As a ride, what else can I say but we endured various challenging weather conditions while doing our best to cover as many miles as we could during our shifts.  I was quite confident the Polka Dot team could cover 100 miles every time we got on the bikes (for a 6 hour shift) and I was proven correct as we managed to complete back to back century rides  for our 2nd and 3rd six hour shifts (105.4 miles and 100.1 miles respectively).

Our first 6 hour shift challenged us with some difficult climbing and very cold weather.  While we did not cover 100 miles during this shift, we did manage to cover 75 miles under some very difficult riding conditions.  One of our team-mates was pulled from the ride at about mile 25 for borderline hypothermia.  Thankfully, she was fine once she was able to get her body temperature back under control.

Excitement ensued while riding along the Natchez Trace near Jackson Mississippi.  The Park Ranger pulled us over and asked “Do you have a permit?”.  Quite funny.  He delayed our ride for a few minutes, but ended by allowing us to continue without our support vehicles riding along with us.  The support vehicles leap-frogged to the next opportune vehicle pull-outs while we continued on the bike.  This was our 105 mile day.

The second part of this experience was an incredible personal growth opportunity.  It is thanks to the contributions of my supporters that I was able to participate in this event.  Thanks to all of you who contributed because this personal growth opportunity has provided me a different perspective on life and the challenges faced by people with this horrible disease we call cancer.

An additional yet somewhat unexpected benefit also came from this grand experience.  The fine group of people who participated with me have become very close friends.  I have not experienced this camaraderie since my Military days.  We shared an incredible sense of purpose that gave us true unity in spreading the message.

That message was not all negative either.  We heard many stories about and met many people who are survivors of this disease.  It was also a message of Hope.  Sally, our support driver, wore a pink cape for the entire journey.  On the back of her cape were the words “Hero for Hope”.

In some ways, we all became heroes for hope.  Not just those of us out on our bikes or those participating in a direct support role, but all of you too.  Those of you who contributed to this excellent cause should consider yourselves “Heroes for Hope” as well.

Thank you!

John Davidson
jd – Team Polka Dot

p.s.  You can view the photos I took through the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28674&id=1612725450&l=9e9ac2dacc

p.p.s.  If you did not have an opportunity to follow the C3 squad during the ride, you can read all of the squad blogs at www.ridetoaustin.com.  Remember they are posted in reverse chrono order (most recent posts first).  I’ve posted under the user name JohnD.

You can read my personal entries here:
http://windinmyhairbugsinmyteeth.blogspot.com/2009/08/jds-challenge-to-conquer-cancer.html

Joe  J.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

As I read Dustin’s statement that he is not only a cancer survivor but a CANCER FIGHTER I could not stop crying……I just LOVE that! So we all are now cancer fighters since we took this journey to hopefully save people from this dreaded disease!!!! So I will look into getting EVERYONE capes for next year!

The cape got many comments during the LAF run and ride over the weekend! Many people asked me why I was wearing it which gave me time to tell them what the Challenge to Conquer Cancer was all about which was GREAT! Other people would run or ride by me (notice that I was getting passed ALOT!) and say…”Love the cape”, or “great cape”! On the ride I answered that with “I had hoped it would give me super hero powers but it wasn’t working that day!” But their fun comments spurned me on!

On Saturday I did the 5K…thinking I would walk/run it since I haven’t been able to train much in the last couple of months. But I hooked up with Kim and Chasse and they kept me going! I ended up hand in hand with Chasse, who I so love and admire, sprinting and laughing crossing the finish line! A very special moment for me!

On Sunday I decided to shoot for the 45 mile ride. The longest ride I have ever done was only 31….but the 10 and 20 mile seemed too short so I wanted to do the 45. Well….at the second sag stop, which came AFTER the turn off to the 20 miler, I realized that I bit off more than I could chew. My lungs were burning and huffing/puffing, my legs were already feeling like jelly……maybe trying 45 only 2 months after the hysterectomy was too ambitious. I was very upset and considered asking a sag van to carry me back to the 20 mile turn, or ahead to the sag stop closest to the finish so I could ride across the finish line (cheater!)……I really wanted to quit and I was about to cry and throw in the towel. Chasse and Jessica urged me to get food to feel better. Just then I got a text on my cell phone and looked down to read that a man, whose name was on an “In Honor Of” magnet on our van had died that morning. Another person lost to cancer. I really wanted to kick something, punch something….but instead I decided to get my butt back on the bike and finish the 45 miles even if it killed me. I’ve never met the man that died but I rode for Woody Koonce and so many others. I finished with the help of Annette (who had only ridden 20 something miles before this!) and the last 5 miles with Will Flanagan pulling me! But I finished.

I am home now, back with my husband Kevin, who let me go on this journey and who was my ROCK thru everything I’ve been thru in the past year….double mastectomy, reconstruction, chemo, total hysterectomy…etc etc. Cancer sucks and we have to continue to do all that we can to help each other and others get thru it.

To my polka dot team and the P3C3 TEAM, I send huge hugs, tears of admiration and love and hope…….and I hope that the vulnerability that so many of us discovered along the way stays open so that we all can help anyone heal, learn, love………thanks for such an inspiring trip!

Sally

Now that I am home… I am in a state of shock. My body does not want to move the way I want it too. Nor does it want to sit on that saddle for a few days… well…maybe saturday.

People are asking me ” Did you have Fun?” “How was it?” My answer has not changed… Very humbling, life changing, and a challenge that I will do again. I cried everyday and laughed everyday. I hated some moments and cheerished others. I grew a lot on this journey. As a survivor, a mother, and wife. I can tell you I am changed for the good. I am so blessed to have friends and family that followed me on this journey.

Thank you for your comments, for following us on this journey. For your encouraging words. Was it fun? There were evenings that were fun after the ride but during the ride…. our team was focused, heartfelt, and determined to accomplish what we needed to as a team. For me, that was to have closure, for others it was understanding, encouraging, and mentoring others. Dawn and Sally – After God there are you two. Thanks for being the glue that held us together. Our team really did an awesome job being a family.

To family and friends, Bless you all for the prayers as they were all answered. Thank you for encouraging words from your heart. I will be doing this ride again next year. Hope that we all stay connected on this fight. God Bless you all.
Love, XxOo Jeni

Future families and friends are saved from suffering.

For every sprocket spin and gears a-clicken,

The months are extended for the stricken.

Miles ridden through sun, sleet and rain,

Goes towards numbing the pain.

Riding through the night as the pain is rushing through the body as you are completing your 6 hour shift,

This Pain is taken away from someone known or unknown and to them, it is a GIFT.

For all the sweat and blood shed during training each day,

May it fertilize the ground for new riders to take on the fight and to stay.

I ride as one of many small soldiers out to Fight for those who cannot,

So that one day the ride can stop.

And as this conquest will one day be complete,

Volunteers, riders and donors will WALK home victorious in Cancer’s defeat.

LiveSTRONG!

Dennis

Our next shift was the 6AM to noon shift on Thursday and we were all very excited that  were finally going to be able to ride in the daylight.  Our previous 3 shifts have all been in the dark.  We could not wait to start because this was the day that Laurens was going to join us on the road.  One thing we were not expecting was a tropical storm from Mexico moving into the pathof our ride.  I don’t mind riding in the rain but I don’t like starting a ride in the rain.  Watching Team Green come in from their shift soaked to the bone, i was starting to dread the ride.  As they pulled in my mood changed when we got huge smiles and hugs from Team Green.  The rain did not slow them down and excitement started overtaking my body.  If all went well, we were going to be the team to bring the ride home to Austin.  We took off in the rain and it didn’t take long to be wet down to the skin even with rain gear on.  We road as cars and trucks passed by probably trying to figure out why 5 people were on their bikes out in this type of weather.  At one point, Tedd and I were on the back of the paceline and an 18 wheeler came flying by and hit a puddle and a wave the size of a house curled over us as we surfed thru it.  At that point, we were already soaked so it did not matter and we had to laugh.  As we rode thru a small town we sent the support van ahead to find all of our turns and as we came down a road we saw the van leave ahead of us and Laurens was standing there waiting for us to pass by.  As we did, I noticed she had her bike bag which got me excited because that meant she was going to get her gear on and come ride with us.  The bus picked her up as we continued to ride.  At our next sag stop, Laurens was ready to ride.  That was a huge pick up for all of us.  The rain had slowed down and our spirits were amazingly high.  We continued to get closer to Austin and this was the point I realized our team with Laurens on the road with us were going bring this ride into Austin.  Tears and joy overtook me and I could not imagine doing this with a better group of people.  We were within 10 miles of the hotel and we had our first flat of the ride.  Tedd blew a rear tire.  Quick change then off we went getting closer and closer.  THe ride turned slower as we got closer because of lights and stop signs then bam, another flat.  This time it was Laurens.  Another quick change then off we went.  We knew we were getting closer because we saw Ray and Joe Julian on the side of the road cheering us on and continued to see them several more times.  The wind picked up and we had our first tough head wind.  I was happy for that head wind because it slowed us down more and I did not want the ride to end.  I think it was the people we have lost to cancer thinking the same thing.  We made our final right turn and we put Laurens, Robin and Beth in the front as myself, Tedd and Joey were behind them and our two wonderful support ladies in a vehicle behind us.  Team Yellow was bringing the ride home.  We saw all the other riders and support folks cheering us on as we approached the hotel.  Tears were in all of our eyes again and we pulled into the hotel.  We got off the bikes and Team Yellow all embraced for several minutes.  We did not want to let go of each other.  We all became such great friends on the journey.  We celebrated our arrival with the rest of the folks then went into the hotel showered then cleaned up our bikes.

Friday morning was our final ride of the 2009 Challenge to Conquer Cancer.  All the teams and support who brought their bikes rode together into downtown Austin lead by 2 LAF employees.  It was a beautiful ride through the neighborhoods of Austin.  We stopped by Lance’s house but he was not home so we were not invited in.  I am sure if he was home, he would have made us breakfast.   We made it to our hotel downtown where we would stay for the next 3 nights.  Had another small celebration then went to lunch and the expo for LiveStrong weekend.

Friday night was the Challenge to Conquer Cancer celebration dinner.  It was at Scholz Garten and it was a great meal.  Brats, smoked turkey and brisket wre on the menu and we all had full tummies.  We got to see the pictures taken by EagleShotz (www.eagleshotz.com)  and reminisce about the ride.   I told my most memorable story about the ride and then asked others to come up and tell theirs.  It was an emotional evening.  Lives were changed on this trip and it was wonderful hearing the different stories about our ride.

Saturday was the 5k walk/run.  Over 3000 people participated and it was a sea of yellow.  Most of us walked with our warriors and survivors.  I was touched by the strength of so many people.  I saw an old friend that I met in 2007 at the LiveStrong Challenge.  Brian Fox is his name and he is a 5 year brain cancer survivor.  He was one of the 3 people I met that year that changed the way I was going to deal with cancer.  Before meeting Brian, Kim and Jenn in 2007, I felt sorry for myself because my dad died because of cancer at the young age of 61.  After meeting them, I was inspired to celebrate life and do something to beat cancer and that is how we came up with this ride.

Sunday was the LiveStrong Challenge ride.  I decided to do the 65 mile ride and hoped not to miss the turn this year like I did last year and ended up doing th 90 miler.  I started out with Tedd and Beth and 3800 other people.  We stayed together for a few miles but because there were so many people we got split up.   I had mechanical issues with my bike and had to pull into sag for repairs.  After getting it fixed I took off and rode most of the ride by myself.  It was nice to have some alone time to reflect on the ride and think about all my friends and family who have been affected by cancer.  I saw so many people out there with “in memory”, “in honor” or survivor cards pinned on their jerseys and prayed that I will never have one on my jersey with Jennifer or RJ or Reed or Ridge or anyone else.  Each year my list gets longer of family and friends with cancer and I want that list to stop growing.  I saw Chasse in the last sag stop and we continued the ride together.  We caught up with Jessica  and finished up the ride.  I laughed at all of Chasse’s one liners and was so proud of Jessica for doing her longest ride ever.  We crossed the finish line and I saw my beautiful wife who was walking towards the line after she completed her ride.  After the ride, I watch Joey and Joe pack the bus and trailer with precision and sent them home with the help of Dennis and Jeff.  The rest of us went back to the hotel to shower then went out for our final dinner in Austin.  Went to a great Irish Pub for dinner with a great group.

