The family ride was slated for a 10am start time, but before we could leave Ethan had an 8:30 am soccer game. I had the bikes all packed up early that morning so all we had to do was swing by the house to pick up the cooler and head up to Bertram. I had expected to be a little late. By the time we got to Bertram and got the bikes all unloaded it was 10:35 and I wasn't sure where exactly we were suppose to go. We rolled over to the park where the start was to happen and I asked the volunteers at the rest stop where we were suppose to go. I got some lip about missing it and some guy in full kit and no kids started spouting off about him being done in 40 minutes. I didn't see any kids with him so he must have hammered it for 40 minutes, I wasn't impressed. So I restated that I just needed to know which way we were suppose to go, we didn't need to do it with everybody else and we were quite content to tackle it on our own.
With the basic directions we headed out. I hooked the trail-a-bike up to the old Fuji and pulled Zeb along. Jack rode up front with me while Ethan and Jennifer brought up the rear. We would regroup every once in a while to let Jennifer and Ethan catch back on and to eat our snack bars. There was a downhill in particular I could hear screaming coming from the back. On the uphill opposite of the decent we stopped to look back and see what carnage lay behind us. It turns out Ethan was having a blast on the decent and was yelling approval and not screams of bloody murder, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. Once we got going up the hill Jack said let's race. He accelerated up the hill, Zeb and me really had to work to catch him. I got a kick out of his move and was impressed at the speed he was holding up the hill.
With one mile left I heard the pssst of air being violently released from my rear tire. There was one slight problem, I had forgot to move my saddle bag from the Orbea to the Fuji in my haste to get going, so I had no way to repair my tire. Like a good teammate Jennifer said for me to take her bike and ride back to Bertram and get the car while they waited. We cut the ride a mile short but nobody seemed to mind too much. Ethan was happy he was tired from his soccer game to begin with so he didn't have any objections. The only one that grumbled about cutting the ride short was Zeb.
After I got the bikes packed up I got the Orbea out. The family took off in the car while I headed back to Bertram to catch the Dillo route back to Liberty Hill. For the next hour I pushed hard and hammered up the hills. I caught up with a guy in Velossimo kit and we rode together. There was a group of 10 riders working together that we were trying to catch. We were somewhat disorganized, neither of us drafting off of each other. On one uphill I got caught behind a pack of slower riders and he put a 7-9 second gap on me . After me pushing a high power threshold for an hour I eased up a bit and was content to let him keep the gap.
As we were getting closer to Liberty Hill I was slowly catching him again. He looked back, I wasn't sure if it was "the look" or what. I was expecting him to take off as I approached, but he said he sure could use a pull. So I let him catch on and pulled him. My plan was to turn right on 179 and head back to Cedar Park instead of going left into Liberty Hill. I didn't want to leave the guy out there, he would have been ok as the way into Liberty Hill had a tailwind. I did pull him 1/2 way to Liberty Hill before turning around and heading home.
The family had a great time and I really like how the family ride is handled with registration. Registration is $15 for the adult and kids ride free. I wasn't expecting a tshirt for Jennifer and me, but only the kids. As it turns out at packet pick up they said the parents got tshirts too! The registration model is great for an entire family to particate in the event.
The cat 4/5 race had a 8:05 am start time so I got up at 5 am, had a bowl of cereal and got everything ready and was out the door by 6:30. Manda was a short 31 miles from my house so I got there at 7am. It was pretty cold Sunday morning, I was not looking forward to getting out of the car let alone putting on my jersey. This was definitely an arm and leg warmer day. The only knock on the weather the entire day was how chilly it was in the morning. The weather completely cooperated, there was no wind, it was a perfect day to race a bike.
After getting my numbers pinned on I set out to try to get warmed up. As I was warming up on Manda Carlson Road I passed a rider going the opposite direction and it looked like a Bike Barn kit. I do a double take and the rider does the same and says "Mike?". It was none other than Enrique, we both had our eyes out for each other and happened to spot each other out. We chatted a bit about the Saturday race at Belterra, I didn't participate but Enrique did.
At the start of the race the pace was set at about 22 mph and then it kicked up well above 24 mph as we entered the first of sharp right turns. What compounded this was right before one of the turns there was a rough patch of road. I was middle pack at this point and there was a big uplift in the road where the bridge met the road. This was a pinch flat waiting to happen, I couldn't move either direction to avoid it, the best I could do was bunny hop it, which I did, but I lost my water bottle in the process. The bottle will surely be missed as it had a gel bot top. I wasn't the only one to lose their bottle, a few riders ahead lost theirs as well. From this point on the pace just went up and in the back was not the place to be and the pack was strung out from that point on.
