E-mails and Crossed Fingers

So tonight marks the first wave of emails that I've sent out for donations for the RTCC.  I've never done something like this before!  But then again, I've never ridden 260 kilometers in two days before!  It's settling in slowly but surely that I'll be taking on a challenge that is definitely a new step for me.

I found out that there is actually going to be a fourth person on the unofficial team that I'm on.  I've signed up for RTCC with my friend Dan, as well as a co-worker named Dan... This isn't going to be confusing at all!  But it turns out that there's another two people from Sapient that are also doing the ride.  So that's pretty fun, hopefully we can work out some training rides further into the year when it starts to get a little warmer.

At the last RTCC training session, I tried my first energy supplement and I have to say that I can understand why people have such a hard time trying to find one that tastes good.  I tried a Carb Boom orange creme energy gel, and I have to say that I'm not terribly impressed with how it tastes!  Nevermind the fact that the first ingredient in maltodextrin (PLEH!), the flavour wasn't terribly impressive.  I diluted it with 500mL of water and it basically didn't taste like anything!  Scott (my instructor) actually suggested having raw agave syrup with a pinch of salt in a shot of water...I might scale that up a bit to match my water bottle size, not entirely sure.

I've actually heard from Erin that coconut water is the way to go for someone that wants to try sticking to whole foods.  I'm hoping that I can get some new chia seeds and maybe some wheatgrass in order to get the best hydration possible.  I'm thankful that I've got enough sessions left so I can keep trying different supplements and hydration solutions to figure out what works for me.

To my knowledge none of the other people I'm riding with have started training or fundraising... So I'm thinking I'm in good standings!

Thanks for reading!
KR

Route info!..kind of.

So thanks to my super sleuth wife, I've got the inside scoop of the RTCC route!  Well, more like I can see what the route was like in previous years.

2008 Day 1 route


2008 Day 2 route


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2009 Route Toronto to Niagara Falls

OR! If you'd rather look at something larger than a postage stamp... Check this PDF out

So that grandeur of this ride is kind of sinking in slowly but surely.  I'm going be CYCLING that route.  Holy jumpin.

KR

Weight weenies!

So I've recently been looking into some gear to get for roadside maintenance on the route.  I've talked with some people at MEC and other stores and people seem to be suggesting getting lighter components, lighter helmet, etc..

What I don't understand is that people seem to be overlooking the really obvious point of consideration...  LOSE THE WEIGHT YOURSELF.  I recognize that people might already be in peak physical condition when cycling competitively and not have much weight to lose... But really, let's be honest here.  90% of riders that I know aren't in peak physical condition and can probably stand to lose some weight.  It makes me wonder why people would upgrade to Ultegra, or Dura-Ace components to save 50g when you could easily lose a couple pounds and make a much more dramatic difference.

When you think about it, the more weight you lose, the less weight you're going to be carting around on ride day.  That just seems to make sense to me.

So why am I talking about weight?  I'm actually thinking about cutting out alcohol and caffeine for all of February.  I've been pretty good about my food intake (I'd rather not use the D word), but lately I've been slipping.. More drinks than usual, less healthy options etc... Have to make a more conscious effort to eat more greens and cut out the fat!  Just have to take more time and make sure that I'm giving myself the fuel I need without skimping on anything important.

The journey continues!
KR

400 views and other news!

So I've somehow passed 400 views already :D  Nice!  I feel bad about not updating more.  I've been ridiculously busy with work still on this project.  Although project reveal is tomorrow morning so hopefully I'll be free soon.

I've been really bad about training other than the official RTCC training sessions on Sundays.  I have to say that it's almost a welcome change from spinning class though.  It's a completely different style of training.  We did a 45 minute-long climb and I didn't mind it at all!  Of course my butt was sore afterwards, but it's nice to settle into a routine rather than frantically switching exercises every 30-60 seconds.  I've started running up the stairs in my apartment building too in order to keep my legs in working order...  About 23 floors straight up as quick as I can go.  So out of breath, but it's a great rush afterward.  I'm trying to keep my legs in amazing shape for the big climb at the end of day 1... Apparently we need to cycle UP Hamilton  mountain.