Monday morning we woke up early for our flight home.  I was concerned we would be delayed because bad storms but we made it out just in time.  I understand after we got out, they cancelled all flights heading east.  We made it back to Greenville around 12:30.

This years ride was incredible.  The route was great, everyone arrived safely and we had a great time.  I did not want the week to end but I was excited to get home.  Jennifer and I went to pick up Reed and Ridge from school and they both reinforced why I do this ride.  They both came running at us full speed and jumped into our arms.  RJ was the same way when he got home from school.  Like I said earlier, I don’t want to see their names on any card.

Thank you everyone for your support.  We will start planning next years ride soon and hope to max out the riders.  I would love to double the $200,000 we donated to our charities this year, next year.  Until then …

ScottStong, RideStrong, LiveStrong

Everybody’s heard about Team Awesome’s crazy battle with Tropical Storm Rick, so I won’t belabor that, other than the fact that we have another nickname because of the effects of all the rain, wind and cold: Team Snot Rocket (goes with the green).

However, I made a promise that night before we set out on our shift. I want to thank Deputy Sheriff Daniel Wagner of Grimes County, TX for keeping us company at that lonely gas station before we met up with Team Polka Dot. He was a super nice guy and gave us some pointers on how to get through College Station in the dead of night. Thanks Deputy Wagner…

Anyway, I want to drop a quick note about what has been one of my biggest challenges on this ride: reverse culture shock. It’s a phenomenon I’ve experienced several times when returning from stints overseas to friends and family back home. It’s odd. You go on a journey, become changed by the experience, and you come back, and everything is just a touch “off.” It takes some time to reintegrate with people that didn’t share those experiences along with you and go through the same changes. It’s like they don’t understand.

In any case, I’m feeling it again, now that I’m back in the real world. There are no maps to check, transition points to scope out, kits to clean, or food to be shoveled down in anticipation of the next shift. What’s more, there are no more of the intense emotions of triumph, loss, fellowship, pain, joy, and friendship that I got hooked on while with you all. I talked with my father after we completed our last shift and he said to me “you know, I reckon you’re coming back from this a completely different person.”

Know what? My Pop is right. I’m different, and I’m glad for it, even if it makes me feel a little out of place for a while. I guess this is my weird way of saying that I miss everybody already, and I hope that you all get home safe and get some rest so that we can get out on the road (or dare I say the trail for those of you with mountain bikes) soon!

Safe travels, and God bless

BoZ

It is funny how this week went by so fast. I was thinking about it as the bus rumbled along at speeds just slightly above the speed limit. What a great week. This year was a totally different experience than 2008 for me personally. In 08, I rode on Team 1 and we had a little different mentality about the ride (we rode pretty hard). That said, team 1 was a fantastic group of people and we all got it (we all were there for the same reason). This year I rode with the Yellow team. It was similar in feel but the connection of the team was completely different. This year was a lot more personal. Having a person on the team who is currently doing treatment really took it to another level for me personally and I think the team felt the same way. I think it was made a little harder by the fact that I see the same thing at home on a weekly basis with Susan.  

So, now it is time to get back to work, back to reality, and back to the shop to unload the bus and the trailer. I must say that I am truly thankful for all for all of the riders, the support personal, the sponsors and the personal supporters that helped  put together this ride. The ride was safe, the riders all rode well and we all completed this year’s challenge. It was a fantastic week!  I am excited about the prospect of 2010!

JOEY

So…6 AM EST, and I was sitting under a gas station awning in soaking wet clothes taking in the moment.  Dad would be SO proud.  And my journey, this Challenge to Conquer Cancer is quickly nearing a close.  My teammates were quickly changing into dry clothes, but I felt like I could go forever…I didn’t know that I really wanted it to end!  Sure, I hated being crammed in a KIA van with 6 other adults, but I loved the camaraderie, the people we’ve met along the way, the kindness of strangers, and the sense of purpose.  My purpose was to train, to raise awareness, to raise money, and to ride….all in the name of something that touches so many.  That is a beautiful thing, and I feel truly blessed to have been a part of this challenge.

God Bless all of my teammates.  I enjoyed the adventure!  LiveSTRONG!!

Thank you P3C3 for the Challenge, the Emotions, the opportunity, the memories will last a life time.  Will I do this again….. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!!!

There were very cool sag (rest stops) on the route but the best was Mellow Johnny’s which included an espresso bar and beer keg!  I also managed to have two flat tires on the ride but it was all good because I at least flatted on the top of a hill!

However, say a few prayers because there were many wrecks on the course today, including two cyclists who hit a deer and they needed to be transported away by an ambulance.

I have decided the worst part and the thing that has frustrated me the most of this whole ordeal – the male cyclist shave their legs more than I do!!!!!!!

Well time to shower, grab some dinner tonight, post-ride party at Lance’s bar and then early flight home to South Carolina.  I am very homesick and miss Peter and my kids .

Pink out until next year…………..

 Yesterday morning we rode into Austin as a group and myself and the other survivors led the way into downtown Austin.  As i got closer i rode in silence while I thought about what a year this has been.  I am 2 weeks away from the anniversary of my diagnosis, its been 6 weeks since I lost my grandmother (although she showed up several times this week, and i am wearing her necklace while I’m riding as well) I ordered a bike before I could even walk this last winter and now I’m 1 mile away from saying I rode my bike to Austin.  It was indescribable the feeling I got when we came over the bridge and the first people I see are my best buddy Carlee, my grandfather, and my parents standing in the middle of the road as we pull in.   Later last night we had our reception dinner (huge thanks to New Belgium brewery and Todd at Eagleshotz) and although it was completely unplanned people stood up one at a time and told their story on why they ride and I know there was not a dry eye in the house. But what I realized is I stopped doing this for me a long time ago.  I am doing this with this crazy idea that we are going to beat this disease in our lifetime and I am with a bunch of morons who have the same belief. 

I woke up this morning and did the Livestrong challenge 5k and once again all of the survivors  and warriors crossed the finish line arm in arm in-front of 3,000+ people and we showed them how united our team is.  I was even stopped at starbucks 30 minutes later and had a woman say how she saw us finish and how she could see how special our p3c3 group is.   Then came the survivor reception,  and I could go on all night about how cool it was but im too tired. However during a Q&A part with Lance someone asked if he was in fear of his cancer returning.  I almost couldn’t look up because I didnt want to hear the answer because Lance had the same as I did and I know i am always in fear, but he could not have put it any better than when he said “I know my chances of a re accuring cancer is much greater than most people’s, but I stay physacly healthy and I am not sitting idle waiting for it to happen either i am fighting back in the mean time”.  And just like that its game on for me, if it was bad before its going to be terrible now.  Im going to go to bed and get up early to do the Livestrong 45mile race, Im going to beat the shit out of my bike and my body on the ride, and Im going to go back to Greenville tomorrow and show the world how to liveSTRONG.  I’m not a cancer survivor anymore….I’m a cancer fighter.

Friendship formed, even though this group has included various cycling abilities, ages, backgrounds, non-cyclist and folks who probably will not interact in the rhythm of their regular lives but are now family.

Without cancer the dynamic trio of Kim, Kerrie and Chasse  would not have formed!  I have also discovered the secret unrecognized powerhouse of encouragement for apparently every runner in Greenville and surrounding area in the powerhouse form of the humble Shopping Marathon Momma – Kerrie Sijon.  I am convinced that Kerrie is the heart and soul of the entire group!

Pink out-off to LAF survivorship dinner!

This morning we all participated in the 5k walk/run. It was a great walk and awesome to see all of the P3 folks in the bright yellow shirts. RunIn provided those shirts and boy did we stand out. It was awesome and lots of people commented on them throughout the morning.

I am not sure if I will get another opportunity to blog (I plan on trying when I get home), but I think i am most thankful that we had a great ride. We have a great group this year and I think it shows in the positive attitude and tremendous spirit that they have all brought to this event. The ride was safe. The weather was not the best but it was not bad. This is after all a challenge. With every challenge there must be a point where things get tough. We all had those points and we all made it through like champions. Cancer patients live a daily challenge. We simply have had a 5 day challenge. I like to remember that when I see my wife and our friends who have battled cancer.

2009 p3 Challenge to Conquer Cancer has been a super event with a super group of people! Thank you all to my personal supporters and all of our event sponsors. Without your support none of us could help in supporting the fight!

JOEY SULLIVAN

Sometime earlier this year Megggan sent me an email asking if I would be interested in joining a ride that she new about. She sent me the registration for the kick off banquet at the Palmetto center. I went, listened, and asked questions about the ride and decided that it would be something that I was interested in. I had been participating in another much larger ride for the past several years and was ready to change for reasons that I will not go into. Riding to Austin sounds interesting enough so I joined up.

For me this ride started out not as a way to bring awareness to conquer or cure cancer, but as a more challanging bike ride. I had sent Ron several emails getting information and asking questions about the ride.

The training rides started and I went to as many as I could. Bakery run at 7 a.m. sharp from Furman. Ron what’s your phone nuber so I can call you to let you now if I will be a few minutes late? I had a friend riding with me and he stayed back with me so I would know the way to the bakery. I had told Ron that I die in hills. When we got to the bakery the rest of the group was there and Ron greated me with a hugh smile asking how was it and with a big “You made it”.

Oct 18 was drawing near and I was sweating the fund raising. I was still $1000 short on Thursday before the ride. Friday afternoon several large donations came in so I told Ron at the shop I was officially in!!!!!!!!!

Sunday came and it was still another ride for me. I was feeling bad for Laurens because she was having to fight again and that she could not ride.

The white team is made up of bionic people. Joe has an artificial hip, Judy has 2 new knees, Kathy has lost one of her lungs to cancer, and me, well I have jsut lost part of my mind. So we were all missing something we were born with. We started out on US 76 where the Trail crosses. Kathy ook off like a bullet hollering into the night WE WERE FINALLY OFF AS A TEAM. It didn’t take long for me to realize what a struggle it was for kathy to do this ride with one lung. Can you imaginewhat it would be liek? Soon she was on the bus for a while. The hills just killed her. Judy started giving me background info about Kathy . During that night the ride turned from riding to Austin to figure out how we could keep Kathy on the road as long as we could. I remebered what Joe had said earlier in the year: “It’s not about how many miles or how fast we go. Don’t forget it is about the cause”. We finally made Murphy N.C. for our transistion. Off we go to find a bed and our next point of entery in the ride. Judy and I were still having our own conversations about how to keep Kathy on the bike as long as we could.

Then came the Natchez Trace. I had confettie popers to use at one of our transistion points and had planned to use them Tuesday night. We waited in Collenwood Tenn. for 3 hors tring to rest. The people in this small town were so nice to us. We were dressed and ready to ride and as we pulled out I spotted a vehicle with bikes on top. It was Laurens and Ann. They stopped us and we chatted. We told them e had a surprise for their team. We started down the Trace looking for a change over palce. We discussed the paty poppers. Mike got a phone call from Laurens saying that the team was down and needed some serious boosting. We turned around to find them and the decision was made to not use the poppers because it might cause someone to wreck. So thinking back for a moment to something we saw earlier taht was meant for the white team, I told Mike to drive by them slowly. As we got near them a new moon suddenly came oout from nowhere. We turned around and as we went by it suddenly appeared again. My “Mr. innocent” was blown. No one expects Uncle Milty to be the one. I was more than glad to do participate in something that would help the others out as we were not just the White team to Austin, but the P3C3 team.

We got on the Trace and off we go!!! I took the lead and slowed the pace down for Kathy. We wanted her on the bike as much as psooible. I tild her to stay behind me and I would pull her. when we got to hills I slowed down really slow hoping to help her conserve her oxygen. She stayed on the bike for almost 2 hours. We were so proud of her. encouraging her to keep going as long as she could, get in the bus and rest and to come back out when she was rested. . We stopped about every hour to make sure Joe got fed and watered. It had to be hard on him. He is 70 years old you know. We rode through part of Tenn. all of Alabama, and into Mississippi that night. So off to get some needed sleep and on to somewhere La.

After getting 4 hours of sleep we were off. A short cut urned into a long night for us as we had a flat tire. After gettting it fixed we were off down the trace again. We stopped just short of the Mississippi line ( I would tell you the name of the town but I can’t spell it lolol) for a short nap. Ron had tod us that it would be okay to be a little late due to our flat tire.

