Events #37 and #38, Sally's Y 5k and Sally's Y 50K Sunday April 25

Two for one special today...just like last year, I was able to do the 5K prior to the cycle event (thank you Melissa Lasarsky and race directors) and got to ride and hang out with a lot of good friends.

Mike Ferretti, Jim Russell, Cat Reid, Cheryl Ryan, Greg Counts (all did the 100K) Kevin Collins, Justin and Tricia McCord - we did the 50K. Thanks everyone for coming out and making the trek up north to do the ride. Awesome seeing you all!

Beautiful day for the events - albeit a bit windy. Extremely well run and seamless. Well supported - challenging course with some great hills to test out the legs. Loads of fun.

For those who don't know, the Y in Denver, soon to be Sally's Y is being built in memory of Sally Clark, who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2004. Her passion for life and spirit will be commemorated in the future home of Sally's Y - being built through the collaboration of her parents, David and Jo, to give back to the community - just as they know Sally would.

Due to the recent rains, the run was on the road, versus a trail run - a double loop - easy enough to navigate and fun to run - even if it was by myself.

Finished the run and changed up for the bike - different shorts (changed in the car) a lot of sunscreen and inflated the tires....shortly after I finished the run, we were off.

I can't say that I was really hammering on the bike. It's been awhile since I was on the road for an extended ride, so it was one mile at a time. Justin and I kept changing position up front - well - mostly Justin up front really....I kinda lagged behind.

We all had an awesome ride and a lot of fun. Nice to be out with good friends on a challenging course on a beautiful April afternoon.

Dedications for these events are forthcoming.

5K approx 23 minutes
50K 1:50:22

Go TEAM!!!

Event # 31 (sort of) Whitewater Trail Run, Saturday January 23

It's been a while since the last event (over a month) but today started out with pretty much ideal weather for a trail run at the Whitewater Center, just outside of Charlotte. Scheduled to do 13 miles, I got to the site and picked up my packet and bib in semi-darkness. I ran into Abby Miller, soon to be new TnT Director for the Western North Carolina Chapter of the LLS, Cat Reid, fellow TnT Alum, Mike Smith - Cheryl Ryan's (also a fellow TnT Alum) husband - and a bit of a running nut, Theoden Janes, Charlotte Observer blogger extraordinaire and also a running nut, and Santiago Montilla and Juan Pablo Mancia from work. It was like a reunion of sorts.

We started out a bit after 8AM and quickly enter the woods....this is where trail running diverges from road running. Single track trails (one person or bike wide) muddy, mucky, rooted and rocky trails. it taxes muscles and the body differently. First few miles are good - and I start to get into a rhythm. The challenge of trail running - in addition to the trail conditions - are the constant grade changes, uphill, downhill, stump jumping. You can't really get into an even pace...but we're having fun and ticking off the miles..

Then - right past mile 4 - down a bit of a muddy washout, and my left calf locks up....tight tight tight....so I pull over and try stretching it out. It's rock solid because of the cramp, but it loosens up and I get going again.

Mile 5 - and past mile 6. As we make the turn where the 8 mile route and the 13 mile route split- Theoden says "well we're committed now"....to which I respond - "maybe we should be committed"...about a 1/4mile down this trail, the calf cramps up again and my legs are just not feeling right - so I stop to stretch again...get going and another 1/4 to 1/2 mile...and again...cramp - this time worse than the other two. Dammit....Decision time....so I decide - begrudgingly - I turn around and have now determined I am best served to do 8 and not 13. My concern over seriously hurting my calf - potentially derailing the last 10 races out of the 40 in 40...outweighs the "no guts no glory" that was running through my head and silencing the pain in my calf. Good news is - it's my left calf - not my right calf like in Kiawah...

As I get on the trail again - I am debating - should I just turn around and muscle through the 13. I see where the 13 mile route rejoins the 8 mile route....yes, no, yes, no....no. fudge

I manage to get through the balance of the 8 mile route with only a couple more cramps and instances of my legs locking up - or feeling like they were.

I cross the finish line and am in all honesty - pissed at myself. My training has not been as focused as it should have been the past couple of weeks. Nutrition has been suspect. And it all showed up today - and got in my face - and beat me.

So - while I completed a race - whether or not I count it ultimately in the 40 in 40 remains to be seen. The folks I am doing this for - the reason - all go through so much more than a little muscle cramp. They persevere through Chemo treatments, surgeries, ups and downs that make what I was dealing with today seem like a hangnail or a bad hair day. They don't give up.