My only question about that is... HOW?!  Surely they're not going to close down the highway for a couple of hours are they?  Maybe we'll go up the Jolly Cut or something like that.  Don't know for sure.

Here's the breakdown of how we trained on Sunday

• Climbing increments
• 3 mins base of 'zone 2'
• 3 mins base of 'zone 3'
• 15 seconds butt break
• 4 mins base of 'zone 2'
• 4 mins base of 'zone 3'
• 15 seconds butt break
• REPEAT UP TO 10 minutes for each zone
• Spin-up drills
• Cool down

My heart is getting really good at cooling down, which shows that spinning has been doing me some good.  My BPM dropped from 175 down to 100 inside of a minute.  LOVE IT.

I think my next course of action is to build up my roadside toolbox... You know, tubes, pump, etc.  

I'd really appreciate some feedback! I don't want to get caught off guard!

KR 

300!

300 views!  Woop woop! I wonder just how many views I can get by June 9th??

I suppose I just have to keep updating and keep people coming back for more insight.

You like me, you really like me!

KR

Donations are a'comin!

So I thought that I'd take a moment to say "Thanks!" to everyone who has donated so far in my fundraising extravaganza.  Seriously, I still have 145 days left to raise $2500 and I've already managed to have $600 in donations already!

That's 1/5 of the way there!

Seriously everyone, thanks so much for everyone's help in getting me to this point.

I'm actually thinking about having a "When we reach 25% / 50% / 75% Kevin will do something wacky" or something like that to raise funds faster.

What do you think? Like... I'll eat an entire jar of pepperoncini peppers in a single sitting, or I'll make you a cake or bake you cookies if you help me to reach a milestone or something... You know?  Let me know if you have any ideas... Could be fun!  Sorry folks, no adult favours etc.. Let's keep this on the up and up.

Honestly? 20% raised already!  Wow! I might even raise my goal depending on how well my fundraising goes!  I've been using so many exclamation points recently... I feel so lame, but there's so much excitement!

In other news, my heart rate monitor came today :D I'll have to check that puppy out.  Methinks my next quest will be to get myself a road tool kit... You know, inner tubes, tools, pump etc.  Don't want to get caught without!

Take care, and thanks again
KR

Ride Vlog #2!

RTCC Vlog #2... A little fireside chat after the second training session.  Today was a 'butt' day.  The sole purpose of the class was to see how long we could stay in the saddle before our bits went numb or got really sore... Nice! Ow.

Ride Vlog #1!

Finally after THREE attempts to upload this video it finally decided to work.  Nothing special, just a quick chat before my first RTCC training session.  In other news, R2D-Toque FTW!

Curse you YouTube!

So it would appear that YouTube is conspiring against me.  In trying to upload my two videos it's taken almost THREE HOURS to upload.  They're still going!  Good grief Google... What the hell?

I have a new respect for people who try to upload 15 minute-long videos in high-def.

Ugh... It's not me people! It's the intertubes!

So long, and DFTBA! (Oh vlogbrothers, you're so awesome)
KR

Videos on the way!

Hey everyone... As promised I've got two videos uploading to YouTube as I type this post.  YouTube uploads are super speedy (not at all), so I'll be posting them later on tonight.  Sit tight!

Talk to you all again very soon.
KR

+1 Orientation! Pics and videos this weekend... I promise!

So last night I went to the Etobicoke orientation for the Ride to Conquer Cancer (I think I'll just call it the Ride from here on).  I can't wait to get on the road and start training!  The leader, Patrick, said specifically that this ride isn't something that you can cram for the night before.  Which is pretty obvious considering that you're going to be riding over 200km in two days!

We got the lowdown with regards to gear that we're supposed to bring for the overnight etc.  I have to say that the support structure they've put together is pretty impressive!  I wish I knew what the actual route was ahead of time though, it'd be good to know how much I should be training for hills and stuff like that.

Ah well.  That'll be part of the surprise I guess.

Seriously though.. The more I think about this ride, the less intimidated I feel and the more I feel like looking this sickness in the face and saying "Whatever man" (a little Lost reference for you readers out there).