The yellow team was waitng on us when we got to our transsition point. It was still just another ride for me and and trying to keep Kathy on the road. After we had dressed Beth called me over to tell me something. She told me how they wre dedicating each mile to someone. Beth who made me laugh now made me start crying by bring into focus what the ride is really about. The ride then turned very emotional for me. Remembering the friends and family, my father, who died from camcer. It was just too much for me. I cried for most of the morning. Thinking why did Steve have to die young from cancer, Myria who didn’t get to spend much time with her new granddaughter, Why does Laurens, who is such and inspiration to me, have to fight it again. Sue, Sandra, and Spence wtih breast cancer, Jack with non hodgkins lymphoma.

Thank you to everyone on the P3C3 team. To the ones that rode their butts off not realizing that Laurens would decide that dhe would ride into Austin,
to Don for being the best photographer an individual team could have, to everyone one on the team that for making me feel like part of the larger team, the good times and the bad times, to Meggan for bring this ride to my attention, and to Ron for having a vision, and the rest of my new family and friemds!!!!!!!!!!!

the best tquote I can think of to leave everyone with with is to remeber: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

I felt lonely, anxious, curious,  frazzled, frightened, disoriented. These are feelings that cancer warriors, survivors, caretakers feel often.

By the 2nd day, I  became part of this “bicycle family”. We  cycle not only for fun, exercise, comraderie, to achieve personal goals.  We cycle for a CAUSE.

 We are battling, symbolically and literally,  with this P3C3 Ride to Austin.  Here in Austin, we will  join  “zillions” of others in this  CHALLENGE to CONQUER CANCER.  We will make a $200,000+/-  contribution for cancer research and treatment through the LIVESTRONG Foundation.  Our thanks to those in the Upstate SC, NC area, family and friends from other places, who contributed to make this a reality.

As a 62 year young woman, this has been an experience unlike any other.
I am so thankful to those who made this journey possible.  Many encouraged me and some inspired me (one in particular). Please call on me when you want or need.   In 62 years, I have struggled with  family and friends.  You don’t need to know the particulars.  Others of this group have expressed that very well.   Must close now-need to drive the van to our next destination.

Today we are off to the city of Austin!!!!!!!!!!

THis ride has turned very emotional for me. I started this ride as another bike ride that sounded very interesting. Afte

We rode the outskirts of Austin and into the town of Bastrop. It was still dark but the rain was starting to ease up so maybe this ride would not be so dreary. We took a stop at a gas station about 22 miles out from our destination. At that moment, we were all completely energized by the sight of Laurens Flanagan getting ready to join us for the final miles of the ride.

I think the whole team has been lucky to have her in the support vehicles for this trip. We all wanted her to ride but having just completed a cycle of chemo the conditions have to be right for her to ride. She has been a personal warrior to our team and an incredibly positive influence as to why we all ride.

The final few miles were a little crazy. Ted had a flat. Arthur changed his wheel and got him rolling quickly. We rolled into the suburbs and the hills started to get a little steeper. With about 2 miles to go Laurens flatted. Once we got her rolling again I think we were all ready to roll out last few miles and start the celebration. It was awesome to see all of the teams waiting for us at the hotel! Greenville SC to Austin Tx. That is one long ride! But it is not about the ride.  This is a challenge. It is about the fight and teams  and why we all ride. Those last few miles completely eliminated those dreary thoughts early in the morning when it was cold and rainy (did I mention the sun came out about the time we finished!).

Tommorow, we roll into downtown Austin as one big team. All of the riders will be there and some of the support people will ride. I am very blessed to be surrounded by a tremendous team this year. Ron and Jennifer Jerina are the central force behind this ride to Austin. They allowed me to ride with this wonderful group of friends. Ted and Ann, Beth, Robin, Laurens, Ron and Jennifer truly made a super team to be a part of this year’s ride. I am not sure how so many completely different people spent 5 days in a car together and do it with nearly constant humor, support and never once did they threaten to throw me out of the car.  This year has been a completely different experience for me from the last. I can honestly say that I think people get it this year even more than the last.

I am looking forward to tommorow. I get see my wife Susan ( a warrior)! She will hopefully be at the hotel when we arrive. She is why I ride and truly an incredible survivor. This weekend has yet to begin but it will be a super weekend.

Thank you to all of my supporters for this trip. This has been a fantastic ride. More challenging, new people but all focusing on the same goal. This has been a fantastic finish into Austin, I am tired, sleepy and rambling on and on.

Joey Sullivan

We’ve all faced challenges throughout this journey from Greenville to Austin. All teams had a significant challenge with the cold temperatures in the beginning stages. They also had the challenge of long hours with little real sleep (more challenge for some teams than others due to the way the shifts worked out). Some teams were challenged with a climbing stage early in the ride. Most were challenged because they were also dealing with these conditions while riding in the dark.

I was talking to Ed the other day about the challenges presented by this year’s route. He was concerned that if the ride was too challenging, there might be difficulty in recruiting riders for next year. These adverse conditions, besides being difficult for the riders, could also present safety and health issues. This was perhaps his most important thought during the discussion.

During this time of year, it was inevitable that we were going to have some cooler temperatures in the mountains. Ed’s concern was the safety and security of the teams as they moved through this terrain. We were very concerned about Jeni after being pulled from the ride with borderline hypothermia (just to reiterate – she is fine now). Ed was also concerned for the well being of the entire team – we were all feeling the effects of the cold.

This discussion really got me thinking about the challenges we were facing during this journey. That Monday morning ride with the climbing and the cold weather was a significant physical and mental challenge – for me, and I think for just about anyone. I’m very proud that Team Polka Dot made it through those challenges. I think all of the P3C3 crew is proud of the way they were able to persevere through the adverse conditions presented to them during their rides.

As we rode the Natchez trace the following day (through simply incredible riding conditions I might add), I reflected further on how each person responds to a challenge. Everyone is going to respond differently to a specific challenge, and what is a challenge to one person might not be a challenge to another.

Most people in the United States voluntarily put themselves in situations in which they will be challenged. This is a luxury that we are very lucky to have. Unfortunately, there are many who find themselves challenged without having a choice in the matter. Nobody knows who will be diagnosed with cancer next. It seems too many already have been. I just found out about a co-worker who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

When I think about the challenges we have faced on this ride, I realize they don’t compare to the challenges ahead of someone who is diagnosed with cancer. On this ride, I always had the option to get on the bus or in the van. I didn’t have to keep riding. For someone with cancer, they only have one choice and that is to fight.

On this ride there are a number of warriors, a very high number of survivors and the rest have a personal story about someone they know and love who is or has fought the battle against cancer.

What I’ve seen from this P3C3 crew these last days is each person responding to their individual challenges with strength and courage. Collectively, we have responded to the Challenge to Conquer cancer with that same courage and conviction. I’m proud to be involved with this group of excellent people.

jd – Team Polka Dot

As the year unfolded, my skepticism about fundraising began to mount.  I was convinced that we would end up short.  I couldn’t see folks opening their pockets in such a down economy… especially for me… I’ve gotten a reputation for being a tight wad.  The year was becoming increasingly negative.  Dad passed away in June.  I remember kneeling at the rail in the front of our church, asking God for help to somehow find the strength to support my wife and the wisdom to know what or how to be the comfort she needed.  The summer became a really low point in my life.  The demands of the many things in my life seemed to combine in a perfect storm.  My Saturdays became a day of watching Morgan while Meg trained.  I wouldn’t have much time for Loren… and I became bitter.  God was working on me.

In August, we held a fundraising barbeque at our church.  Meggan went out and tirelessly found businesses willing to donate to our cause.  It was incredible to see so many people willing to support the cause.  I had to do a bunch of research about cancer to find things to MC the BBQ.  I started to understand the full scope of what cancer research had done and is doing.  The night before the banquet, cancer claimed my Aunt Lila Elliott (Ricketts).  She had bravely fought a painful battle with bone cancer for about two years.  The following week I attended her funeral in Herman, MO.  At the funeral… everyone was really relieved that she was home.  Lila was the first of five children in the Ricketts family to pass.  My mom… a very strong woman, a survivor of polio, who rarely cries… whom I don’t recall ever having being shaken when speaking publicly, became emotional as she recounted visiting with Lila during the year before she passed.  She told about how Lila and Uncle Jim had just bought their first house after 30+ years in the ministry.  My parents, who are in the ministry as well, had just bought their first house about the same time.  Lila had made a comment about how ironic, wonderful, and a blessing it was that both she and my parents had finally gotten their own home to enjoy retirement… it was a comment that gave no power or credit to cancer. 

Got me to thinking about cancer, and my own life.  When I try to think back to my earliest memory of cancer, it brought back things I’d forgotten long ago.  I lost my grandpa Ricketts to cancer in 1983.  His name was Kenneth, which was where I got my middle name.  When he got sick, I was 6.  I remember making trips out to the farm where they lived in Illinois, to visit often as his time came closer.  The farmhouse had been filled with all kinds of special medical equipment that had been moved into the farmhouse with the hospital bed where he would later pass.  Inside the bathroom was an old fashioned water bottle – heat/ice bag.  Well… I was 6, and didn’t know what that was and hadn’t seen one before.  I assumed it had something to do with cancer.  Sometime after he passed, we visited my grandma Snyder.  I discovered a water bottle in her medicine cabinet.  I became upset to the point of tears that she had cancer and would die…  No… she didn’t have cancer, but cancer had made its initial presence known to me as something to be feared.

I mentioned earlier that I really didn’t know or understand my father-in-law, Jim.  During the time we spent in Iowa visiting him at the hospital, in hospice, and at the funeral; I got to know what a great man my children won’t get to know or play with.  Jim McIlravy, or Jimmy Mac, as the locals called him, was a character.  He was a fun loving man, who some folks thought was just some crazy guy to be made fun of.  But Jim wasn’t a character.  He was a man of character.  He was the type of man who would leave his crops in the field to help another farmer in need at harvest.  He didn’t value self… he was a man of service, and a man that was understood and respected by those who he selflessly loved.  Jim went to God in the arms of my wife as I looked on.  I don’t think I will ever see or feel anything in my life that will make me feel more helpless…

The BBQ turned my year around.  I learned alot about myself, about friendship, and about faith.  Our church family and friends turned out in awesome numbers.  Our friends stepped up and bailed me out of some poor planning on my part at the last minute.  All in all, we raised about a third of our money that night.  The $7500 seemed more manageable. 

The next week when I was at my Aunt’s funeral, my mother’ grade school classmate, Gail McDonald a published Christian author, wife of Gordon McDonald, another  Christian author, rode to the cemetery for the internment with my brother and I.  On the trip, she asked both my brother and I what our spiritual gifts were.  Then she asked what our wife’s gifts were.  I hadn’t thought about it in the context of where I was at with being in a funk, and in the context of what Meg was dealing with.  God’s hand continued to work.

Sometime during the training I discovered that watching Morgan on Saturdays was becoming the highlight of my week.  While meg was training… Morgan and I would train… ride the train at heritage park that is.  These are memories we will cherish forever.

The fundraising, planning, and now trip to Austin have helped me grow in my relationship with my wife , my understanding of friendship, and my faith walk.  I have a renewed faith in the generosity and heart of our county.  The news says things are down.  The reality is that people are up.  People are up to supporting good causes.  And they don’t need the government’s help to do it.

I now know that cancer, while a valid threat, is not something to live in fear of.  Cancer is something that we are a part of working to cure.  My Aunt Lila was right.  Cancer doesn’t mean stopping our dreams.  We have to continue to do the work we were gifted to do.

Turns out my spiritual gift is service.  I think Jimmy Mac and I had a lot in common… No – my kids won’t get to know grandpa Jim or play with him… but, I can be the kind of man he was…  and teach them the lessons of selfless loving service he valued. 

Cancer might have taken grandpa Jim, but his legacy will strongly live on.

It all started when I went out to the Jerinas lake house in the summer.  I didn’t really know what to expect, but I left there knowing that I had just met some very good, very passionate people.  Every meeting, training ride and event from that time on only confirmed my original impression.  All of those who have known me for long know that I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.  I know that God was at work when Chasse asked me to do this just as He was at work on me when I agreed to do it.   And now, He’s been at work this week as we have made this journey across the country all working together to fight this disease that has plagued all of us in one way or another.

When Team Yellow arrived this morning, it was an incredible moment in time.  We were all so emotional and all I could think is that I’ve known most of these people for less than 6 months (and some much less than that) and yet I’m standing here crying with them, hugging them and loving them.  It’s amazing what can happen when people come together for a common cause.  It’s obviously what I needed to learn for my 43rd birthday and I’m so thankful for the lesson.  God, once again, thanks, I got it.