I caught on with a couple other riders and for the next 3 laps we would pick up more and more people. Whenever it was my turn I made sure to try to push the pace, I didn't just want to settle into a "let's just finish" mode", I wanted to keep the pace high and so I did. I tried to take longer pulls as well. I would get a bit of a rest when I'd fall back into the end of the paceline and a few riders would slow it down to 19 - 20 mph so that gave me ample time to catch my breath. We worked well together as a group, however there was one guy that made me nervous and I usually found myself right behind him. He would let a bike length or two gap get between him and the rider directly infront of him. This made me nervous as we were running the risk of losing contact with the front of our group. On a few occasions I would go around him and take his spot. He was persistent though I don't think he got dropped from our group till the very end.
On the last lap we came upon a group of 5 or 6 riders, we slowed as everybody chatted. I didn't want to wait and looking at this group there were some strong riders in it. So I didn't want to slow and get them integrated into our group so onward I pressed. Now our group was about 9 strong and it looked like the stronger of the other group had caught on so I knew the sprint to the end would be even more difficult. How did I know this group had some strong riders? Mainly by the fact that one of them was Scott (AT&T/Brain and Spine) that I ride with regularly with. I stuck to my plan of pressing the pace whenever it was my turn, but given we had 9 guys in our group that gave most everybody time to recover. Not sure if a better tactic would have been to sit in a bit and conserve for the end.
With 1 mile left I just got done with my pull at the front and moved to the side for the next rider to pull through, but there was nobody there. I looked back and I had a gap of a few bike lengths. I just got back at my pace and figured it was now or never. Not a few seconds later Scott and one other rider blew past me, I knew I had no chance to catch on and with a mile left I'd probably burn up. Then 2 more went past and I could feel the surge of the rest of the group. I hunkered down and tried my best to catch the other 2 and fend off the advances of everybody else. By the time we hit the 1K mark I had a good lead on the group, but I could never quite reel in the others. Not sure if my tactic of pushing the pace paid off, I know the final group besides the 4 that initially got away from me around the 1 mile left mark were able to stay away and had enough gas, but it would appear the rest of my riding companions might not have had enough in the tank to finish strong.
I'm not sure where I ended up placing, but from a power production it was my best race effort to date. Even considering I had the benefit of riding in a group I managed a normalized power of 273 watts, TSS of 159.4 and IF of .95 for the effort in 1'45" (38 miles).
The Fayetteville Stage Race was my first time at a stage race and as part of it was my first time in a time trial. I was looking forward to this race that took place in the small town of Fayetteville TX, population 283. Stage 1 was a 46 mile road race. Everything was going as planned, I was riding mid pack. I was really trying to stay up front as the yo yo effect was really in effect. The course is rolling, there is really only one hill to speak of, at least one where you have to shift down to the small ring, but the flow of the race was very much slow and go. There was constant breaking, there was a lot of joking in the peloton about this being a MS 150 training ride as we were only going about 18 mph then around the corners we'd kick it up to 24 then slow down. This constant slow and go was starting to take a bit of a toll on my legs. They were losing their freshness a lot faster than what I was hoping.
A few riders ahead of me I hear a blow out. I start to slow and then it happens. Bikes are up in the air, bodies are sliding across the pavement. Riders over the top of the fallen riders, guys going into the ditch. It was a major pileup, later I heard one guy broke his wrist and totaled his bike. As the skin was still scraping on the road the front of the group hears this and starts to hammer it. I slowly navigate through the carnage and really have to hammer it to catch on. It takes about a mile to make it back to the front group. At this point I'm pretty much spent, we approach the end of lap one and I go to stand to power up the hill and there's nothing there. My quads are aching and stiffen up, I have to sit back down, but I'm starting to get shot out of the back of the pack. My calf was starting to cramp up as well, in my effort to get back on I hadn't been hydrating properly and it left me vulnerable to cramping. As we make the turn and head into the wind the follow car passes me and I'm stuck out on my own. It was just me and the wind on this long stretch, but as I made the turn another rider caught up to me. We rode together along the back stretch, we didn't work together too much, not as much as what we should have. On one of the rollers as we crested I went for my water bottle and he kicked it in a little. I didn't have anything left in the legs to bridge the gap. For the remaining of the race he dangled out in front of me along with a few other riders that we came across, but I just couldn't bridge the gap to catch them.