So while I believe I've isolated the factors that drove the outcome - that I didn't have what was needed to complete the event I set out to do - I also know I need to reflect and build on these things - and focus on the reason I am doing this - to do more to help those who are battling blood cancers....to help them by raising the $40K I set out to raise.

Going forward - no more doubts - no more letting the doubt get in my head - time to re-focus and do better....time to do more for those who are unable to. Training needs to be smarter and more diligent - more consistent. Nutrition more purposeful.

Santiago and Juan Pablo did great today - finishing the 8 well ahead of me. Mike did better than he set out to do - crushing the 13 in around an hour and a half....and while I didn't see Theoden since the time I stopped to stretch, I know he did awesome as well. He has a determination and fire that kept him focused....

All the runners did great today - well - all but one.

Run well my friends - hope to see you soon - and if I do - tell me to pick it up and get going.

Event #14 - Y2Y Metric Century Saturday August 8

What a great ride! Got to ride with the fantastic four +1, Sheila, Mike Feretti (TnT Coach), Cat Reid and Cheryl Ryan PLUS Jim Russell a neighbor here in the 'hood. Not having ridden much over 40 in the past month+, I was a bit nervous about my ability to cover the 62 without much cursing...but it was awesome.

I met a woman who was out on her first organized ride, after buying a bike two weeks ago. She bought a bike to ride with her husband (awwww) and did awesome.

We started out riding together and around mile 24, at the second rest stop...

Side note - organized rides like this are great. Every 10 - 15 miles they have rest stops with food (cookies, oranges, bananas, water, Gatorade, etc) and porta potties... I make sure I partake of everything at these stops - foodwise. And its a great opportunity to talk to other riders.

So - after the second rest stop - I got a little spunky and started to pick up the pace - a mini breakaway. I wanted to see if I could pretty much sprint the 15 miles to the next stop. So I picked it up and was having fun...a little music in one ear (only one, so I could hear traffic and other riders) kept me moving along. The lovely smell of poultry farms helped me pick up the pace even more - pee-yew ...those birds are smelly...

Jim Russell caught me about 10 miles into my little sprint...he's an amazingly strong rider - he put me to shame - but we rode together for the rest of the 30 miles to the end.

As I was riding, I was thinking about who I could dedicate this event to. I haven't done much of that for the first 13 - but with all the honor patients and honor heroes with TnT - there are so many to honor with these events. At the end of the day - raising awareness for these folks, their families and the challenges they face - and the money for the LLS and their mission is what this is all about. It's not about me. So - going forward I will be dedicating each event to an honor patient or hero.

Today's ride was in honor of Cat Reid's sister, Page Stanton. Cat had a great ride today, battling a nagging tweak (won't call it an injury) in her leg but she's a trooper and powered through. Cat is an amazing person who raised nearly $12,000 while training for Tahoe with us. So - to Cat and her amazing work, and in memory of Page, whom I never met, but knowing Cat - was no doubt an equally amazing and wonderful person - today was for you.

So at the end of the day - or the ride - about 3:45 and change - we packed up and headed out. Great ride, great friends.

Next week - a duathlon of some sort - either a swim and run - or a bike and run...it all depends.

Thank you all. Go TEAM!

Event #13, Go For Blood Bike Ride & 5K....and some misdirection

After a drought in terms of races in July, between races / event schedules and work - August got started off in the right fashion.....30 - 35 mile bike ride in and around Waxhaw, to benefit the Union County American Red Cross - best of all with my wife, Sheila. With the way work has been for the past several weeks, getting home at midnight or later - working weekends, etc...I was itching to get back out and get another event under my belt...

With the way fundraising went through July - I was pumped to get out and ride...as of today, with a few matching gifts outstanding, we are over $13K! A good chunk of that came from a friend and fellow TnT Alum Julie Jones and her 3rd grade class at Cotswold Elementary...Julie was training and fundraising for an event and could not participate, she transferred her donations to the 40 in 40 - almost $1,800!!! $13K Thank you all so very much.

So we get to the venue - Cane Creek Park in Waxhaw (site of event #19 - Cane Creek Tri in September) and they're lining up the riders, we're a tad tardy. Tardy??!?!? I don't Feel Tardy.

Anywho - so we register and head out. The road markers for the ride show a 30 mile route and a 60 mile route, so I'm thinking, OK - it's only 30, not 35...no big deal....

