters and power strips to keep the stuff powered. There will be 5 complete setups of this type (one for each of 5 vans). Each riding team (3 of them) will have a SPOT tracking device providing real-time updates via satellite to the website. Two engineers in Folsom will be maintaining the website, collating photos and video, posting blogs, etc. SIMPLE - WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
Anyhow, it was really great to get out with nearly the whole team, including 6 of our 7 riders and 3 of our 5 drivers and get some miles in... by the end, we had a pretty good system going, and we had a lot of fun.
Cards for Kids:
In my last post, I discussed Cards for Kids. We are working with schools to create cards for us to deliver to the kids we will be visiting. At a high level, we will give a packet of construction paper, pre-printed stickers and instructions to teachers, den leaders, youth group administrators, etc. They will have the children in their organization make cards for the children in the hospitals. The key message is "You are my HERO!". As a reminder, the team will be visiting 18 hospitals as we traverse the USA.
Now - I need a little help. I expect this program will come with a $275-300 price tag by the time we are done. Our goal
This activity is going very well... and we are very excited by the possibilities. It is a positive experience for both the kids making the cards and for those receiving the cards. More great things to come in with Cards for Kids.
Our plan of attack:
Many people have asked for our route... each leg is below. These are the shift 2 / Team Intel legs.
6/15: Sacramento Rally @ Capital
Truckee, CA - Reno, NV
6/16: Mill City, NV - Carlin, NV
6/17: West Jordan, UT - East Carbon, UT
6/18: Gypsum, CO - Genesee, CO
6/19: Hoxie, KS - Glasco, KS
6/20: Marshall, MO - New Florence, MO
6/21: Camargo, IL - Franklin, IN
6/22: Flat Lick, KY - Jupiter, NC
6/23: Pittsboro, NC - Allen Grove, NC
6/24: Elizabeth City, NC - Kill Devils Hill, NC
OK - enough for now... thanks for reading.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Training, Cards for Kids and other STUFF...
We have a new supporter!!! Who knew? While we haven't actually confirmed this, it appears that the press corps got a photo of President Obama wearing a Team Will wristband! Actually, it could be any blue wristband - but it sure looks like ours. OK - just let us think that's what it is! Think we can get him to wear a jersey and bib shorts?
Only FIVE weeks left! And the final week or so is a taper week (less riding) - so really only four weeks of training. In addition, the Team Will activity level has really picked up in the last few weeks - with a few things I would like to share.
First, "you all" have met my $2500 minimum fund raising requirement! THANK YOU to all of those who have donated - BUT, that is only the MINIMUM requirement... And who wants to be minimum? Please use this as a reminder if you haven't made it to the website yet: http://www.team-will.org/ridersponsor.php
Cards for KIDS!
One of the riders on shift 2 (Team Intel) has devised a REALLY great idea. Actually it came from his children... We are going to be delivering "cards from kids" to the children we meet during our hospital visits. Children here in Sacramento (or other cities if possible) will be making cards for the children we will be visiting. At a high level, we will give a packet of construction paper, pre-printed stickers and instructions to teachers, den leaders, youth group administrators, etc. They will have the children in their organization make cards for the children in the hospitals. The key message is "You are my HERO!". As a reminder, the team will be visiting 18 hospitals as we traverse the USA.
Now - I need a little help. I expect this program will come with a $275 price tag by the time we are done. Our goal is 500-1000 cards. We are looking for someone to sponsor "Cards for Kids"... it is an opportunity to really do something wonderful! If you are interested, please let me know at "m a g r i n d s at gmail.com" (without spaces and replace 'at' with @). It is tax deductible and any excess will go to Team Will.