Dennis

Today’s ride greeted us with rain…lots of it. We started in the dark and looked forward to our first ride in the light. Not even 2 hours into the ride I was bonking and with that all of this weeks emotions flowed out and could not be stopped. I cried.. a lot… as I thought about all of those that helped make this possible. I did not want to let anyone down and just like that Joey and Ron pulled me back in and with their love and support I pushed forward.  Having Laurens join us brought the tears back.  I love this girl I love that she is such a fighter.  It was Laurens that brought me to this group of amazing people..now family.

This is what our team was like all week. If any one was suffering or needed an extra hug we just knew to do it. Anne and Jennifer were amazing and I know without a doubt that we could not have done this without them. Tedd (double D), Ron (karaoke king), Beth (queen of one-liners), Joey (route master) and Laurens (the slayer)  could not have been a more amazing team to be on.

Today my Aunt passed away from Cancer. As I said in an earlier post she had a “mean cancer” (her words) but she was thrilled to know we are fighting for her and all others that have been touched my this.

Thank you Ron for dreaming something so big and then allowing us all to be a part of it.  You are amazing!!

Relentless Forward Motion.

Robin Blackburn – Team Yellow

It is an honor to wear the P3C3 jersey… It has meant the world to me to ride for Kim….I am grateful to my team for pulling me. 

RJ, Reed and Ridge.. you are very lucky men.  

Tebbets, we missed you and have been thinking about you all week. 

John Cash  Thank you for making this possible for me… you are truely an inspiration.

Tommy  Thank you for the honor of riding for Kim…

Mum,Dad and Leah thanks for believing I could do this.

Jack and Alli I looked at your picture whenever I was tired.  I kept peddling!

Kim and Scottie… thanks for the help on the hills… i love and miss you both.

Nap time!

Kathy

First thing, word up everyone one for Kim Stancil’s birthday today – everyone send her a message! (I think she will remember this one!)

Ok, for the Pinkly adventures of yesterday:  we had the honor of being the inaugural team crossing into the Texas state line after crossing an approx 1 ½ mile bridge into the state.  After stopping for multiple photos we then had the pleasure of multiple miles of Texas rollers – no wonder Lance won the Tour!  Some people have a personal trainer; I have a personal pacer – thanks Arthur who was always there to pull me back into the group after the lovely rollers.  My tough moment came about 5 hrs into the ride when I started to bonk but remembered our team motto “shut and ride” and that we hoped to go 10 more miles before we took a break! Well, I sucked it up and took a Hammer Gel – big mistake. I spent the next 30 minutes on the bus holding a barf bag – but hey this old girl recovered and finished the ride with the gang hauling at a 20+ mph pace!!!!!

Pink out and on the town!

Our night shift from midnight to 6am started in Huntsville, TX in a light wind and rain, and it would only intensify.  By 3am the rain was blowing in stinging sheets and the wind made holding a straight paceline very difficult.  This was doable, but about 4ish the wind made a dramatic shift from south to north, and like passing through a refrigerated curtain the temperature dropped noticeably, the chill set in, and the rain was pelting us with force from 20 to 30 mph winds.

We soldiered on, with our field general, Jonathan, leading the way.  We quickly learned that an eschelon formation would help us to deflect  the strongest winds, and though new to working with each other, we fell into it like a seasoned team.  Riding with The Green Cycling Machine has been a living, learning experience that I will always cherish.

This ride also started out differently, as we took time during our Prayer Circle to dedicate the day to specific and special people.  I thought of my brother Dave, who survives leukemia and is now also focused on healing other health problems.  I thought of my Dad, taken 24 years ago but never forgotten.  My aunt and uncle, my Mom and younger brother, Chris, and all the friends whose lives have been connected with me through this Herculean effort.

My highest praises to the folks of the P3, especially Ron and Kevin, who I met after only a few days of moving to Greenville, and who opened my eyes and heart to a whole new way of living and contributing to life.

Lovestrong.  Livestrong.

We have arrived in Austin!  We are now heading out the front door of the hotel to welcome the Yellow Team, the finale of the trip that will bring us together for our parade into downtown as the P3C3!

Jerry

I admitted in an earlier post that I didn’t think we would ever find enough folks that would agree to take 8 days off of work, sit on a tiny bike seat for 6 hours, or ride in a vehicle for 1300 miles. Ron, Kevin and Kim KNEW we would.

Our journey here last year was incredible and everyone on it is a part of my heart. This year has proven to be incredible in a new way. It seemed strange to me leaving Greenville this time with some of our teammates from last year waving goodbye to us. I wasn’t sure if we could duplicate the bonding that went on last year, but oh how we have. When you are on a trip of this magnitude, you can’t help but get to know the people on your team. Our team is unique in that we have lots of returning members: Ron, Beth, Laurens, Joey and me. So we all knew a little bit about what to expect on the trip. It didn’t take any time for Tedd, Anne and Robin to blend right in. All the riders have been doing alot of training together and Anne and I are Iron wives together (Louisville 2007) so we have that bond already. The reason the definition of TEAM is on our jersey is because I wanted it there. It is such a key ingredient to this trip. I have been so touched by all of the teams who are posting here. It sounds as if they have had the same experience bonding and gelling as a team as we have.

Our midnight to 6am shift touched my heart in a way I didn’t know possible.  My sweet husband’s voice came over the radio advising the team that they would be dedicating each pull to those for who we ride.  I was in the bus behind them watching as they worked together.  Beth had a dedication where she wanted the team to kiss the sky.  In unison all five riders raised a hand to heaven.  I was both touched and saddened as Joey and Ron named so many family members.  Name after name, sometimes multiple names at a time kept coming over the radio.  Tears welled up and spilled over as I looked at my watch to see that they had been doing this almost THREE hours.  How could these five super- people still be calling out names?  At one point I saw Tedd reach out for Robin’s hand.  My heart swelled up with pride as I watched and listened.  I was in complete awe of my team.  Then they got out of their paceline and were riding side by side.  I instinctively knew what they were doing.  I knew what the next radio transmission would be.  They wanted Laurens to know they felt her riding with them, that they missed her physical presence beside them, how we are in the fight with her.  This ride, this team….I can’t express how honored I am to be here.  Cancer: it’s UGLY, it has broken us, it has ripped people from us, but….it has brought us together.  I feel so blessed to have these people in my life.  And when I say these people, I mean the entire P3C3 family.  I type this as we head to our transition with Green (Awesome) at 6am.  It’s dark again, it’s raining, we are cranking tunes in the car, singing to “It’s A Beautiful Day” and looking forward to seeing the rest of our family when we get to Austin later this morning.   I can’t wait to hug and kiss each and every one of you.

Love to you all,

Jennifer

we stopped at a gas station in east jesus texas and a woman walked up and asked what we were doing and she was so excited she donated to the cause and as we left, her and her daughter followed us for 10 miles just to see us ride.  Today was the first day we have ridden in any traffic and it was great! we felt like rock stars, nearly every other car and truck even fisherman in a lake were honking, waving,  giving us thumbs up ( a entire different finger than I am used to seeing on a bike).  It was so encouraging to the entire team that we kept going faster and riding stronger with each mile.  We were pulling into Lufkin tx and the rain started. We had expected that to slow us down but we turned into a well trained team (other than Arthur the pro who fell like a real winner) we were riding at 25 mph, in traffic, in the rain and we looked like a first class race team.   We got off of the bike and got a massage and drank some great texas beer. We are a strong team, with great support.  We are in the van now laughing and telling stupid stories. What a trip! Well Kerrie is telling me to get off of the computer, so im out.

Night one the darkness brought us cold.  To-the-bone cold that you have read about in the early blogs.  In that darkness we found teamwork and  hard efforts required to stay warm, to perservere and to defeat the cold inside of us and outside of us.  We didn’t do it alone, we did it together, taking turns bearing the brunt of the cold on the front and being thankful to others for providing us with the relief of tucking in at the back, even if just for a few blessed minutes.

Night two brought us the darkness of monotony. Long, straight, dark roads with no signs of forward progress, no signs of life, no signs of light,  like riding your bike on a treadmill in the dark.  But in the darkness of monotony came the light of comraderie!  We had to transform what we had, into what we needed.  So we sang, we quoted movies, told bad jokes (or at least I did), we lifted each other up. And then from an unexpected place, in an unexpected way (no really it was unexpected), help from friends.  Giving us what we needed to make it to the end of that night.

Night three brought us the darkness of pain and loss. This night we honored those who have been taken from us and those who have beaten cancer.  There were tears, lots of tears, and anger, but also glimmers, however brief, of victory and hope. In that darkness we found strength, courage,  honor and purpose inside of ourselves.  We found  we were not alone, we had angels pushing us forward, we had friends and family needing us to fight for them and we had each other to support, encourage and to push us forward.

When I think of this adventure and the view from the darkside, I remember, “There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.”  As you have read this week, there have been a lot of emotions. So let the transformations begin.

Now it is up to all of you reading this take the emotions from these blogs, these riders, this journey… I challenge you to take your emotions, your enthusiasm, your anger and use it to transform the darkness of cancer into the light of a cancer free world. Donate, volunteer, hug a survivor, visit a warrior, pray, ride, run, sell lemonade, walk, it doesn’t matter what you do…just do something.  Because you never know when your actions are the light someone needs to help them out of their darkness. Together we can take the light of love and action and destroy the darkness of cancer….

The emotion of this trip has been transforming for me and for the whole Mellow Yellow team…and tomorrow..well..tomorrow, we see the light and we are excited for what the light brings!!

RideSTRONG into the light!

I started with a cycling friend name Jackie Whitted. He left to early with pancreatic cancer. He was the biggest George Hincapie fan I have ever seen! He was a rider just like us and would probably be there if he could to support this ride today. I went through my family list (Harrington’s, Sullivan’s, cousin’s. aunt’s, uncles, grandparents…..). I put some unusual names out there like the people of Bogalusa LA that have dealt with a blight of cancer due to environmental issues. Paul Newman and musicians. I left my personal reason for the end (and most importantly as it is Susan my wife but I always think of our 5 year old son as he too is part of this battle!). In what seemed like just a little while we were through with nearly 3 hours of our ride, just saying names and making our pulls in the paceline. Quite amazing and truly surreal.

Last year was the first year. Amazing ride but we were all trying something new and had no expectations. This year is way different. Different people, new course, new people we meet on the road that look at us funny and many that are bewildered by the meaning behind this ride until they look at the magnets and realize that they too are surrounded by Cancer. I think this year has been taken to a new level. For this team, it is not about pace, it is not about hurrying to the next point and not about how great we are climbing. It is simply about the cause.

We wrapped up our dedication portion with the group riding side by side as we named our warriors and our current survivors on the ride. I am not sure I personally considered how hard it must be to be in the support vehicles listening over the radios as the names were being called out for hours. It could have well gone on all day and night from Greenville to Austin. It was quite amazing to the see the light on the back of Scott Schuey’s bike as it rode on the support van in front of us for nearly the whole night. That red light was a constant reminder to all of us of why we ride and a person on the list that was there with us that night.

I am leaving to get some dinner, and go to bed early as we have a 3:30 wake up call to get us going to meet our 6 am transition. It should be our last ride of the process of going to Austin. Friday morning the team will ride as one into downtown Austin and enjoy the fruits of our labor. The sleep should come easily enough as we all are tired and are over 24 hours without sleep. I apologize for my rambling but it is hard to put all of these thoughts together in one page.

Austin, here we come! Thank you to all of our supporters, friends and families who understand why we ride! 

Joey Sullivan

Team Yellow

This has been an incredible experience. I’m several days behind and I’m not going to go back and recreate each day for you, especially since you can read about TeamYellow’s adventures in my team members’ entries. I just need to let you know what an honor it is to be a part of this particular team.  It’s amazing how quickly these people become like members of your family.  We’ve known some of the team members for some time now, but have really gotten to know the others and I can’t think of a better team to be on!  TeamYellow ROCKS!!!!!  