Time Trial Later in the day, 5 hours to be exact, was my start time for the time trial. The rider in front of me was one of the crashed out riders for the road race, so there was a dead spot. I was a little disappointed as I would have liked to of possible had the rabbit dangling in front of me to push me a bit. Waiting on the line there were some high dollar time trial rigs. Guys were decked out in skin suits and aero helmets. I was one of the few guys riding their road bike and those that were riding their road rigs had them outfitted with aero bars. The course for the time trial was again rolling but only 6.6 miles long. My goal was to ride between 280 - 300 watts for the effort, I was also hoping for a time between 18-19 minutes. I just didn't have the power in my legs, I averaged only 274 watts and in the end my time was 19:54. I also had the goal of not to get passed by more than 2 riders. As it were I was passed by 2 people, the guy that started directly behind me and one other rider, both on full time trial bikes with aero helmets, the whole works. The second rider that went by me, #511, John Bullock ended up winning the Time Trial, but also won the GC as well.
On Sunday I woke up and my legs felt fine so I made banana, apple sauce, orange Heed with Chai whey pancakes. Then I made the drive back out to Fayetteville for the 3rd and final stage. Stage 3 was 3 laps for a total of 49 miles. At the start line I was somehow positioned at the very front. The first section through town is neutral, we roll out at a slow pace, make a left and once we cross the train tracks the race is on. This morning the lead car missed the left hand turn out of town. Chaos and mayham ensued, luckily it was short lived. We all turned left and stopped short of the train tracks. The lead car showed up on the other side of the tracks and we took off. I again was up at the front and wanted to stay as close to the action as possible. Not only was I at the front of the pack, I took some pulls at the front as well. The only problem was when I would pull off nobody would let me back in. There seemed to be about 4 to 5 riders that would pull but getting a spot back in line was hard as the main pack was right behind us and wouldn't let you in. I had to fight a bit to get back in and you didn't want to be stranded out in the headwind after taking a pull. For the first 1/2 of the race I was up at the front till a hill before the feedzone. I was on the far right, right up against the shoulder when the rider right in front of me stands to ascend the hill, but he is only slowing down. I can't get around him in time and pretty much the entire field goes around us. I lost my placement and now found myself at the back of the pack fighting to stay on. Once again before the finishing of lap 1 the back of the pack started to get strung out. There was probably about 15 of us that was getting dropped, I worked my way up in this group and gave an effort to bridge up along with 5 others. I saw that I wasn't making enough ground on the main group and looked back to see there were 3 others starting to work together. I slowed up for this group of 3 and caught on. We worked well together and had our race group insight, but the junior race was between us and our race leaders. We were neutralized till the juniors got to the top of the hill where the hot spot was for time bonuses. Once we got to the top we formed our echelon again and within a few minutes caught back on. It was a thing of beauty to get back on, thanks to Mac Hooke (Texas A&M), Austin Throop (Texas A&M) and Trey Flores (UH Cougar Cycling/Sugar Cycles) we worked great together. Looking back at it instead of getting integrated into the pack we should have made our way to the front and continued on. As soon as we got on our race was neutralized for a little bit, not sure what for if there was another Junior race ahead of us or what. The break was nice, but a little too short for what I needed. I think if the 4 of us would have stuck together when the race started again we could have put the hurt on. I'm not sure if I would have been able to hang with them, but I do notice I seem to be able to handle the constant effort like riding in an echelon better than the stop and go of the peloton. Not sure what it is about the area but the road right turn onto 2503 is my own personal Bermuda triangle as I got dropped at this point each time.
