What Livestrong Means to Me

On August 5th, I sent out an email asking for help to raise funds for cancer support.  I had no idea it would be this easy.  I ended up raising $6400.   I am amazed at how people are willing to give to a cause.  I want to say thank you to everyone who gave.  But really, it's not me who should be thanking you--it's the people in need of the help.  Just think about it--the money you give is going to somebody who needs it in ways that I hope you may never know.  I am just glad I was able to participate in some way. 

I started out this effort with the though that I would participate in this event in honor of my wife and my dad, to raise money, and to help me get through some tough times.  I finished the ride on October 14th with a completely different perspective.  The reason for the ride was really to help others.  It is amazing how much my perspective has changed.  The following is a long write-up on the events that led up to the weekend and the ride itself--including pictures.  Read it if you wish.  Just know that if you were able to help--any amount at all--you were helping someone else in need.  Thanks again for your help--this one event on October 14th in Austin, TX raised $4 million dollar for cancer efforts. 

The Livestrong Challenge is a weekend long event that consists of a Saturday morning 5K walk/run and a Sunday bike ride that can go anywhere from 10 to 90 miles.  I originally signed up for the 100 mile course, but the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) decided to reduce the distance to 90 miles due to the difficulty of the course (hills, wind, and heat).

I signed up for this ride on July 9th and I started my training a few days after that.  I haven't really ridden my bike much since 2003--so I was not in the best shape.  Before I really got into my training, I had to go out and make a few purchases to prepare me for all the riding I was going to do.  The first thing I did was buy biker shorts, a jersey, and new shoes.  I never though I would ever wear biker shorts... but now I own *two* of them.  I also had to upgrade my bike with new pedals and tires to allow me to complete the 100 miles. 

I spent July, August, and September riding one long ride on each weekend ranging from 30-70 miles.  I was also trying to get as many short 10-15 mile rides in during the week as my schedule would allow--I ended up riding about two to three times per week and logged them all in an online bike journal.  I also completely stopped drinking alcohol during this time (believe me, that was a big feat in itself). 

When the course map and the elevation profile were published--I almost backed down from riding the 100 mile course--as the elevation really scared me.  I was told that the course elevation added up to 6000 ft--which dwarfs the kind of rides I was riding in Peoria, IL.  Well, I was scared enough to step up the elevation of my rides as much as possible given the terrain in the area.  I ended up riding up and down Detweiller Drive (the two big hills) for two weekends spending six hours on those two hills.

Before I left, I had to get my bike taken apart and packaged up for the trip.  I left that to the experts at Russell's Bike & Fitness in Washington, IL.  (I have never been to an establishment with better customer service.)  In any regards, they packed my bike up for me in about an hour and it was ready for the flight. 

Well, the weekend was at hand, and Kara and I got some bad news.  Kara broke one of her wisdom teeth and was scheduled to have surgery the day before we were supposed to leave to Austin.  As a result, Kara could not make the trip.  Hopefully, her and I can make this trip again in the future.

As a result of Kara not going, I called a friend of mine who was participating in the ride, Jeff Wells, to tell him that I was going down by myself.  He recommended that I stay with Scott Richardson, a sports/outdoor writer for the Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington.  Scott is also a cancer survivor and has written about it.  Scott and Jeff have both done a tremendous amount for the LAF.  They were in a class of riders that were participating in the Ride for the Roses (reserved for fund raisers who raised over $15,000).  Ride for the Roses participants get to start the ride at the starting line, get to participate in special events, and obtain free services.  Scott, invited me to be his guest, so therefore I was able to participate as a Ride for the Roses guest (and obtain the benefits)!  Cool! 

The first thing I did in Austin was to register at the sign-in room.  At the entrance of the sign-up room was a sign... how fitting the room was called Hill Country (ughh).  I then dropped my bike off to get it unpacked and assembled (a benefit of the Ride for the Roses group).  The bike-room was manned by Shimano and Livestrong volunteers and didn't have many bikes I first arrived.  The volunteers assembled and made sure my bike was in good working condition.  By the end of the day, the room was full of bikes waiting to go out on a ride (these were only bikes that belong to the Ride for the Roses participants--and me).

When I got to my hotel room, I unpacked the welcome kit to find a Livestrong pamphlet that every rider received.  I was very proud to see my name in the book as a top-fundraiser in the over $5000 category.  That's a moment I will never forget.