As we ride along, we pass a few folks and then get passed by two guys..one of the is Dr Josh Kollman - best Sports Dr in the CLT - as far as I am concerned. So I yell out to him, and he and his buddy pull up - and we chat for a bit..he's training for IM Florida - as are Kevin Collins and John McLean, TnT coach and TnT Alum respectively...and Josh mentions, "I just go back from France...I rode a stage in the tour... A STAGE IN THE TOUR - as in Tour de France...holy schnikies! Will post more once I find out which stage exactly - but Josh rocks...he's the best guy and Dr...anywho - so they peel off

We keep going cruising along, nice and easy..get to rest stop #1 around mile 15...grab some chow and head back out - we're riding along and I'm goofing around (I know shocker) and we are just cruising...the we see a SAG (Support and Gear) truck, and they wave us down, around mile 18...after some back and forth, we realize we missed our turn, about 3 miles back - right about the time I was goofing around...oops.

So back we go - but before we get going, Sheila aka the Cat Whisperer, notices a little gray tabby kitten alongside the road...meowing adamantly that it needs to be picked up...so the SAG truck comes up and they agree to take it with them back to the start/finish...so we were MEANT to go those 3 extra miles, to save a kitten...good to know.

We make it back to our turn, and chat a bit with the folks there who were helping other riders not miss the turn, and get on our merry way....

About 25 miles in, we get passed by a pace line - a group of riders, in a straight line, using drafting (blocking of the wind) to speed along. When they get about 200 yards ahead of us, I decide, I'm feeling pretty good...I'm gonna go catch them - they're doing about 22 mph...so off I go, imagining the Tour - catching a breakaway...and I am actually gaining on them, 100 yards, 75, 50...and then I try to shift and mess it up...they crest a hill and off they go - not to be caught...stupid me...why shift when I am gaining on them? Oh well, so I spin back and rejoin Sheila and we continue on.

As we get to about the 30 mile mark, I am doing the math in my head, we've got about 5 - 10 more to go, due to my little detour to unexpectedly save the cat...probably closer to 10...

This little stretch of road was pretty hilly, and as Sheila said, no one told us these hills would be so hilly. But we make it to just shy of the 35 mile mark and again - another pace line...this time I'm like - nope - not going to do it. But I'm still feeling good and my competitive and curious nature creeps up..can I actually catch them? They're about 1/4 mile ahead of us by now.

So I figure - why not try. So I shift now, better planning this time and jump on the pedals. Start hammering pretty hard - not gaining yet, but wait, I start to, and then some more, a little more, shift again and gain more...they crest a hill - but I decide to keep going...about 3/4 of a mile into it - I catch the back wheel of the last rider - and let out a little whoo hoo! The last rider turns around and is like "who's back there?"

Right where the marker is on the pic above...is where I caught them

As I chuckle to myself and give myself a little pat on the back, I turn around to rejoin Sheila...

So - last few miles to the end, we cruise along and just enjoy the ride - 2 and a half hours later we return...some of the most fun 40 miles I've done in awhile- I got to ride with Sheila and really enjoyed the ride. Sheila had an awesome ride after not riding, we figured, for almost a year.

Go and check out the snacks at the end - and the volunteers tell us the kitten, which they brought back (YEAH!) has been picked up and passed around by several kids who were their cheering on their parents. Looks like it will be adopted right there. Very cool.

Looks like the folks who organize the event are considering adding a 10K and/or a half marathon to the events schedule in the next year or so. Something to keep in mid for all those folks training for a Full IronMan in the fall - a half marathon, in early August....seems like perfect timing - depending on your race....so keep your eyes open for that.

All in all an amazing day. First event back after the July hiatus, and knowing we've raised over $13K was truly motivational...you all rode with us this morning.

Thanks so much - next event is next weekend - Y2Y metric century in and around Weddington (south of Charlotte). Looks like Cat Reid and Cheryl Ryan, Tahoe riding partners will be doing it as well.

Go Team!

Race/event # 9, Tahoe Century Ride Sunday June 7 - inspiring doesn't begin to cover it

The weekend was
Terrific
Awe inspiring
Happy
Outstanding
Emotional...

Additionally, it was moving, spectacular, awesome (like totally dude - bringing back the eighties - just without my mullet). I have struggled to put everything that transpired into a brief summation, but can't seem to whittle it down - so I am going with my usual rambling free form.