The 3rd and final lap was no different. So once again I was alone on 1291 heading into the wind and again I could see the string of riders in front of me. This time I made it a goal to catch at least one of them. Every time I'd seem to make a little progress the wind would whip up and I'd be blown back. I really closed the gap on the big hill. It took almost the entire stretch but I caught the 2 riders in front of me. As I caught on I asked what they were doing a straight paceline or an echelon. They really weren't organized, one guy seemed to be pulling his teammate the entire time. Not even a minute later I took my turn at the front, I didn't get much time to recuperate. I pull off to the side to let the next guy go and the guy in the back tells his teammate to go on that he had nothing left. His teammate tells him he's not going to leave him. Once again it's my turn to pull and I figure at the pace they were going at I was better off going at my own pace if they couldn't keep up, plus I wasn't getting much of a time off. I put my head down and slogged through the wind, I could feel they right on my wheel. We made the left at Lone Oak and got out of the head wind, I pulled off to let them take a turn pulling but there was only 1 guy. He said his teammate dropped out. He than proceeds to kick it up a gear and leave me. Glad I could pull you through the wind. <UPDATE> I later caught up to the rider, but didn't slow down for him to catch on.</UPDATE> On the back half before the feed zone one other rider came blasting by me, we rode at a good pace, but I also knew at this point I wouldn't be able to keep up 22-28 mph the rest of the way in. I backed off a little and let him go. I passed a few riders here and there on my way back to the finish. The worse part of the ride was the 3 miles back to the start/parking area, my feet hurt and my legs were mush.
In the end I finished 36 out of 50, I was 20 minutes back from the overall winner. It was a great time and I look forward to races further in the year when I have the conditioning and stamina to ride an entire race at 24+ mph.
No I don't have mystic powers nor a crystal ball to foresee the future, so how can I give a ride report for a ride that isn't going to happen till this Saturday? The Spokes 'N Spurs was suppose to be last Saturday (03/14/2009), but due to rain in the week muddy conditions out at the ranch made the organizers postpone the ride till the 21st. This change wasn't going to bode well for us as I have the Fayetteville stage race that weekend. The Spokes 'N Spurs ride was going to be Ethan's first event ride, he was going to be doing the 6 mile route and Jack was going to try his legs on the 14 mile route. The boys were looking forward to the ride and were bummed to learn that I couldn't do it the 21st thus they wouldn't be able to ride it. Jack and Ethan are both off from school this week for spring break so on Wednesday I took the day off and we decided to drive up to the Spirit Reins Ranch in Liberty Hill and have our own Spokes 'N Spurs ride.
Jennifer joined in on the fun and brought her bike to ride with Ethan on the 6 mile route and they were the first to depart. Jack and I quickly caught up to them and passed them. I was quite surprised at the pace Jack was pushing. We averaged about 11 MPH for the first 1/2 of the ride. The only drawback to the 14 mile route is the time on RR 1869.
The time on 1869 is short, but it is a heavily traveled road for a country rode. Plus there really isn't a shoulder, so I was a bit nervous to be taking Jack on it. We got through it and the couple cars that did pass us gave us plenty of room.
Around the 1/2 way point Jack encountered a steep roller and wasn't in the proper gearing for it. He got a 1/3 of the way up and couldn't push any more. I had him coast back down and shift to an easier gear and he was able to make it up with no problem the second time. We were about an hour into it and we stopped to consume the bars we brought along for the needed fuel to keep us going. As we were eating I got the phone call from Jennifer that her and Ethan were done.
The last 1/2 was a bit more challenging for Jack as the rollers seemed to be taking a toll on his legs. Our speed dropped down to 8 mph, which I expected the average would be anyway. The constant question every few miles of "how far have we gone?" was replaced with "how many more miles?", plus the frequency went up.
In the 3 mile home stretch we stopped one last time to see the longhorns and the buffalo while Jack ate the rest of his bar. We finished up at 2'06" total time, including breaks. I estimated it would take us around 2 hours. Jack put in the most miles he'd ever done in a day with 14.5 miles.
It wasn't the "official" Spokes 'N Spurs but everyone had a great time and feel like they earned the T-shirt. Both boys said they had a good time and Jennifer said she did too. Ethan is planning on doing a 10 mile ride next. Jack's next distance will be 20 miles and hopefully Jennifer will sign up for the Rookie Tri. I need to see about getting Jennifer a T-shirt as well, she earned it.
Mellow Johnny's is having a roller race on Wednesday, ColdSprint Spring Thaw Roller Races Presented by HED. It's $5 to enter, free to watch. This actually sounds fun, I don't consider myself a sprinter, my short power bursts is one of my limiters but I think I might give it a try. There's just one problem, the last time I was on rollers I went down hard and swore off the darn things. Luckily it appears the front fork is attached to a stationary platform so there shouldn't be any accidental jettison like what happened in my garage.