I was able to participate in two evening events.  One of the events was a Friday night BBQ party for the Ride for the Roses participants at a beautiful game ranch in Creedmore, TX.  It was a small group--maybe 100 people or so.  Lance was in attendance and was very friendly with everyone.  I think he knew most of the people in the room.   The night started with a silent auction.  I saw a Cheryl Crow guitar go for $10,500!   After the Texas BBQ was served--Lance started narrating a slide-show on a projector.  He started off by naming off the top fundraisers and went down the list--saying each name out loud.  Many of the names had great survivor stories.  One of them is 7 year old Spencer Sartin (if you don't click on another link in this entire post, click on Spencer's link).  His dad raised him up in the air while Lance joked about Spencer holding the record for the most Livestrong bands ever worn by one person.  Spencer is a cancer survivor going through chemo treatments--and rode in the ride with his dad!  It was hard not to cry.  Another was Matt Pomeroy, who's mother just passed away after a 17 year battle with cancer.  Matt decided to ride his bike across the country to raise money in her honor.  He raised over $64,000!  Some of the names couldn't be their--as they were in hospital's fighting cancer.  A couple of names weren't their because they didn't make it--and then it hits home why Livestrong is important.

On Saturday, the night before the ride, I attended a pasta dinner for all fundraisers have raised over $5000.  Lance again spoke and I got to meet a few more people.  The weekend was full of stories.  In any regards, I got back to my room to get some rest--as the bus was coming to pick up the Ride for the Roses participants at 4:30 am.  I was preoccupied with the ride ahead.  Many people were backing out of the 90 mile ride and telling me to do the same due to the hills.  I was determined to at least try--regardless of the outcome.  My roommate, Scott, gave me good advice on how to relax your mind and get some sleep.  It didn't work--I was awake until that stupid alarm went off at 4:30am.  Got up in the morning and made sure I had everything for the ride--helmet, socks, gloves, shorts, shoes, sweat-cap, sunglasses, micro-fiber cloth (for the sunglasses), jersey, participant number, mobile phone (I will explain later), my camera, sun-block, and finally gel-packs to give me the energy I need during the ride.  I placed all this into my duffel bag and proceeded to head out into the dark.  The ride started at 7:30am.

We arrived at our starting point, Dripping Springs High School, in Dripping Springs Texas.  On our way out to the starting point, I saw a street sign that read, "Welcome to Hill Country".   When we got the the starting point, I was greeted by my bike.  I was surprised to see the seat had a piece of scotch-tape on it that read "Go Pete Go".  I immediately knew who put this on the seat--one of the Livestrong volunteers in the bike room named Fred from the University of Illinois. 

It was still dark.  I was pretty nervous before the ride.  I loaded up on carbs, water, and Gatorade to prepare myself for the day.  As the ride time came near, I made my way up to the starting line.  Hundreds of people were already gathered around.  I was able to get in up-front due to me being invited as a Ride for the Roses guest.  I was literally two rows from the starting line.  I just sat back and took in the sites as dawn approached.    Almost everyone had a sign on either saying "Survivor", "In Memory Of", or "In Honor Of".  This is another reminder of why everyone is here.  The back of my jersey had a sign that said "In Honor of Kara and Dad".  This was another moving part of the weekend.  Throughout the ride, I ran into so many Survivors.  I wanted to ask each and everyone of them their story.  I saw one rider with an In Memory Of Mom and Sister.  I thought to myself, "Wow.  Thousands of riders.  Everyone has their own story.  Livestrong means something different to each of us.  However, all of us are here for the same goal."

A few minutes before the ride started, I saw Lance about 30 feet in front of me.  He got up on stage and gave an opening ceremony speech.  I was impressed with his ability to speak and communicate.  He was also pretty humorous throughout the weekend.  After he and the president of the LAF said a few words, Lance came down and got on his bike.  I could see him clearly in front of me.  While I was behind the starting line, he was in front of it.  Within minutes, he was surrounded by an entourage of about 8 people or so.  I couldn't make out who they were. 

The ride started with Lance and his group leaving first and then immediately after, the group I was in (Ride for the Roses) started.  The rest of the riders started in groups--as they would never let all three thousand riders go at the same time.  The first part of the ride was pretty dangerous--as many riders were crammed in a narrow winding road.  I was moving pretty quickly from the start.  I didn't need much warm-up time as the adrenaline had me going.  I was moving much quicker than normal.  I was really trying to see if I could see Lance in front of me.  At one point in time, I was maybe 100 ft behind his group, but after the first hard right turn, I lost them. 