There have already been some extremely moving experiences for me.  The first one was when I turned out of the hospital parking lot onto Faris Road and looked at all of the cyclists and support vehicles ahead of me.  It truly was a sight to behold.  How incredible to have this many people making their way from Greenville, SC to Austin, TX raising awareness and money for cancer research.  Everyone is giving up 8 days of their busy lives for this important cause.  It seems that we have all been touched by cancer in some way – many of us, multiple times.  Next comes the times that our team is out on the road and Scott Shuey’s bike is on top of our support vehicle.  Laurens and I have truly felt like Scott was with us.  You’ve probably all read by now thm and at Scott was one of our warriors who lost his battle with cancer just a couple of weeks ago.  We are taking his bike to Austin with us to symbolize that he is with us.  For whatever reason, Laurens & I really felt his presence the night we were driving down the pitch-black Natchez Trace.  We knew that we were taking Scott along for the ride and that was extremely special.  Lastly (at least to this point) was last night’s ride in which TeamYellow members would ride in the front of the paceline for  a few minutes, sharing with the team via radio, a name of someone they were riding in honor of or in memory of right at that moment.  Ron came on the radio at 1:00 and said that we would be doing this for the next hour.  It lasted over 3 hours and we didn’t get to all of the names on our team van.  It was unreal.  Our team has some very special people on it and I am so blessed to be a part of it.

Spending time with Laurens in the van while the riders have been on the ride has been a highlight.  I didn’t really know her when we started this journey, but now…….We can just look at each other and get the giggles.  We have had tons of fun during these many hours in the van and have lots of inside jokes!   When we get to Austin and participate in the 5K/ride this weekend, I’ve added Laurens to my list of why I’m here, as she is currently going through chemo because her cancer came back.  She’s just a great person to be around!

So…we’ll try to catch some zzzz’s here tonight before heading into Austin tomorrow morning.  It’s hard to believe that this part of the journey is almost over.  Now we have the Austin adventure to look forward to for the weekend.  I’ll try to blog again soon!  Thanks so much for supporting us in this really important cause and thanks for following us!

LiveSTRONG!

Anne

After a few mishaps on the first day that kept us medics a little busy, all of the riders have been accident-free and have been working together like a team; focused on a goal with a common mission in mind. I have been impressed by the encouragement passed among and between each of the teams, as they pass each other on the road or meet the next team at the next rendezvous point.

The point that was seared into my memory was the two hours last night that the Green Team spent riding in honor, or in memory, of loved ones have dealt with cancer. So many, many names! Just out of these five riders, dozens of names were mentioned and many lives were talked about as each of these cyclists took their turn “pulling” the pace-line. Each name represented an individual, with a family, holding plenty of memories; and some of them were re-lived by the riders as they rode in their name. And those mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg. There are countless people who are fighting this disease that we don’t even know about; families that are changed by the daily struggle of doctor’s visits, medications, and all of the medical bills.

One of the riders on the Green Team said something that really caught my attention. Well, it wasn’t necessarily what he said; it was the pattern of what he said. As all of the cyclists on this team rehearsed the names of family, friends, and even some strangers that they met, this rider kept naming members of his family who had to cope with this disease. Father, uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins- all of them diagnosed with some form of cancer. Any person who had this list of family members would be greatly concerned for their own personal health, and their chances of being diagnosed with cancer. And this rider may have that concern. But this man does everything he can to stay in shape, eat right, and then goes the extra mile by raising money to donate to cancer research… but is that enough? Are we all just beating the wind as we work together as a team in this cause?

Then an astonishing thought struck me. While this rider may appear to have all of the hereditary indications of a fatal disease, and one would only think that his days are numbered, we all need to remember that each person’s days will come to an end. It could come in the form of seventeen years of fighting a battle against brain cancer, only to have your body succumb to the disease; of maybe something as sudden as an aneurysm in the brain, or a car accident. The truth remains, we are not guaranteed tomorrow, so we should focus on a cause, on a mission, on a goal, that will remain past our death, and always live each day as if it were our last.

Anyone, and everyone, has been reminded of this truth in what way or another. My heaven-sent reminder came through the family memories of a loving cyclist on a secluded Louisiana road in the middle of the night.

On to the serious side of the ride to Austin.  We are constantly reminded of why were here by the presence of Scott’s bike, by my teammate Chase and by Lauren’s reoccurence of cancer. It’s not about the bike.  It’s about trying to understand why it happens to those we love and to so many others in our lifetime.  I thank Ron Jerina for his dream of the ride and it becoming bigger than we ever expected.  We are having so much fun but we never forget why we’re here.  Those who are stricken with this terrible disease are much stronger that I could ever attempt to be.  I will try to use their strength on my rides and keep my focus on the reason why we’re cycling to Austin,TX.

Noon to six today.  May rain.  It doesn’t matter. We are joyful.  God is with us and we are happy.

I am so proud to be part of such a great team.  I will never forget the hardest ride of my life.

It’s interesting how things progress. On the road you feel for yourself , cold and damp. Then, like a beacon, you look ahead and see Scott’s bike up front leading the way, driving the vision of why we ride. I’m getting to old to worry for me, but I ride for the younger people and their children so that they may see the day where cancer does not exist any longer.

As those thoughts were float through my mind, the sun came out showing its warmth and beauty. Our shillouttes drawn across the fields painted by a master artist inspired the team onward. It was a glorious day.

Part 1:

Hooray for awesome hotel staff!

Our first night (Sunday) due to the good heart of the general manager at the Doubletree in Chattanooga, TN we were offered rooms at the employee rate of $29/night.  It may not seem like a big deal, but every $ we save on the overhead of this trip is another $ that goes to cancer research and survivor advocacy!

Today was no different… The Hampton Inn we found last night in Tupelo, MS was nice enough to offer us the federal rate but could not go any cheaper without a manager on site.  So, this morning after we’d already been charged $70/room, I spoke to the front desk receptionist, Bridgette and explained to her what we were doing and asked if there was any way to get a further discount.  She proceeded to call the general manager to ask if that would be possible.  30 minutes later we received a call to our room saying they had already adjusted our rooms down to the employee rate of $29/night.

TeamAwesome with the awesome Hampton Inn Tupelo staff

And tonight… we had a very good idea of where we’d end up, Natchez, MS… so who did we call? No… not ghostbusters, but the Hampton Inn.  I spoke to the manager, explained what we were doing and she didn’t hesitate to offer us rooms for the employee rate, $29/room.

I look at the generosity of these folks as a testament to the fact that cancer touches everyone, and if you’re just willing to ask, people want to be involved and help out in any way they can!  So thank you Bill Mish, Stephanie Browning (& Bridgette), and Janelle.  I’ve always been loyal to Hilton properties and this has only reaffirmed my reasons for sticking with them.

Part 2:

Hooray for awesome Team Awesome teammates!

First things first… today aside from riding the priority was laundry… Loren, Megan, & Jerry got up early and headed to the local laundromat to wash our stinky riding gear… It was not only nice to have clean clothes again… but riding in the van was no longer filled with the stench of dirty cyclists.  You three rock!

Our shift today ran from 6 pm to Midnight.  We had a smooth transition with the Polka-Dot team close to 6 pm… Transitions are such great times to catch up with the other teams and cheer them on… you cheer for them as they arrive and they do the same when you depart… and the Polka-Dot crew absolutely killed it today… riding more than a century during the “Happy Shift” (noon-6) which got our hopes up.  After all, Megan, Bo & I had never completed a full century.

We rolled out to cheers from Keith, Reuben, Rene and Dennis (towel boy), along with the entire Polka Dot crew and our support folks… it was exciting and I was more than pleased to be starting my first full shift!!  We headed off into Jackson, MS commuter traffic… Bob Kramer started out riding with us as well to help pull in the daylight… which turned out to be a great thing since in the first few miles… Jerry’s rear wheel went “soft”.  Bob took a look at it, pumped it with CO2 and we were off again… for another 1/2 mile when it decided to no longer hold air… aside: if you’ve read about the polka-dot outlaws you know that for this shift we couldn’t have a lead or follow vehicle… so no NASCAR wheel changes… and at times no radio and no other cars for miles around us.  Bob thankfully had another CO2 cartridge and Jerry had a spare tube… in less than 5 minutes he had the tube changed out… and we were off… for real this time!

This slow start was a bit of a downer for the group, along with the fact the support vehicles had to leap-frog us… our goal of hitting a century was in jeopardy.  Traffic was steady for the first hour or so but man… the Natchez Trace Parkway is smooth… clean… and has little wind.  Animals were everywhere… and when I say animals, I mean deer… lots and lots of deer.  We saw a few cross the road ahead of us… and it was at first kind of neat… then there were more deer… and then… out of no where, no more than 10 feet in front of Jonathan 1 deer jumped in front of him and crossed the road, then another!  I thought we were going to have a Matt Lauer moment on our hands.  Alas, Jonathan is a great rider and wasn’t phased… He just kept pulling.  Everyone kept pulling.  Which brings me to how awesome my teammates are.  They pulled me through this shift… without them I definitely would not have made it.  We paced it out on the road and I hugged wheels… pulling some… but really relying on my teammates for support and strength.  Negative thoughts would pop into my head regarding how I couldn’t keep up with them and wouldn’t make it… but Megan, Jonathan, Jerry, & Bo were there… when I was gapped, they’d slow up for me to catch onto someone’s wheel.  I thought of my list and why we were riding.  I thought of Scott Shuey’s bike on our support van and his rear light leading the way… and kept going.

Our goal was to make it over the Mississippi River into Louisiana to complete our full century… and with an hour to go we were getting close to the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway… our goal was in sight… it was as if we acquired new legs and everyone kicked it up a notch.  The mile markers on the Parkway continued to decrease until before we knew it we were exiting… 5 miles to go to the Mississippi River!  News was coming over the radio that we’d be transitioning before the river and we said no way!  We needed that extra push… a full century has been a goal for Bo & I for a long time and what better time, place, and cause to accomplish it… plus we knew we could do it with time to spare!

As we approached the river there was a huge parking lot and I thought some of my teammates we telling me to turn off… thinking that was the transition point I slowed up… only to hear, “No… go… sprint zone… go!!!” from my hubby.  So I took off and started climbing up to the bridge… I reached our support van and was yelling “Go! Go! Go!” as I was about to overtake them.  My legs were so exhausted but I looked up and could see the sign, “Louisiana”.  We did it… we made the state line… my teammates could have easily caught me… they could have jumped ahead and made it to the other side of the river while I was still making it to the top of the bridge, but they pushed me, they cheered me on… they were that extra strength in my legs pushing me to make it.  On the descent Bo joined me and we rode into the transition point with 101 miles behind us.  Our first century and we did it together with our Team Awesome on the Ride to Austin. Team Yellow was there cheering for us as we arrived. It was amazing and I know I was grinning from ear to ear.

So thank you to my awesome teammates.  Without your help and support, there’s no way I would have been able to complete this 6 hour shift, much less a full century!  I am truly blessed to be riding with each of you for this amazing cause!!

-Polka Dot WILL meet and exceed expectations…even if they have a run-in with the law.

-Just when you think nothing else can possibly go wrong with Jerry’s bike…it does.

-Natchez Trace farmers again remind me WHY I’m doing this…(see earlier post)

-It’s awfully lonely in the dark with ZERO radio communication…

-Deer are equal opportunity…they also like to sprint in front of bicycles.

-Jonathan Pait can pull for miles and miles….

-Bo Z. “heads to the barn” around 4.5 hrs in…(ie: starts pickin’ up the pace!)

-Nikki Z. only needs one good arm to ride 100 miles!!

-No turns, flat terrain & very little traffic makes for a kick-ass ride…Green Team knocked out 101 miles in 6 hrs!! 

-The Mississippi River is W-I-D-E!!  Louisiana, the Green Team has arrived!!

-The Yellow Team, even with Ron’s glowey-eyed tights, is a sight for sore legs

Until tomorrow…and the midnight – 6 AM shift!!

2. The theme from “The Natural” is very dramatic and inspiring when you crank it in the middle of the bayou at mile 70… in fact… right now… somewhere just outside of Natchez, MS some deer is busy carving a bat out of a lightning struck tree trunk with its teeth.

3. If you use the restroom at the rear of the bus… make sure a little old lady isn’t checking her mail.

4. Ice is free to P3 in French Camp, MS…  home of a very special warrior.

5. Bob Jones University is not exclusively Baptist… and I won’t get smited by a lightning bolt if I visit.

6. Jerry knows how to sweet talk the best Burger King burgers you’ve ever had out of Burger King’s finest… even after they have closed for the night.