Any other Austin bike bloggers going and should we have a throw down?
The morning started out on the cold side, but at least there was little to no wind. They had us standing around in staging for what seemed like hours. The wait was compounded by the fact we were in the shade just standing around with riders teeth chattering. Luckily I had brought my arm warmers and had them on along with my leg warmers. One rule for the race that was new to me was if by the 3rd lap they would be pulling riders that had fallen off the back and behind the follow vehicle.
With the thought of being pulled in my mind I made darn sure I stayed with the front group. The pace was quite manageable, the rolling hills kept the race in check. At the end of lap 1 I felt great and had moved up fairly close to the front of the pack.
Lap 2 was more of the same, the pack started to thin out a little but we still were pretty packed in. A few riders would attack but got pulled back in. I was making mental notes of good places to even attack on for lap 3 and the final 4th lap. As we came to the finish line for the end of lap 2 something didn't feel right with my back wheel. It felt like I was getting a flat, I pressed on and surged with the front of the pack and it seemed to get worse. My rear wheel felt sluggish. I made my way over to the right shoulder and slowed down as the main pack went by and along with the follow car and the last of the stragglers. I was surprised to see no flat. I did find later that some of spokes had lost tension and were a little loose. Not sure if this is what I was feeling or what. I'll take it down and get a full diagnosis.
------UPDATE------
When I loaded the bike into the car this morning I did in fact have a flat. At least I wasn't imagining it.
When I got to the start there was a hint of sun breaking through the clouds. I foolishly thought the weather would hold, I later found out that is the nasty trick that Walburg likes to play. By the time I rolled up to the start the cloud cover rolled in along with dark menacing clouds. Then came the rain. It rained just enough to get the roads wet and cause the back wheels to kick up a stream of water and gravel pelting the rider behind. My goal for this race was to ride in the pack as long as possible. On the way out I was situated in the middle of the pack, but I was on the far right of the road hugging the shoulder. I was on the lookout for opportunities to move up. I had to warn a couple of guys from weaving into me. The worst was the guy in front of me, he would stand up on the rollers, but instead of pushing harder before standing and throwing his bike forward he'd just stand up and slow down and go backwards. On a couple of occasions I almost ran right into the back of him. After the second time I had enough following him so I made my way over to the far left.
From here I was able to work my way up the field and found myself about 3 rows back. Unfortunately the way the wind was coming I was totally exposed and couldn't get behind anybody's wheel. I was just hanging out into the wind. Right before Schwertner it happened, the pack surges and I couldn't match. I think this is because I was pushing 311 watts on average while I was stuck unprotected.
As I made the turn in Schwertner there was one other rider that got spit out that I rode with. We were joined by one other rider. They were hauling, I had a hard time to stay on their wheel. The 3 of us started to get strung out. Then it happened, my legs refreshened up and I got my second wind. Or I finally got warmed up. I passed one of the riders and pressed on towards the other rider who got up to another rider and they were doing a 2 man echelon. I could still see the main pack up ahead. Of course it's flat and no trees so you can see for miles.
I made the hard right turn onto 972 for the final 8 miles. As I made the turn it hit me. The wind gave me a nasty right cross. It hit me right on the chin, I was lucky not to go down. To let you know how bad it was, on one down hill section I had to get off the saddle to keep momentum, it was as if I was climbing up a hill. I was slowly closing the gap on the riders in front of me. As we were getting into the rollers I finally caught up to one of the two. He had popped off the back from his companion. Onward I pushed and caught up with the other rider #504. For the next 6 miles we worked together in a 2 man echelon. There was a point near the finish I lost him, but he was able to bridge up to me. We worked together till a bit after the 1K marker and then climbed the final hill to the finish as all bets were off. I finished in front of him. He thanked me for working with him and I thanked him. Without working together I still might be out on the course. It was not fun to be out in the stiff wind by yourself.
In the end my normalized power was 274 watts and 1191 kJ burned. I placed 36th finishing in front of a few others. Tomorrow is the Pure Austin Road Race my race starts at 8am.
I started the day by making apple cinnamon pancakes, a filling breakfast. I prepared 2 bottles of Heed along with espresso Hammer gel in the gel bots. I loaded up everything and headed out for the race around 9.
Since this was my first road race I've been asked a few times if I would be nervous. I would say I kept my nerves in check, I've been in plenty of big game situations so I was able to stay calm and approach it as any other ride.