The first part of this ride was exhilarating.  I will never forget it.  Riders were riding handle-bar to handle-bar.  Volunteers and the crowds were to the left and right of us all cheering us on.  It was really amazing.  After I broke through a little of the real rough congestion, I picked up some speed--again this was adrenaline.  I was even chatting with quite a few riders as I went.  I was also wishing the Survivors luck as I rode by them.  Every so often, we had to slow down as the road was full of cattle grates in the street.  I have never seen these in the Midwest.  At each of these cattle grates, a volunteer was sitting ringing a cow bell to warn us of the grate in the street.  We went over a low water point and had to ride through a stream of water.  Again, a volunteer was their telling us to get off our bikes.  I got off and walked over it but almost slipped.  The guy next to me wasn't so lucky--he fell.  Soon after I was up at a good speed again and riding very close to one person.  We were right next to each other and getting ready to take a turn.  I felt like we were going a little to fast as their may have been gravel around the turn.  Well, we were.  His bike lost control and he slid ride into a steel street barrier.  I stopped and asked him if he was ok.  He said he was--but I wasn't sure.  Others also stopped and he ended up getting back up and going.

The ride was pretty much like this for the first 20 miles or so... lots of cheering crouds , volunteers everywhere, tight bike-traffic, and all hills.  After 20 miles, the 40 mile riders broke off.  I didn't notice much of a difference because of the speed I was going at put me ahead of them.  However, I really noticed a difference at about the 30 mile marker when the 60 milers split off--as I was riding with many of them.  After this point, the number of riders really died down.  I didn't really get the feeling that a lot of people rode the 90 miler.

Each 10-15 miles was a rest stop--and I stopped at all of them.  Usually during each stop, I would fill up on drinks, stretch, eat a bite, and send a text message using my mobile device.  Yes, I am a nerd and I was actually was sending Twitter text messages during my ride (hence the reason for my mobile phone).  :)  I was even counting porta-potty stops along the way... However, after about 8 or so, I lost track.

In any regards, I was feeling great and didn't really feel too tired until about mile 60 or so.  This was in the middle of a horrendous stretch of about 15-20 miles or so going up a ~long~ hill, against the wind, and in which not many riders were around me.  I hated this part of the ride.  It was at this point that I wasn't sure how much longer I could go.  The entire ride consisted of a bunch of small hills that took the energy out of you over time.  However, this hill was the longest hill I have ever ridden (by a great length) and the wind was brutal.  My average speed going into this hill was over 17mph.  Needless to say, my average speed was nowhere near that after I was done (or should I say the hill was done with me).  The others that I saw riding this were struggling as much as or more than I.  People were barely moving as cars and trucks would speed by us up this hill.

Once the long hill let up, there was a little bit of a decline (whoohoo), but then again, more hills to finish off the ride.  This is the point in the ride in which I was downing the energy gels that I packed with me.  I really think they gave me what I needed to make it through the later part of this ride.  Also, it was about 90 degrees that day--so the heat was really getting to many of us during this portion of the ride.  I really noticed it during the last 30 miles or so. 

At about the 70 mile marker, I started to see people giving up.  There were SAG vans all throughout the ride that would repair a flat, tend to medical needs, etc.  However, at this point in the ride, whenever I would see a vehicle, I would see a bike on top of it with a rider inside--enjoying the cool air-conditioning and getting a ride to the finish line.  The heat really got to me and I had to stop under a couple of trees for a bit to get away from the sun.

I was at a rest stop about 15 miles out.  A volunteer at that point told me that it was the last stop until the end.  I was surprised as I thought that their was one more.  In any regards, I told myself that I was going to ride the hardest 15 miles of my life to finish the day strong.  This is something that I learned from a good friend of mine, Ken Beckler.  Well, I finished really strong--riding as fast as I was during some of the earlier parts of the ride.  As it turned out, their was a final rest-stop, about 5 miles before the ending point.  I stopped for a couple of minutes--but I didn't feel like I needed to. 

As I approached the finish line, a great feeling overcame me.  A summer's worth of effort and a lot of emotion went into this event for me.  I was riding next to a group of Discovery Channel riders.  They looked like really good riders--so I was surprised they were finishing this late in the ride.  I think one of them hurt himself earlier and the rest stayed with him. 

At the finish line,   I noticed that any cancer survivor that crosses the line gets yellow roses showered on them as they cross the line.  As I crossed the line, many people were their to greet me, give me liquids and food, and take photographs of me.  It was a pretty emotional moment for me--but I can' explain how fulfilled I felt.  Scott and Jeff, whom I was riding with earlier in the day had to leave the ride early--as they had a flight to catch.  I went back to where my bag and clothes were.  I noticed a greeting card on my bag that read: "Pete, We made it!  Hope you did too!  No matter what, you are an inspiration and you should be proud of all you've accomplished! Livestrong, Jeff and Scott".  Reading that card was another highlight of the trip for me.

I want to thank Scott Richardson and Jeff Wells for setting me up with a great opportunity and for the companionship.  I also want to thank Ken Beckler for teaching me how to ride.  Also, again, thanks to all the people that gave!