Alright my PSD has finally loaded... Back to work!

And I promise, there'll FINALLY be videos this weekend... I know I keep saying that, but this time I mean it!  This weekend... Videos! Pictures! Thoughts!

And if you have the means, please donate to the cause via this link http://tinyurl.com/kevinride I'm only 8% of the way to reaching my goal of $3000!

Survived my first ride training session!

First of all... I'm really slacking with these updates! Been super busy with this new project that I've been working on; trying to get almost two weeks of development into four or so days.  So not cool.

But in other ride related news, I've gone to and survived my first ride training session!  The instructor (Scott Kinnear) is a pretty cool guy, which makes things a lot easier.  It's a bit of a change of mindset too compared to the regular "spin" classes that I've been going to.  Instead of riding as hard as you possibly can for an hour, we're training more for endurance purposes.  Riding 80%-85% of our threshold effort for longer.

Turns out that we need to get a heart rate monitor too for these classes.  No one told me beforehand, so I ended up borrowing the instructor's monitor for our first test.  I felt a little weird about that considering that this device is strapped around your chest and SWEATED ON PROFUSELY.  I really didn't have a choice so I put it on and did my LTHR test.  That's Lactic Threshold Heart Rate test for everyone that isn't crazy.

I managed to get my heart rate up to 190 BPM (!!!!) for a solid sixteen minutes.  Good grief!  I assure everyone that this is head and shoulders above what I would be doing during the ACTUAL ride.  This is essentially to figure out how hard my maximum effort it.

I'm really excited to be a part of these classes, I'm hoping that they'll prepare me for what's coming this summer.  I've recorded my first vlog, I just need to upload it to YouTube some time soonly.  I'm not going to edit them or do anything really fancy... I'd like to keep them simple and real.

In other news, I'm going to my ride orientation tomorrow! (later today?)  Going to be learning all sorts of fun tidbits about fundraising etc etc.  

G'night my peoples... I must get some rest or I shall explode.

KR

Moving up in the world

I had a brief moment of "I wonder what my high school self would say about me now" this morning as I was getting ready for work.  Back in high school, I bought a mountain bike that I got for $200 from Home Hardware.  I've still got it actually!

It's a Vincente "Fraser", but I've never been able to find any information about it online.  The thing weighed about 55 pounds and was an absolute BEAST.  Let's just say that it was a tank in bike form to say the least. You can tell it's high quality by all of the decals.

My new ride is a 2011 Cervelo S2 kitted out with ultegra! It's so fast on the road, I can't wait for it to warm up so I can get back out and ride as much as possible.  The bike is built to go as fast as you dare and finish your rides like a bat out of hell.  I'm so pleased with it :)  I've figured out how to attach a camera to the handlebars so I might actually take a few videos from the road.  Keep your eyes peeled!

Now, I just have to name my ride!

KR

10% of the way there!

You know what's amazing? Coming home from work to have your phone ping that I have an email.  Upon checking that email, I find out that I'm already 10% of the way to my initial fundraising goal!  I'm supposed to raise $2500 in time for the ride... but I decided to be cocky and bump my goal up to $3000.  Fun!

And you know who donated first? Lisa! That's right, according to the Ride to Conquer Cancer site... Lisa is officially my roadie. Ha!  

Anyone else want to be my "roadie"?? 

Donate to my cause!

I think it's finally hitting home for me that I have to raise $2500 in 157 days... Holy crap!  I need to hit the pavement and start looking for donations.  Perhaps I'll start canvasing through the Bloor West area and everywhere else.  Gotta make this work!

tinyurl.com/kevinride

Please donate whatever you can! Every time I make a video I'll be sure to call everyone out for their donations

Onward and upward,
KR

Testing, testing

Hey everyone, so after thinking about starting a blog about my training for the 2012 Ride to Conquer Cancer...  Here we are!  I'm hoping to post fairly often here with various updates.  I'd like to try posting vlogs as well!  Have digital camera and youtube account will post I suppose.

Keep checking back for updates!
KR