An Unrelated Note:
For anyone that is close to someone with cancer, particularly kids, we found a REALLY cool product line - called "Cancer Fears Me". A snippet from their website:
Many kids in the oncology wards are wearing the chemo caps or baseball hats... we are considering getting hats to wear during hospital visits: http://www.cancerfearsme.org/store/hatsChemoCaps.html
The Movie:
Team Will has produced a feature-length documentary: http://www.gothedistancemovie.com/index.html. I have access to a few copies. I confess that I have not seen it yet - but I understand it is fantastic, although quite heart wrenching. Generally, it is screened for a suggested donation of $5 or more. If anyone has an appropriate venue to show the movie, please let me know and we can make it happen. I have all the necessary equipment. Lets get out and show this movie - and raise a little more money! The trailer for the movie is on the website as well.
Hospital Training:
The team spent some time at Sutter Hospital in Sacramento today with Amy, a Children's Life Specialist. Children's wards have these specialists to to help children and their families navigate the emotionally and physically demanding process of coping with hospitalization. They will be our "guides" as we visit the children's hospitals along our route. They will give us direction on the best ways to interact with the children, who to visit, how long to stay, etc.
Amy's most important input was not to treat the children like "children with cancer"... but rather to treat them like children. This is their time to be children. They will see five guys coming thru in cycling outfits as "celebrities" and will just want to play with us - like any other children.
This type of training is really helpful as I am expecting the hospital visits to be the most difficult part. The Children's Life Specialist suggested that we should expect to have times where we may need to stop visiting children for a short time - as it is very emotionally draining. This will be new for most of us in shift two (Team Intel).
Training the Legs:
Training is going well --- but frankly getting a little old. Lets get going ALREADY! I have done 6 centuries already this year - including one double century, with one more lined up for this weekend. Here are my stats since Feb 1 (not including the double century where my Garmin was toast):
Shortly, we should have the 2010 Go The Distance website up and running. That is the site that will allow for live tracking, show daily videos, etc. I will post an update when it is available.
Well - onward toward departure!
Only FIVE weeks left! And the final week or so is a taper week (less riding) - so really only four weeks of training. In addition, the Team Will activity level has really picked up in the last few weeks - with a few things I would like to share.
First, "you all" have met my $2500 minimum fund raising requirement! THANK YOU to all of those who have donated - BUT, that is only the MINIMUM requirement... And who wants to be minimum? Please use this as a reminder if you haven't made it to the website yet: http://www.team-will.org/ridersponsor.php
Cards for KIDS!
One of the riders on shift 2 (Team Intel) has devised a REALLY great idea. Actually it came from his children... We are going to be delivering "cards from kids" to the children we meet during our hospital visits. Children here in Sacramento (or other cities if possible) will be making cards for the children we will be visiting. At a high level, we will give a packet of construction paper, pre-printed stickers and instructions to teachers, den leaders, youth group administrators, etc. They will have the children in their organization make cards for the children in the hospitals. The key message is "You are my HERO!". As a reminder, the team will be visiting 18 hospitals as we traverse the USA.
Now - I need a little help. I expect this program will come with a $275 price tag by the time we are done. Our goal is 500-1000 cards. We are looking for someone to sponsor "Cards for Kids"... it is an opportunity to really do something wonderful! If you are interested, please let me know at "m a g r i n d s at gmail.com" (without spaces and replace 'at' with @). It is tax deductible and any excess will go to Team Will.
An Unrelated Note:
For anyone that is close to someone with cancer, particularly kids, we found a REALLY cool product line - called "Cancer Fears Me". A snippet from their website:
Welcome to Cancer Fears Me - a strong, positive mindset for those living with cancer, their support groups and caregivers. We know fear is a dominant emotion when someone is given a diagnosis of cancer. Cancer Fears Me turns that fear around and puts you in control. Cancer Fears Me was born after years of working with families living with cancer and recognizing how much fear this terrible disease causes.