The recap:
I saw some of the most incredible scenery which paled in comparison to the nearly 1,700 TnT riders who set out on this journey from 6AM - 7 AM on Sunday. Some riders were still coming in 12+ hours later. They were all truly inspiring, amazing and wonderful. TnT raised over $6.8 million through THIS EVENT ALONE! I made some new friends and acquaintences during the weekends events and through the help, support, belief, generosity and hospitality of a friend and colleague from Bank of America we raised nearly $2,000!!! All in all the ride took 6:10:02. Avg speed 16 mph. I burned 6288 calories. I'd do it again right now if I could. During the time I was out there, riding, resting and refueling (a total of approximately 7 hours) nearly 100 people were diagnosed with a blood cancer.

Here are the details.

Friday June 5 - TAHOE MINUS 2: This was travel west day. Go WEST young-ish man, with Sheila along side me, we headed out. It is so reassuring having Sheila with me when I travel (or any time) as she negotiates travel like a skilled surgeon performs a delicate operation. 8 AM flight, out of Charlotte, connect, with a brief jog through San Diego airport as we had a 20 minute window to catch our next flight. Make the flight and get to San Fran. Go from the airport to my friend Iris's house. Where she has graciously, generously, amazingly organized a fundraising party for me, inviting numerous friends. It is such an honor to have that level of support. Under normal circumstances, it was amazing, given her hectic work related travel schedule - well above and beyond. I get to meet several of Iris and Patrick's good friends. Some were former TnT members, some running partners with Iris and Patrick - who ran the Honolulu marathon several years in a row with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation...all great folks. All wishing me well on Sunday and for the next year. I was asked to say a few words, which was a bit terrifying. Sure get up in front of 50 folks you don't know and tell them about the 40 in 40. For those that don't know it - I am not a fan of "the spotlight". However, I did get up and speak. I will admit, as I spoke, and discussed the reasons behind the 40 in 40, the support of my loving and patient wife, I got a little choked up. Sometimes doing things, you lose a little sight or perspective about the reasons. However, talking about it, recalling honor patients I've had the priviledge to meet, friends and family members who have been touched by Leukemia, it brings it back home and drives me. A classmate from Emory (MBA) was able to attend, even with a bit of a late/last minute invite. Thanks Mike for making the trip out. The party was a success as we raised nearly $2,000 !!!! A gracious and humble thank you goes out to all those that attended and were so incredibly supportive and fun. You all have made my life and this experience that much richer.

Aristotle said "One recognizes the quality of one’s own character and one’s own life by seeing it reflected, as in a mirror, in one’s friends". Iris and Patrick have clearly some of the most wonderful, generous, funny, supportive friends! Appropriately so!

Saturday June 6, TAHOE MINUS ONE: Travel to Tahoe. Sheila and I hop in the car and get on the road around 7:30 AM. As we make our way northward, the clouds begin to build. All reports have been of cold drizzly rain in and around Tahoe....what happened to 30 percent chance of rain? This seems like 100 percent....hmmm. As we cross Donner Pass, I think, hmmm will I have to eat someone on my bike ride...let's hope not.

1:30 PM. Get to the hotel and check in. Get settled a bit and go get my bike from Sandra. Thanks Sandra for picking it up for me. Get it to the room and put the pedals back on, and attack fixing the brakes. Yeah, this is easy and oh so tidy a job. 5 minutes in and I am covered in a mix of worn brake pad, road grit and grease. (See the "I am not a bike mechanic" post below). But I prevail and get the pads on and installed. Now to test them and the rest of my handiwork out.

The rest of the team rode in the AM led by coach Mark, and they got about 20 miles in. Me, hoping for a little less rain and a few more degrees (I.e. Warmer), got more rain and about the same mid-60's. Lovely. The adage "That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is flitting about my brain... So I call Mark and he's up for ANOTHER ride. Okey doke...whacko. :-) - but I am eternally grateful for the ride along and support. He already did this and thawed out once...

Note to self - and others: When you are soaking wet after 3 miles of riding....it is officially raining. Despite the rain, we had a good, fast ride, about 18 miles though because I wimped out and didn't feel like climbing up Ski Run Rd...soaking wet, chilled to the bone, and moderately grumpy...