7.  Polka Dot Team… Breakin the law, breaking the law…. breakin the law.. breaking the law!

8.  Big Joe Sullivans Hot Pink Shorts… Breakin the law, breaking the law…. breakin the law.. breaking the law!

9. 95 miles on the Nantchez Trail.  70 deer, 2 armadillos, 1 snake.  73/95=0.76 critters/mile

10. Reuban is the Obiwan of PB&J… 

11. If you ever need a super hero… call Polka Dot’s Sally.  She’s our hero!

12. Johnathan does tricks… there’s the arm pinwheel back stroke at 30 mph on the downhill, the put your let up on your seat mobile stretch, the low riding litter snag, butt wiggle, and my personal favorite… disco Johnny.

13. Team awesome graced the trace faster than a greased pig with a rocket in high gear tied to its tails flying down an icy roller coaster track tryin’ to get home for supper to its mama!

The Natchez trace is a very beautiful road and very flat!  Team Polka Dot rocked a strong pace for 88 miles before we got pulled over by a Park Ranger!  It was unbelievable that the P3C3 crew traveled along the Natchez trace for our 88 miles plus the 90 miles covered by Team Pink, plus however many miles covered by Team White before getting enough attention to warrant a stop by the Park service. 

The guy was a nice enough guy, but he started out a little gruff.  I think part of it was because the riders thought he was pulling over the bus, so we (ok, it was really Ed) decided to keep riding.  The Park Ranger had to get on his PA system to tell us to pull over.  It surprised the heck out of Jeni, so she stopped while the rest of us continued to ride on.  By the time the rest of us stopped, He had to yell at Jeni to “Come up here!”. 

First thing he asked was if we had a permit!  A permit?  We don’t need no stinkin’ permit (do we?????).  He was mostly concerned by the fact that we were using both a front and rear support vehicle.  His concern was that we were entering a very high traffic zone and the folks headed in our direction would not be able to pass with the very high volume of traffic that would be making their evening commute along the trace. 

Mr Park Ranger’s first suggestion was that we pull over and stop until the evening commute was over.  Team Polka Dot would not let this happen – that is when we started asking what we could do.  Of course, as riders, we were primarily concerned about keeping the wheels rolling.  He explained to us that we could (against his better judgment) continue riding, but we would have to send the support vehicles forward and leapfrog with them from stop to stop.  There was two pull outs nearby – one at 6 miles and one at 13 miles.

He had stopped us at about 445pm and we were scheduled to hand off to Team Awesome (aka Team Green) at 6pm.  We were hoping that we would be able to get at least 110 miles in during this shift, but he put a bit of a damper on that goal.  We stopped for about 15 minutes dealing with Johnny Law, so we considered the turnoff at 13 miles to be a possible transition area. 

Dawn and the Hincapie Bus rolled to the 13 mile turnoff while Sally drove the van to the 6 mile turnoff.  We had plenty of time left in our shift when we passed Sally, so we continued to rock on towards the 13 mile turnoff. 

Traffic was definitely getting heavy – thankfully most of it in the opposite direction.  This did seem to work against us a little as it did make passing us more difficult for those traveling in our direction.  We picked the pace back up a little because it’s just what we do. 

We pulled into the 13 mile turnoff at about 540pm.  We had a choice it seemed – another 10 miles or another 5 (maybe 6) before the next good opportunity for transition.  10 miles in 20 minutes wasn’t going to happen, so we opted for the 5-6 miles.  We kicked it up again and did our best to make good time to the transition area. 

When we pulled in, we were obviously pleased to see Team Awesome (aka Team Green) getting suited up for their ride.  Team Polka Dot rocked 105 miles along the Natchez trace today. 

With the strong results from each team on the Natchez trace, plus our good showing, we made up some miles to get closer to our planned itinerary.  Seeing Bo’s facebook post, it looks like Team Awesome rocked a century (plus?) as well, so that puts us right back on schedule.  AWESOME!!!

Thanks to Sally and Dawn for all of their excellent Support.  They are really taking care of us as we make this journey.

Nikki, Meggan and I just completed our first ever Century. We hit mile 100 as we crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana. For me personally, it’s a goal I tried to hit earlier in the year and missed out on. I’ll keep this short and say that there is no other way that would want to complete any such milestone, in the company of such amazing people, in the name of such a worthy cause, and in honor of so many who have fought and are fighting this horrible disease.

Thanks to my Team Awesome crew who pulled me down the Natchez Trace on a gorgeous fall night:

Jonathan: for your calm leadership on the road, keeping us together, and keeping me calm when things aren’t going right

Meggan: for being the diesel engine that drives the Team Green Train down the road with your maniacal pulls off the front

Jerry: for keeping it light, singing good old rock ‘n roll tunes in the paceline and having the largest slipstream this side of John Siddens

Loren: for being insanely detail oriented and getting us to where we need to be

Betsy: for unbridled enthusiasm and willingness to make things easier on all of us spoiled riders

Nikki: for being the toughest chick I know, banging out the miles like a champ on only one shoulder

Team Awesome is truly awesome. I can’t think of a group of people I’d rather be riding with.

As for me, this Century’s for the ones I lost in the past year: David Beadles, Roger Mitterling, Jim Williams, and my Uncle Buddy. I miss you guys.

As we passed thru the dark, wet, fog in the freezing cold on Monday I saw it…..”come on…I will pull you….you stay on my wheel and I will get you there…..don’t give in let me help you….I will come back for you and keep you going…..don’t go to far ahead of us……we will pull you back into the pocket to keep you safe…..if you are shivering we will get your warm….” T-E-A-M……I have been shown over and over in the past 2 days what that REALLY means! It touches my heart. It makes me realize that it may take a village to raise a child as they say……but it takes a TEAM to get to get thru 20 degree weather and up huge mountains……it takes a team to get you to Austin, TX ….it takes a TEAM to get you thru Cancer. So far so WONDERFUL!

Being a support person is WORK, but it is a labor of love for the riders that punish their bodies to raise money for this cause! I feel so so lucky to be here!
Nite!

sally
Polka Dots

Our second ride was from 6:00pm to midnight, we actually saw the light for one hour and then tucked into the darkness for the next 5 hours. We continued to cruise and Ron cues us to turn left and I looked left and yelled nooooo, it was the darkest road ever and we were heading in. This is called something Trace, whatever it’s called the middle of no where to me but trees, us and our Angels woods. Needless to say, I got a little crazy in the head being away from civilization, I am not a fan of the woods, Tedd was trying hard to tell me a ghost story and I would take off from the pack. One time an animal came running out of the woods and I screamed and took off and one time I thought there was a creek in the ditch but no creek just trees, trees and more trees!! Just when I thought my mind was gone the white came hauling past me on the left with the biggest and whitest moon ever and it wasn’t in the sky. Now I know why they are called the “white team” and for the next hour to the finish it was on…..!! I sure do love me some “Miltshakes”!!

We are all having a great time and loving the support from all of our family and friends. I want to thank everyone that donated, it is you that helped make this possible (thank you Ken Smith, Smiley’s). I want to acknowledge everyone we are riding in honor of especially Laurens Flanagan whom is with our team and I found myself wanting to see her on that country road to keep me focused of why we are riding and I find myself missing Dustin and Jeni terribly, hugs to you both! I love to ride, it is riding that I am with my Angels – Deena and Stephanie whom are two of my best friends that have lost the battle. It is on the road that i am one with them and I know they are always with me guiding and protecting me.  Last night was extra special because we had Scott Shuey’s bike on top of our van (Scott lost the battle to cancer a couple weeks ago and he was supposed to be our warrior this year) in his memory and it was awesome and very inspirational.

Got to get some ride before our moonlighting ride!  Love you all!

Beth

  Then the sun came up and it was like the green flag was waved.  The pink team (plus Arthur from the Great Escape) hit 21 mph and never let out.  We came together in a perfect pace, communicated well, and had a great time. The warmer the temp the faster we rode.  I felt stronger at the end of this ride than I have ever felt at the end of any ride.

 We loaded our bikes, got our massage (thanks Renee and towel boy) and went to find food after we realized it had been 24 hours since we sat down to eat.  We drove 45 miniutes to crap hole mississippi, and ate ate the mexican restaurnt that was the towns namesake.  And of all the places on earth the yellow team walks in just long enough to take advantage of our clean van windows by covering them with window marker. 

Everyones mood is great, the weather is fantastic, and we have brought alot of attention to our ride.  We are 40 people who are showing the world how to  liveSTRONG.

please excuse the scattered thoughts no sleep and tight quarters dont make interesting stories.

Also shout out to Arthur for pulling me back into the group after I faded on a few hills and all my teammates.  I did a few ceremonial pulls at the beginning of ride and then snapped back to reality and safely tucked myself into the center of the pack.

Now for our team round up:  Keri did the entire ride hammering in the big ring, Coach Barry made sure our form was excellent, Dustin blocked the wind for a 2 mile radius, Ray was a work horse pulling, Jeff was the silent stealth rider, Kim and Jessica kept us in line and for goodness sake would Joe please open up and tell us what he is really thinking instead of making us read his mind.

Ok for those of you shocked at the amount of emotion and thought that I am spewing in these posts – I blame it on sleep deprivation, hypoxia and lactic acid build-up – doubt it was the Corona I just drank!

Pink out!!!!!!!

(Damn, Yellow Team just vandalized our van with yellow paint – revenge is in the air!!!!)

Our team is in Tupelo, MS this morning and we are heading to Winnfield, LA where our team will ride again in the morning from 6am until noon. Last night they rode the Natchez Trace from midnight to 6am in 40 degree weather.

Your class might get a kick out of tracking our progress. We sould be in Austin on Thursday so look fast.

Love you and looking forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving.

Obviously at 70 years old I must admit I was a little apprehensive about having to ride 6-hours, midnight to 6AM. 

Riding through the night down the Natchez Trace Parkway, along woth Milt, Judy and Kathy we rode  in three states. (Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi)

Other members of my team will undoubtedly give you many of the ride’s details, I just want to simply say again, ”Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learbning to dance in the rain.”  Although the weather wes dry by cold, I did “Dance in the rain”.  It was an exhilariting experience and my apprehension was quickly overcome with the passing of each hour. For those that I honor and those that I memorialize, “This Joe’s for you”.

As we rode into the transition point with the Pink team, I was overcome with emotion by the well wishes from their entire team. Thank you for the continued support and encouragement that you give me. 

As I finished I prayed and thought, “Surely 6 hours on my bike, in the darkness of night, is much easier than chemo and/or radiation.”

Now it’s off to Louisiana for our first daylight ride, tomorrow, 6Am to noon.

Thank you Jeni, I know the Polka Dot ribbions you put on our van had me in mind.  Love Ya!!

JOE J.

Now we are on the way to do some need laundry before we begin our Midnight shift. Tedd – tell Grandma we are on our way.

Relentless Forward Motion
Robin Blackburn – Team Yellow

White team started out yesterday morning in Chattanooga TN.  We stopped by a bike shop to get something to keep our heads warm.  If you are in Chattanooga check out the new Trek shop.  Ask for Kim… she will take great care of you….  we spent a lot of time inthe van.  Mike and Don took great care of us and made sure we were where we need to be and fed when we got there.  We had both lunch and dinner at buffets.  A first and a second for me.  We rolled out and hit the Nachez Trace.  We spent a couple hours at THE gas station in Collinwood, TN.  Great people.  We had a great time chatting and sharing stories.  We pulled the kits on and headed out to meet TEAM YELLOW!!  Rumor had it that they were cold and tired so we thought we would spice things up a bit.  We drove East to find them onthe Trace.  We saw their headlights coming at us and the next thing I know Milt has his window open and suddenly it was no longer a moonless night!!!!  Yikes…. butt ( hehehe) that wasn’t the end of the light show.. nope we pulled over for a quick change of seats and rolled west to pass them again!!!  Yup you guessed right the window wasn’t the only thing to go down as we passed them a second time!!!  OH MILT!!! ( we have photos).  With everyone laughing we rolled onto our transistion point and waited for Yellow to get in.   We put Scott’s bike up on our van and it was a quick reminder of why we are riding.  My very tired bones were suddenly ready to ride.,  Yellow pulled up in great spirits and gave us a warm send off.   With in a few minutes we were greeted by a possium and a couple of deer.  The wild life seemed like a welcome guest.  A few miles that all changed.  As rolled along we saw a young SKUNK cross in frint of us.  Judy and I realized that it was about to do its best Milt impression and we started to sprint in a style and with the strength that would make Big George proud….. I was off my saddle and leaning over the handle bars like there was a green jersey at stake!!  Luckily everyone made it clear and our Support staff didn’t have to change the locks on the vans… Mike made it very clear that he would leave us in TN if we got sprayed!!!   I can’t say I would blame him.    I got too cold and spent some time onthe bus warming up.  Keith and I talked about how much we missed Kim and then we quickly realized that the skunk might not have been so random!!  Seemed like something she would pull!!!  I rejoined the team amd before we even started peddling a star shot across the sky.  Thanks Kim  I needed that. 