I warmed up a bit riding up and down 1101, there were several people on their trainers. Next race I think I need to warm up better as when the race finally kicked off it took me about 6 miles to get into it. The Cat 4/5 field was packed. We rolled out, I was in the middle of the start. My goal was to stay as close to the front as possible. For the first 6 miles I averaged 24 miles per hour. When we turned off 1101 we went into a blistering head wind. This strung the pack apart. Not only did we have the wind we were on chip seal and the larger of the hills were looming. I found myself in the back of pack. I could see the lead pack was breaking up into 2, but there was a big gap and it was growing.
My back pack brothers weren't working together and the hills were taking their toll on them. Since nobody was organized and I was essentially riding solo into the wind I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. I passed several people on the hills and cruised up the big hill. I should quantify the "Big Hill" statement, some of the cat 1/2/3 guys were giving some tips on the route to the guy parked next to me and they were calling it a big hill. It was a short hill maybe a 1/4 mile in length and probably a 10% grade at best at it's steepest. I was able to stay seated on it all 3 times up it. Anyway, when I crested the hill I was all by myself, I did contemplate waiting for someone so I would have someone to go into the wind with, but I saw a few people in the distance so I pressed on. As I would catch up to someone I would draft off of them for a bit to catch my breath a bit and then I would go on. I would like to especially thank #140, he and I rode together for a bit each taking turns in the lead. But for whatever reason he slowed so I was alone again. The worst part was the head wind leading up to the airport, I was pushing well over my 100% FTP max and only going 14 mph. Luckily I then caught up to an Aggieland rider to help cut through the wind. We were making progress on closing the gap to the group ahead. Not sure what happened with him as we got back to the beginning to end lap 1 I think he pulled off.
The group was in close range now. I finally caught them a few miles into lap 2, they were working together quite well. I slipped into the echelon. What a difference working together in a group is. The size of the group was 8 people for the most part. We would overtake some riders and they were welcomed to the pack. The largest we ever got was about 12 riders, but someone would cramp up or drop off the back on the hills. The one drawback to the group was we weren't going that fast, at least not fast enough to catch the leaders. However I couldn't do it alone and quite frankly at this point there was probably no real shot at catching them anyway.
Into the final stretch the group was down to 8 people and with the finish line on everyone's mind the pace finally picked up. I made sure I was in position for the final sprint when it materielized. With about 300m to the finish one guy broke away and I was right on his wheel. There was a groan and some exhales of frustration as we caught everyone in the group by surprise and they had no answer. It was just me and him and I was right on his wheel. As we got to the 200m marker I was right on his wheel. At the 100m point I started shifting and made my sprint. As I crossed the finish line I had at least 2 bike lengths on him and the rest of our group was still back there.
There you have my first road race, I'm glad to have it out of the way. Up next is Walburg Classic and then Pure Austin Road Race. I'll be riding straight up Cat 5 in both of these. They are a Saturday & Sunday but only 25 miles each so hopefully I'll be good.
I pulled the trigger today for the January 17, 2009 Copperas Cove Road Race. When I found the race I didn't want to delay as there were a few races last year I waited to sign up and the cat 5 field filled up. Not this time, I was the first to sign up!
This means I have a little over a month to get ready for the 54 mile race. This will be my first bonifide, sanctioned road race. You might recall my Driveway Crit, but this is my first road race. Another first will be my first time going to Copperas Cove, TX. According to google maps Copperas Cove is about 51 miles from my house. I've heard good things about the riding around Copperas Cove.
If time permits over Christmas I might make a recon trip up to Copperas Cove and preride the course. This also means I'll drop the cash for a full USA Cycling license at some point.
Earlier today there was a big announcement on Twitter:
Yes you read that correctly, I have joined Team Fat Cyclist and will be riding in the 2009 LiveStrong Challenge here in Austin, TX (Oct 23-25)! I'm really excited about this as Fatty has some great prizes lined up plus I'm looking forward to the 90 mile route.
Lets kick it off right here and now. Here's my Livestrong page ready for contributions: http://austin09.livestrong.org/weiland. As of right now I have raised zero dollars, I don't like the goose egg staring me in the face, of course I could donate to my own cause, but where's the fun in that. The first blog reader to contribute to my LiveStrong fund will receive a Deluxe membership to the CertificateCreator.com.
Photo courtesy of 
Photo courtesy of 