Many kids in the oncology wards are wearing the chemo caps or baseball hats... we are considering getting hats to wear during hospital visits: http://www.cancerfearsme.org/store/hatsChemoCaps.html
The Movie:
Team Will has produced a feature-length documentary: http://www.gothedistancemovie.com/index.html. I have access to a few copies. I confess that I have not seen it yet - but I understand it is fantastic, although quite heart wrenching. Generally, it is screened for a suggested donation of $5 or more. If anyone has an appropriate venue to show the movie, please let me know and we can make it happen. I have all the necessary equipment. Lets get out and show this movie - and raise a little more money! The trailer for the movie is on the website as well.
Hospital Training:
The team spent some time at Sutter Hospital in Sacramento today with Amy, a Children's Life Specialist. Children's wards have these specialists to to help children and their families navigate the emotionally and physically demanding process of coping with hospitalization. They will be our "guides" as we visit the children's hospitals along our route. They will give us direction on the best ways to interact with the children, who to visit, how long to stay, etc.
Amy's most important input was not to treat the children like "children with cancer"... but rather to treat them like children. This is their time to be children. They will see five guys coming thru in cycling outfits as "celebrities" and will just want to play with us - like any other children.
This type of training is really helpful as I am expecting the hospital visits to be the most difficult part. The Children's Life Specialist suggested that we should expect to have times where we may need to stop visiting children for a short time - as it is very emotionally draining. This will be new for most of us in shift two (Team Intel).
Training the Legs:
Training is going well --- but frankly getting a little old. Lets get going ALREADY! I have done 6 centuries already this year - including one double century, with one more lined up for this weekend. Here are my stats since Feb 1 (not including the double century where my Garmin was toast):
Shortly, we should have the 2010 Go The Distance website up and running. That is the site that will allow for live tracking, show daily videos, etc. I will post an update when it is available.
Well - onward toward departure!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Help Us Go The Distance
Next post is here.
What's this photo of??? Keep Reading...Please read to the end --- I need something from you, and it isn't money (yet).
Of course, I enjoy riding - but this is more important than a bike ride... this is about raising awareness (and ultimately money) for the families of children with cancer. Cancer is both emotionally challenging and financially devastating for many families. Team Will is an incredible organization that is raising awareness of childhood cancer, and raising funding for the affected families. I am doing my little part to help by riding across our great (... and wide... )country for Team Will. The event is called "Go the Distance".
We will pedal 3600 miles, visit 17 children's hospitals, conduct countless media interviews, meet a huge number of our heros (children battling cancer), raise a bunch of money and eat like crazy --- about 80,000 calories!
At a high level, we will have three teams: Team 1, Team 3 and..... Team Intel. Each team rides 120 miles per day in 8 hours. Riders will be on the road 24 hours per day; 8 hours per team x 3 teams. In total, we cover 360 miles per day... and 3600 miles in 10 days.
This is the third time the 100% volunteer group at Team Will has conducted this cross-country event. These guys are really amazing... They work all year to setup this event.
So what do I need from you? I need your network. Who do you know that can help move 15 cyclists, 8 drivers and 2 support crew across the US? Email me (m a g r i n d s@g m a i l . c o m) or post a comment.
We need people that can help us with in-kind contributions to this great cause and our heros. Every dollar in in-kind donations we receive is one more dollar that goes to the heros and their families. We need:
6 Mini-vans: 1 way rental from Sacramento to North Carolina
~25 1-way airline tickets: North Carolina to Sacramento (with bike box transport)
~225 hotel room nights across the country: About 30 locations across the country x 6-10 rooms
Gasoline: Cards for gasoline -- need about 1000 gallons
Any in-kind (or cash) contribution of this type would warrant appropriate logo placement, if desired. Our "platinum" sponsor level is $25K and gets a logo on the Team Will jersey worn by each rider. Limited jersey space is available. Logo space is also available for Gold and Silver sponsors on vans, helmets, the t-shirts worn while not riding, the website (both the main site and the live blogging site), etc.
I will blog - and try not to bore you - about the ride, fundraising progress and ride preparation, as well as blogging during the ride.
The Team Will website can be found at http://www.team-will.org/.
Team Will is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
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