So it was cold, we were tired, we were attacked by wildlife.  A HUGE THANKS to The Pink Tide ( we are in Alabama) for the Hotel rooms…. oh that was the best hotel bed I have ever slept in!!  

So all an all we had a great day… Oh yeah when I talked to Jack yesterday he told me that Miley Syrus lived in TN… he said she had a white house and that I should tell her he said hi!!!   I saw a couple white houses and waved to everyone!!!!

We are getting ready to roll again. 

love the comments   keep them coming!!!

Thanks to Loren Snyder.  I have done better than survive the first 24 hours with his encouragement.

Thank you to LINDA PAGE for several tips and inviting to meet the group prior to traveling.  You forgot to tell me not to slam door closed before Jerry had his hand inside.  He is fine and was a very good sport about what he regarded as a minor injury.

Pink out early!

1. You can lock the wheels up on a 10,000 lb bus… and it won’t produce excrement in Jerry’s shorts.

2.  Broken speedometers have friends… broken odometers, missing road signs, and roads that don’t exist on GPS.

3. Missing bikes create coaching opportunites for team members that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

4. Inside every Mercedes Benz, is a monster truck trying to get out… we have proof!

5. Cancer survivors are everywhere… there’s a very special one in Spencer, TN.

6. Stops at state lines are more beautiful with “moon” light.

7. K,k,k,Kia…

8. Sunscreen is essential… even for driving the bus.

9. Thoughts of the spaces ukuleles will fit into, enter your mind at the oddest times…

10. Super awesome performances spew pink polka dots in Food Lion parking lots…

The ‘planned’ itinerary called for the transition to be in Dayton, Tn, but we’re glad it was not.  As cold as it was, we needed that ‘extra’ 14 miles to just start to warm up our muscles – unfortunately, our hands, feet and faces didn’t necessarily get all that warm.  We pulled through Dayton and the Bus stopped for fuel.  Sally and Team Polka Dot continued up the climb.  This was the first of three climbs for us today.  In fact, this shift is what we have been training for when we did all of those Paris Mt repeats over the last couple of months!

As we made our first ascent, the sun was starting to rise.  What an amazing site to see that orange line forming on the horizon.  Unfortunately, the temperature was not rising with the sun (not yet anyway).  The climb was awesome (hey, I love climbing, so no matter what, I’m going to have positive thoughts about any climb)!  It was the longest of the three and we gained something on the order of 1000’.  It wasn’t really over at the top of the main climb – we had some great rollers as we crossed the plateau. 

The sun was up as we rode those rollers, but still, the temperature was working against us.  As we started our descent, we were rewarded with incredible views of the valley below socked in with fog.  Awesome.  By the time I thought about getting my camera out to snap a photo, the views were obscured by trees.  I think Keith may have snapped some good photos. 

The descent was brutal.  I actually love descending as much as I love climbing, however, this descent was just not fun.  My hands became little bricks that just could not work the brakes.  I pulled a gap on the rest of the crew because of it.  Ed was not far behind, so we stopped before we descended into the fog.  He was frozen as well and he looked like he was not happy. 

Shortly, Jeni and Perry pulled up, and a few minutes later we started rolling again.  I looked back to check for everyone, and Jeni was not to be seen.  I asked Perry what was up and he told me she had gotten on the bus.  I was worried, but knew she was in good hands with Keith, Rueben and Dawn. 

We stopped just a short ways up the road at a McDonald’s to allow everyone a chance to re-gain some blood flow.  Ed and Perry climbed into the van, while I paced in circles around the van.  It turned into quite a long stop.  I checked once on Jeni and was told she was ok, just very cold.

I was looking at our mileage on the day so far – we had covered only about 25 miles in about 2.5 hours.  Then we took this quite long warming break.  I was very concerned that we weren’t going to get 50 miles on the day.  We had a lot of climbing left to go.

After some hot chocolate and more heater time, Perry, Ed and myself re-started our trek.  As we pulled out of the parking lot, I saw that Jeni was still shaking terribly – this after more than 30 minutes in a heated environment with dry clothing and blankets – She was obviously borderline hypothermic.  I am so happy she and the Medics made the choice to put her in the bus.  She now was riding with Sally in our support van. 

So, the remaining members of Team Polka Dot tackled the second climb of the day on their own, with Jeni ‘holla’ing encouragement through the radio to the team.  I did my best to relay that encouragement to Perry and Ed. 

We pushed pretty hard up this second climb.  It too was something close to 1000’ elevation gain, but not as long or as much as the first climb.  We stayed together throughout the climb and pulled to the side at the top of the main climb to allow the traffic to pass.  We were all feeling pretty good at that point and like the first climb, this one rewarded us with several miles of rollers before making the 2^nd descent.  Thankfully, the temperatures were coming up and this second descent was not quite brutal – just tough and again, that is due to the cold. 

A short stop at the base of the descent to allow more cars to pass and we began the third climb of the day.  Authur had gotten suited up and joined us for this next part of the ride.  Really cool that we have been able to share our stages with both Bob and Arthur – the mechanics from The Great Escape in Greenville. 

Arthur helped in pacins us up the climb, but we were definitely slower on this climb than the last.  Team Polka Dot was beginning to feel the effects of the ride.  Once again, at the summit, we entered a series of rolling hills through some incredibly beautiful countryside.  We set ourselves up in a paceline and started knocking out some miles. 

Arthur helped out greatly by giving us some great pulls to allow the three of us some recovery time.  On the radio, I could hear Sally and the Bus talking about our transition with the Green team.  I was a little concerned when I heard that they were still quite a ways behind us at 1140am. 

We discussed our plan of action should they not make it to the transition point on time.  I chatted with Perry and Ed.  Ed said ‘I’m spent’.  Perry and I talked about letting Ed get on the bus while he and I continued, but Keith put his foot down;  “If Ed is spent, everyone is stopping”. 

Turns out we neededn’t have worried.  Team Green came flying by us at about 1150 to set up the transition area.  They were a sight for sore …. legs?  Yes, we were very happy to see them.  They moved forward a few miles and we continued our ride.  We met them at a local grocery store and handed off the baton. 

That was our 2^nd Stage experience.  I really want to say Thanks to all of the other teams for doing such a great job through the night.  It was rough conditions and you all showed your strength. 

One other comment that I think is important.  Seeing Scott’s bike on the roof of the support van really does make a big difference.  I didn’t know him, but the outpouring of support for him and his family by this group of incredible people is very heartwarming.  Having his daughter escort and his Father ride his bike the first few miles at the head of the P3C3 peloton was a very emotional experience. 

RideStrong P3C3!!!

JD – Team Polka Dot

With only 2 weeks to go, Cannondale was notified of the problem. I let them know about the ride, the cause and the problems. In that matter of two weeks, Cannondale delivered me a new frame, and Bike Worx of Spartanburg had me on the road the day before our ride. What fantastic support! Thanks to Eric and Kevin from Bike Worx, because the first night riding it was flawless.

Those that know me understand that I don’t ride when the temperature is below 70F. Well, I really broke that rule this morning! In the early morning hours of 0300 hrs, team pink took to the road, and it was cold. Bone chilling cold! Temperature hovered around 28F ( not 28C),I put on every bit of clothing that I had. The major body parts stayed warm but the feet and hands were frozen. After our 3 hour ride, it seemed to take another 3 hours to thaw out.

Once off our tour of duty, we piled in the van and drove to our destination for the next transition arriving at 1400 hrs. Looking forward to some good sleep.

Our team consists of a total of 9 people. We were instructed to pack “light”. I guess the definition of light packing defined by a male or a female is quite different. Guys packed one bag – females ? Tight is an understatement in our van.

Looking forward to a little sun tomorrow, even though we are starting out again in the early morn and cooler (read cold, but not freezing) tempetures.

Team pink is a great group to know, be with and ride.

So the White team had a great night and everyone is rested and ready to hit the road again.  I am so proud of Judy!  She road like a champion last night.  Our SAG crew is terrific.   We are packing up the hotel room and getting ready to search Chattanooga TN for some warm clothes.   My friends up north will make fun of me for saying 32 degrees is really cold but when you are descending an 8% grade at 34+miles an hour   32 is REALLY COLD!

Soon we will be Back in the Saddle again!

Mum, Dad and Leah… If the phone doesn’t ring you will know that it it me….

Roll out!

Kathy

We were all bundled up to brave the 30 degree temperature. Of we went into the darkness of night in honor of and in memory of our fridns
and relatives. This is truly a great experinece. With my feet getting colder with each pedal stroke and my fingers freezing I kept on. Saying Saying prayers along the way for each of those I honored and memorialzed, I kept reminding myself that since God has thus far spared me from this dreaded disease, this was my tribute to them.

I never realized how cold 30 degrees could be at 10 o’clock in the evening. The bus finally caught up to us and I decided that since wisdom comes with age, I should put on my shoie covers top prevent my feet from getting frostbite.

A little refresyment, a potty break and we were off again. We slid through Hiawassee, GA and on into Hayesville, NC. With each turn of the crank we were getting closer to the witching hour of midnight the end of our first shift. Team Yellow flew by us in thier van shouting words of encouragement and they sped to our transition. The flasing light of our trusty van drive Don was kept in constant sight. Another mile and we are there. Here they are in Murphy, NC. We’ve finished the first leg. I’m little “Tipsy” but Ruben, our trusted EMT, helps me to the vsan gives me a couple of cookies and some candy anmd I’m back to full strength. This was for Chris Force our warrior
Tonight we ride from midnight to 6AM tomorrow. Hopefully the good Lord will give us a little warmer weather.

Joe Julian- Team White ,..ALL IN FOR THE CANCER FIGHT.

Chasse  said on our ride last year that a bad day on the bike is better than a good day getting chemo.  That has always stuck with me and although our ride was cold and not the best one I have had, we were out there pedaling.  Thank you Scott and Dale for the push on our ride.

Thank you Julie for the goodies.  They are fantastic and I don’t see them lasting all week.

Miss my boys.  Love you guys.  Write me and call me (and mommy).

ScottStong RideStrong LiveStrong

Over and out.

As we rode away, through the lines of friends and family who came to show their support, those emotions came on very strong.  What did I say – repeated exposure is going to teach me how to understand and deal with these emotions.  There is no problem there – they keep coming up.

I was very bummed that I didn’t have enough time to get a photo with one of my warriors.  I only met him today for the very first time – He’s a cute little guy only 8 years old.  I think he liked that his name was on both my arm warmer and our team van.  He wanted to take the magnet with him.  It was very touching. 

I hoped to spend more time with my friends who came to see me off.  I’m not even sure I was able to thank all of them.  Time rushes by so quickly – both in life and in this journey on which we have embarked.  Thanks to Yukie for the chocolate chip cookies, to Silvia, Elise, Steve, Hoot and Janet, Gavin, Courtney, Debbie, James, Savannah – you guys made our departure very special for me today.  Sometimes I forget how many friends I really have.  Thanks for reminding me. 

Special Thank you to Gavin for the excellent surprise we found in the team van when we got off the bikes – you’re the man.  Perry says the 2nd tuesday of February will now be considered a national holiday to Celebrate GAFranks day. 

Our first shift on the bike was pretty interesting.  We had to stop many times to allow traffic to pass while we traveled along Hwy 88 and we got a little turned around during our tour of the Clemson campus.  As we turned on to Hwy 76, the wind seemed to kick up a little. 

Thanks to Bob Kramer for riding along with Team Polka Dot today.  He pulled us along at a great pace for a good number of miles. 

We traveled a little over 47 miles in our first 3 hour shift.  That is about what our route planners mapped out for us, so we met our goal.  I thought it would have been easier to cover more miles.  It’s the stops that kill our average pace.  We’ll have to continue to work on that. 

Tonight we are headed to Cleveland, Tn to find a hotel.  Tomorrow starts the first of our 6 hour shifts.  We’ll ride from 6am to noon.  I think it’s going to be cold in the morning, so I’ll definitely be bundled up. 

Good luck to all of the teams out there tonight – Yellow, White, Pink, and Green.

jd Team Polka Dot

On our way to Murphy we saw a bear, a lynx, and a cougar. Ok, not really, but we have to entertain ourselves somehow.
Gotta go, Ron says it is time to get ready. Think warm thoughts for us!