Took me 30 - 45 minutes to be able to actually feel my toes again. And then to try and get my stuff dry in approximately 12 hours....hmmm

Inspiration dinner:

The kick off dinner for the ride was absolutely PACKED! And - they broke us into 3 groups. Everyone was in good spirits, looking forward to and hoping for nice weather tomorrow. Our Honored speaker is a young gentleman Matt from the Central Texas team. This young man battled Leukemia numerous times over his life and was riding on Sunday. He was honest, humble, funny (hilarious actually), and truly brought the event and our emotions to the forefront. He inspired us all. To perservere, to do more, to live life. This is where we found out about the fact that there were nearly 1700 of us TnT'ers riding and we raised $6.8 MILLION. A great endeavor, a wonderful event - but it also helped me realize, there is so much more to do for LLS.

After the dinner, we head back to sack out, do one or two, or more bike and gear checks and try to sleep. Even though we're on the west coast, 5:00 AM will come quickly. We get some words of advice, and caution from our coaches - all of it heeded - of course it was...

Sunday June 7, TAHOE RIDE DAY BABY: No rain - clouds, someone said it was in the upper 30's but it felt much warmer, at least mid 40's. We head out a bit ahead of our allotted time, but it is a great way to start. The Western North Carolina Team is in the front of our time wave, and we ride together for the first few miles. We start getting stretched out a bit, some going faster, others getting their "bike legs". We pass the Renassaince Festival grounds, where we were warned not to yell anything obnoxious - but unfortunately, I could not resist with a little Monty Python as we rode through..." We are no longer the Knights who say NI, we are now the Knights who say Icky Icky Icky Za Ping, Za Poing..." Cheryl thought it was humorous..so did I. We pass the checkpoint where they screen for bandits, or illegal riders, and begin our climb up to Emerald Bay. As we near thr top, there they are switchbacks galore, OK 2, as we climbed to the top of big hill #1 Emerald bay. As we get to the top and look to our right, the sun is peeking out, the clouds are beginning to burn off and it is absolutely stunning. Then on the back side of that hill - I hit 43 mph. Woo freakin hoo! Thank god I got my new rear brakes installed. And properly.

Side note of sorts - One of the norms for rides like these, each team has a doo-dad attached to their helmet to help their support teams ID them out of the sea of purple and green. Here is a brief recap of some of the more memorable and funny:

Western North Carolina (us) green star with WNC.
Nation's Capital "spire" from the Capitol building for the DC team
Peach for Georgia
Can of SPAM for Minnesota (?)
Plastic wine glass for the Napa, CA team
Plastic crab for Maryland
Styrofoam bowl with chowder written on it for MA, ME, NH
Coors light can for the CO Rockies (not the baseball) team
Black pipe cleaner twisted into a spring-like shape with plastic cows, farmers, barns, cars, trucks, etc attached to it for Oklahoma
A fuzzy monkey with its butt poised over a beer can for Kansas (cans ass)
Rubber cow for california (happy cows)
Penguins for Pittsburgh
Red flag with Red Wings emblem on it for Michigan - they and Pittsburgh remained civil :-)
Texas flag for all Texas teams, whose team member as mentioned above was our honored and truly inspirational speaker, recovering from several bouts with Leukemia. As mentioned - he rode Sunday and kicked some serious butt...saw him at mile 70. He shook my hand, I almost cried.

A great big shout out to my fellow WNC TnT'ers who rode in Tahoe with me, Cat Reid, Cheryl Ryan and Toby Gordon from Greensboro. Also riding this weekend was the "Fletcher Flyer" team riding in Asheville. They kicked some butt as well.

So - out to Truckee - that name cracks me up for some reason...Truckee, is there a Caree and Vanee and Motorcycle-ee? I could have used a motorcycle. Truckee was about the halfway point. One item that was a must have at this stop was the boiled new potatoes...sprinkle a little salt and mm mm mm nom, nom, nom...good eatin clark. I hop back on the bike after catching up with Toby, Mike, Jay (Cat's husband) and Sheila - get a see you in 30 miles, good luck kiss or two from her - and awaaaaay we go. Took it realitvely easy over the bike path back to Tahoe City - it's narrow, and bumpy - and an opportunity to spin a bit versus hammering in the big ring.

King's Beach - lunch break and last break before the climb up to Spooner Lake - our highest elevation and longest climb yet - even higher - much higer than training - but it's hard to replicate elevation like that unless you have it in your backyard. This is where I saw Matt. Between seeing Matt and the awesome support and love from Sheila - I took on Spooner like I owned it...well kind of.

