Ride IV Reason Blog

The 36 Hour Ride was successfully completed this past weekend at the new venue located in the former Lazarus Furniture/Steinmart store next to Sports Authority and Grants Audio in the Aurora Marketplace shopping complex at 75^th St and Route 59 in Aurora.   summary is as follows:   AHR 88, DST 463 miles, ARPM’s  82,  Tot CAL 10,473.  The ride was completed with 5 breaks taken which totaled 1 Hour, 20 minutes.  A total break balance of 98 minutes remained at the end of the ride. Total awake time  in conjunction with ongoing sleep dep training and this ride will be approximately 62 hours.  Once again, minimal walls were encountered and those that did appear were pushed thru in rather short order….a huge boost of confidence was gained when I finally was able to get thru the often dreaded hours of 3-5am with the dedicated help of LuAnn and Larissa ( who stayed over her scheduled shift)  in the pit and my pacer Leroy Keith directly to my front.   My Saturday morning pit crew was led by Bobby B (aka Rockwell) in the pit and pace  duties were anchored by Jim Johnston who stayed w/me for nearly 6 hours on the bike jamming w/me and leading other friends Janet A and Patti from X Sport , all of whom came to spin with us.  I once again enjoyed the presence of Boy Scout Troop 849 led by Emerson Grove, who led the boys in yet another phase of ther Personal Fitness Merit Badge training.   Troop 849 is indeed getting out in front w/regards to being involved during event week and I genuinely appreciate their support. 

Nutrition and timing of breaks continues to be optimized for ultimate efficiency of time and resources.  Special thanks to Mike Liskey and Matt Barron (PR) who came and shot some video and pics to be used in future promotion of Ride IV Reasons.  Great to have Aurora Fire Chief and local athletic icon, Hal Carlson training with me in the night!  Hal has some ideas for footware that I need to consider so as to minimize some aching i’m feeling on the big toe of my left foot, which is more a nuiscance at this juncture.  Walked off at the end of my ride for a brief stretch (thanks T!!)   followed by a crew’s breakfast at the Eggsperience Resturant in Naperville, who is a proud sponsor of the Ride IV Reasons campaign!  Special thanks to Amy who I had met at the Healthplex who came by in the early morning hours and did my blood pressure and temp checks, which had been requested by my doctor in conjunction with ongoing medical preps for the April event.   Also, finally caught up with Lauren B from the Healthplex who dropped by and engaged in some good chat….and was very pleased to have Joni drop in on Sat night at a time when i was heading into a bit of a wall, which she didn’t know, but which her presence was a huge factor in getting thru that particular situation.   I also enjoyed having Keith come by late Sat as he was the last person I chatted w/at the HP before i vacated the Healthplex earlier this week.  I had the pleasure of meeting his son as well at that time but it was good to see Keith come as i know so many others will in the future. 

I have to tell you that i was very inspired and so moved by the countless text messages, emails, cell calls and personal visits I got from so many of the friends I had met at the Healthplex over the last serveral months while training there.  So reassured by their actions and gestures the last couple days that they are indeed the great people and now friends I always thought they would be.  I cant name them all here cuz i’ll invariably forget someone, but they  know who they are and the list keeps growing as others from the HP now realize we’ve moved and so want to be a part of the April event and all that leads up to it.   

Special thanks to the many friends and supporters who showed up both from the Healthplex and other gyms that I’m associated with in the area, including X Sport of Naperville who is considering sponsorship of the April event. While bikes and other amenities were at a premium, all were able to enjoy time on the bikes and good fellowship with other members of the crew.  Many who made their way to the new home of Ride IV Reasons were impressed by the size of the venue and the endless possibilities for fundraising and activities during April event week, all of which will be necessary to continue my journey to 300 hours over 12 ½ days.  Special thanks to my good friend and trainer colleague Jim Ristow who facilitated the donation of an upgraded sound system for me to use next to my bike and yes, its certainly louder than my former $89 stereo system that seems to have reeked so much havoc at other venues     Dee Hakala and Mark found time to meet and coordinate event week activities.  All former commitments made at the HP  especially with outside organizations like the Scouts are now being reworked to facilitate their presence at the new venue.  Also wanna thank Marcia and Kathy L for their continued involvement in the events that I do….Marcia now supervises and schedules pit operations and Kathy L manages our timekeeping….

Also want to update all that my good friend Benjamin Fingerhut, who is a movie producer I met some 3 yrs ago and who filmed many hours w/me during events I , II and III.   Ben is producing the movie “Breaking and Entering” which he says will debut in Chicago perhaps prior to the April event.  This is a project which I was very involved in w/him and his crew so we look forward to the release of that film which I’m hearing is 98 minutes long.  Stay tuned for more….Its a night of rest now and my dog Chips is exhausted from his countless hours visiting w/me during my ride.  I’ll follow-up if necc tomm w/any other developments, but we’ll be looking ahead now to the 40 hour ride in about 2 weeks….detailed info to follow, but we need your support!  Thanks again folks, you made this ride a success and we’re getting close now….have a great week!  G