Our team has 8 members this year. Ron Jerina, Beth Rusch, Tedd Garner, Joey Sullivan, Robin Blackburn, and me, Laurens Flanagan. We have two incredible support ladies- Jennifer Jerina and Anne Garner. This ride doesn’t happen without the support personel. Thanks to Hertz, we are riding in style, a Ford Expedition.
As a repeat participant (more on that later), I must say we have a great team. We already have a few inside jokes (Beth) and Ron and Joey already want a McDonald’s ice cream.

Thanks for checking in on us. We will update often. You can also follow me on twitter- laurensflanagan.

AND- may the challenges begin- I think we are the first team to blog!

I want to thank each person who saw my goal of $8,000 and not only said its possible but laughed as we flew by it….nearly $13,000  I am humbled and forever grateful. 

This will probably be my last nice blog because looking at the weather the rest of my post will be filled with tons of colorfull language.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Dustin Retherford

First all the individuals who have contributed to our ride. With the economy in the state it is in, I was very concerned with people reaching their fundraising goals but with so many generous people giving to our cause everyone has reached their goals and many even surpassed them. 

Second, our sponsors and companies who gave us items or great deals to help us save on operating cost.  I am sure I am going to forget some but I want to mention a few of them.  The Spa at West End – for the second year Stacy has been a major sponsor.  Hincapie Sports – Rich, Drew and all the gang for the design and deals on our awesome jerseys and for the use of the bus.  Centec for being a major sponsor. The Great Escape – Year two for them also, for sending a mobile bike shop with us in case we have any bike issues and for some great fundraising rides. Dewayne and Will at Hertz for incredible deals on our support vehicles and allowing us to leave them in Austin, Josephine at Thrifty / Dollar Rentals for finding us a super sized van to carry the Team Pink and for a great deal. 

Third, Kevin Dunn and the Palmetto Peloton Project  team for allowing this vision to become a reality.  This ride would never happen without you guys.

Fourth, those who are participating in the ride who help me with so many details.  Nikki, Dustin, Jessica, Renee, Linda, Joe J, Joe S and Tedd.  You guys rock and I appreciate your help.  There are two people I especially want to thank who went above and beyond anything I asked them to do.  That is Laurens Flanagan and Joey Sullivan.  Without you two this ride would never happen.

My family – Jennifer, RJ, Reed and Ridge for you love and support and allowing me to train for and plan this ride.  I am sorry for my grumpiness especially as this ride drew closer.  My mom who made sure the money that was donated went to the correct rider.  I love you guys.

Finally, our warriors, cancer survivors and all those affected by cancer, thank you.  You guys are the inspiration for this ride and will be our tailwind that pushes us to Austin.  We will win this battle one day.

Now it is time to finish backing and spend a few more hours with the family before we push off.

ScottStrong, RideStrong, LiveStrong

Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be there, even when you feel most alone.
May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace.
May a kind word, a reassuring touch, a warm smile be yours every day of your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.

Teach love to those who know hate, and let that love embrace you as you go into the world.

May the teaching of those you admire become part of you, so that you may call upon them.

Remember, those whose lives you have touched and who have touched yours are always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have wished.

May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart.

Find time in each day to see the beauty and love in the world around you.

Realize that each person has limitless abilities, but each of us is different in our own way.

What you may feel you lack in one regard may be more than compensated for in another.

What you feel you lack in the present may become one of your strengths in the future.

May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility.

Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.

May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself, and not be dependent on an other’s judgments of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved.

– Author Unknown

For those of you who are local, I hope that you will come see us off Sunday afternoon.  We’ll be rolling away from the GHS Cancer Center at 3:00 pm this Sunday afternoon.  We’ll be there around 1:30, so come see us & witness this incredible event!  I think I can promise that it will be a moving experience.

Our team of 42 fantastic people is picking a fight with cancer and we want to win.  Thanks to all of our family & friends who have supported us, financially & with your thoughts and prayers.  We wouldn’t be able to do this without you.

LiveSTRONG!!!

Anne

As the senior citizen ambassador of the riders (for those I haven’t told…I’m 70) I dedicated this past year to getting in both mental and physical condition to be a rider. Last year I volunteered as a support driver and did the Ride for the Roses in Austin. The entire week-long experience was truly one of the most inspirational experiences I’ve had since our children were born.

Although I’m not the fastest or strongest rider (most could be my sons or daughters) I’m inspired by the passion, dedication and enthusiasm consistently demonstrated by the entire team.

We’re are all riding for individual reasons and for the same reason………..to honor and memorialize relatives and friends and further develop an awareness of this dreaded disease and in the words of the late Jimmy Valvano, “Never Give up”.

Last year, when we arrived in Austin, I met Rob Dempsey who, with the help of Jeni Schumacher achieved a physical condition and weight loss that was incredible. At that time I was 69 years old and weighed close to 280 pounds. I mentioned to Jeni that if she could do what she did for Rob, she could sure help me. I was determined to make the effort and condition myself to be an integral part of this year’s C3 riders’ team. With Jeni’s counsel, as a “Y” employee, and her encouragement, I’ve been participating in a physical fitness program, including three spinner classes a week, since last November. I’ve lost 45 pounds and have significantly increased my cycling efficiency.

I’m repeatedly asked by our friends, why at 70 I choose to do this. I simply respond, “I can because there but for the grace of God go I and to honor and memorialze my many relatives and friends whose pain and suffering gives me the inspiration to make the effort.”

It’s my honor and privilege to be able to participate with this dedicated group of individuals in this week long event.

I extend a word of personal gratitude to Ron & Jennifer Jerina for their tireless efforts in making this event a reality and of course to my “personal inspiration”, Jeni Schumacher.

Thank you all for allowing me to participate.

I’m confident that God will watch over us and ensure us of a safe and trouble-free week. GODSPEED

JOE JULIAN

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we didn’t have people who believed in change?   Just let the world pass by without noticing all that we have?  Or all that we could potentially have? 

A friend of mine facebooked the other day that her child that had curly hair wanted straight hair and the child that had straight hair braided hers to make it curly.  Funny how we want things we cant have.  I want a bigger house in the country but not the payment to go withit.  BUT I am satisfied with the one that I have. 

I am also satisfied with the path that God has led me on.  This journey of cancer.  This journey of fighting and meeting fellow survivors.  I am not happy that I have cancer but I know that God has a plan for me.  I am so blessed.  I am so lucky. I am so faithful to HIM.  For those reasons I am satisfied. 

Being apart of this group means sharing, learning, growing, understanding others, helping, caring, and being satisfied with the God has Chosen.

If you have never been apart of this blog or followed us this will be the most interested blog.  I hope that you find the time to check us out each morning. Follow us on our journey.  Understand why we all are giving up our own lives for 8 days to make a difference for people that are effected by Cancer. 

The tears, the laughter, the jokes, the sore bottoms, the tired legs, the bonding is 100% worth it.  We want you to know why we are making a difference.  Why we are making this journey.  So I hope you join us. Comment cause we need to see that people Believe in what we are doing.

Ron and Jennifer Jerina thanks for making this happen.  Thank You.  I cant wait till Sunday. 

Love Jeni Schu…Polka Dot Team

When I began, it was another grand adventure – with a pretty serious commitment to raise some money for this cause.  As I sit here tonight, just 5 days before we make our departure, it has become something else.

I don’t have anyone who is very close to me that has experienced the horrible effects of cancer or treatments related to cancer.  I sit in my little insulated world without any real clue how difficult it is for those engaged in the battle and the loved ones of those engaged.

What has changed?  Obviously, this experience has directly exposed me to people who are survivors, to people who are currently battling and to those who have lost a loved one.

Still, I find myself avoiding the real emotional expression of what I am seeing around me.  In the last several weeks, a number of emails have circulated amongst the P3C3 crew about warriors who have fought their final battle and of others who have been called to fight again.

I’m afraid of the emotions associated with this news.

I want to believe that everyone in the world has it as good as I do.  I want to believe that cancer doesn’t really affect as many people as it really does.  I want to believe that people don’t really suffer through their battles…

Obviously, I’m still not coming face to face with reality.  I am still in the denial phase  of my relationship with cancer.  I’m still afraid of the reality of it.

I only hope I am as strong as our Warriors when it comes time for me to face the reality.

jd – team polka dot

A few weeks ago Bo and I had not raised $5000 of our $10000 goal.  We were trying to figure out which one of us would stay home.  We made this commitment to honor the memory of our friend David and it was absolutely killing us to think that we wouldn’t be able to fulfill it… and now we sit $500 away from our goal… and we are going to fulfill our commitment!

If not for the Grace of God… the goodness of those around us… our fellow riders helping us out… family, friends, friends of friends of friends donating… We are going to Ride for David… and Jerry… and Laurens… and Jan… and Aunt Mary… and Pat… and Crystal… and Janeen… and Maura… and Uncle Bud… and Uncle Buddy… and John… and Helen… and Jim … and Betty … and Roger… and Scott… and the list goes on.  That’s what sucks… the list goes on… like it never ends… every person we talk to has more people to add to the list… We need to shorten the list!  You in?

I have no idea what the next couple weeks will look like but I want to thank everyone who has helped me get here… oh and Scottie and Kim if you are watching a TAIL wind would be nice!!

Woo-Hoo…

In just a matter of days we will leave Greenville headed for Austin, TX.    I am forever changed.  With every mile that we cover we are that much closer to a true miracle in finding a cure for even the meanest cancer.

Robin Blackburn – Team Yellow

While I am support this year, I WILL RIDE NEXT YEAR!  This year I hope to take good care of my Polka Dot team…making sure to have them at transitions on time, and keep them happy while in the van (I’ll try not to sing too much!), etc etc.

I had a tough time deciding on what to have added to my arm warmers.  I could’ve put  Jane Pate on my arm warmers…but people wouldn’t quite get that….so I simply put   “My MoM”, “My Sis”, “My Sis in Law”……I think people will then understand how cancer has affected my life.  Simply put…I am going on this trip  for them, and for me….for the breasts, lymph nodes, ovaries that have been lost in my family alone!

I cry when I think of leaving Sunday!  Thank you to all that have donated and I hope everyone will send messages along the way.  If the blogs affect you even half as much as they affected me last year….we will see YOU next year as support or as a rider!!!!!

With dedication,

sally dunn

Why?  Why is that I can be so lucky?  Why am I given more chances then others? 

What is it that drives my heart into the ground everytime I find out someone has been taken to a better place because of Cancer?  Cancer.  Its just never certian. A sure thing. A done deal.  It keeps us guessing.  Wondering. And sharing.  It tells a story, it brings us together. 

How can it be so cruel and so good at the same time?  I think of all these people with the P3C3 group.  We are all so different.  Ages, Abilities, Health, and yet we are so close.  Close because of Cancer.  That nasty little booger.   I would never have met such awesome people if I didn’t have cancer.  

I am very lucky.  Not sure why I am chosen to do this but I plan on making this Cause Known. Because of people like Scott, Kim, Laurens, Sally, Barb, My Dad.  Cancer is very bitter sweet isn’t it.  I wondered why God would even have a thing such as Cancer in this world.  Then I realized….He didn’t create it.  He just allows us the opportunity to come together in faith, hope, and love.  He gives us the strength when our family and friends suffer from it.  He offers his arms to those who struggle and can’t anymore.  He makes it sweet with the friendships and the bonds that come from the clutches.  He makes it possible to endure all things.  Riding, Educating, Struggling, Defining, Awareness, and Hope. 

Riders, Warriors, Support and Friends…. we have 11 days to go before the big day.  Ron said it best in an email….Stay focused and remember WHY we are doing this.  It is not to be the fastest group or the group that covers the most miles. It is not to be the first one up the mountain top or to cross the border into the next state….. It is for those people that we love and care about that we ride….into the day and into the night. 

Stay focused!  11 more days to go.  Can you feel the excitment in the air?  The glorious chills, knowing we are all making a difference for others and defining for ourselves what cancer is all about…..

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I ride to remember the friends, family members and colleagues I have lost to cancer. I lost my grandmother to cancer and my mother is a breast cancer survivor.

I am doing this years ride in memory of a special friend that I grew up with. Her name is Lisa McAlister Smith. She was taken earlier this year and entirely too soon. She left behind a husband and two daughters, on daughter in high school and one in college. I am raising money and doing this ride so that those who are surviving cancer can live longer.