Off I went, in search of Spooner. Made it to the bottom of Spooner faster than I thought, even with the "single file or the cops will give you a $50 ticket if they catch you" warning through Incline Village. So - up and up, and up we go. My bike, an Orbea, has what is called a compact crank, slightly fewer teeth on the sprockets on the front rings, which I have convinced myself, is one of the reasons I do hills well. It seems to be much more efficient - for me anyways - and really helped me kick some Spooner ass.

As I crest the next to last hill, I jokingly ask some spectators, "does this thing have a top?" One woman responds..."you're almost there".

Now - note to spectators - do NOT say that unless it is true...as one guy passed me he said - "no we're not, we've got 4 more miles to go"...I almost turned around to find the woman who said that - but I did not.

Spooner was about 7 miles of climbing, culminating at the highest elevation of 7,076 feet (according to my garmin - thank you garmin). If I was halfway or less - god help her. Not really...However, I did notice, hmm, it is getting a bit warm - well of course it is - it's 1 PM +/-, so I begin with the interesting process of unzipping my jacket and jersey, loosening gloves, and drinking a lot of water as I am trying to climb. I pass several folks along the way up - which is reassuring for me...go compact crank go...

As I see the "Spooner Lake" sign on the right, I realize, I am in fact there, not almost, I am there! Holy cow. There is a rest stop at the top, with ironically enough, the first BIG "First Aid" sign posted out front that I've seen all day. Most other stops have the First Aid in the stop - this was a welcome sight - and thankfully, besides some advil for a weirded out left leg, not much of a need for me. Now some downhills, and some moderate climbs - to the finish...15 miles to go!

We get on US 50 headed back to the finish. US 50 is a great road, well maintained - but the engineers who designed the stormwater grates on the road need some assistance in their planning. Some of the grates run perpendicular to the traffic, others, only a few thankfully run parallel - and are slightly wider than the average road bike tire - which if hit going 30+ miles downhill would bring one to an immediate and dangerous stop. With the help of fellow riders - we point out road hazards, such as roadkill, bumps, holes, storm grates etc with hand signals and verbal commands, and most of us make it unscathed. Apparently two folks had run ins with the grates - no one was seriously injured from what I know - but still - it makes you think...and slow down a bit.

All this time, as you pass a cyclist - it is common road etiquette to say "on your left" - or if being passed - thanking them for letting you know. With thousands of riders - this took place all day long... I was a bit hoarse at this point - but still managed to let out a Woo Hoo as we passed through a tunnel as we shot down US 50...it was not the loudest woo hoo I've ever let out - but still - fun - and it echoed.

As we caught our first glimpse of the resort and ultimate finish line, I realized that while I was a bit tired, I was energized. The amazing riders, the support, the volunteers, the coaches, family and friends that were out there on this day - all working towards a common goal...to wipe out blood cancers. We made a dent..but there is so much more to be done. So over the course of my ride, my Team in Training ride, nearly 100 people, man, woman or child were diagnosed with a blood cancer. The money raised goes a long ways, but truly we need more help.

As I turned towards the finish area, I unzipped my jacket again, and began riding hands off the hooks, or handlebars, getting spectators to make some NOISE!!! GO TEAM! I rode across the finish line with Toby. It was truly spectacular. Hundreds of folks waiting there, cheering us in. It didn't matter if it took you 5 hours, or 50...

With all of our teammates in, and seeing the multitudes of riders, family, friends, coaches and support staff, we relished the accomplishment. 100 miles! Of course we couldn't have done it without our coaches, Mike and Mark, who coaxed us along and lied to us periodically to get us up and over hills and out on the courses. We never could have done this without you.

Also, but no less importantly, a big thank you to Sandra Clancy who was our TnT point person all weekend. She helped us gather our bikes, our contact info, kept us on time and on track.

A heartfelt and loving thank you to all the teammates, those who rode with us, those who rode at Fletcher, my wife Sheila for supporting me in this endeavor, and to all of you for your generous support, kind words and belief.

I hope you enjoyed this recap. as I recall other items to note, I will be sure to post them here - I thank you for your support, friendship, teamwork and belief in what we are doing. While the 40 in 40 is primarily about me raising awareness of the LLS Mission and Team in Training, raising $40,000 and doing a few races - it is a team, a family that makes it truly realizable and amazing.

Thank you all.

Sean

9 down, 31 to go