A Challenging Start

 Today we had the Spring season Kick-Off meeting up in Foster City. Why Foster City? I was wondering the same thing on the long drive up there. I was dutifully following the Yahoo! maps directions to the hotel, but the "Metro Center Drive" exit never appeared. Instead, as the fog parted, I could see the steep rise of the San Mateo bridge and realized that I was on my way to Hayward. There was no turning back! I could have gone to visit my parents over there, but instead I turned around as soon as I could and sped back over the bridge (after wasting $4 on toll).

Once I arrived, 15 minutes late and breathless, I stepped into the hotel and was immediately relaxed by the kind friendly faces of TNT volunteers. They took pity on me, led me to get my packet and beautiful TNT cycling jersey, and led me to my Mentor, Jamie. I even ran across my old team manager, Sherri, who got me started in TNT back in 2001! What a joy to see her again. Everything started looking up.

The program was excellent. One of the honorees, Carol, spoke about the challenges she is facing (her cancer is going active now) and the friends she's made and the friends she's lost in the course of the disease. I think everyone was choked up by her talk, and motivated to get out there to train, raise funds, and fight these diseases.

I joined some of the Cycle team at lunch afterward, and got to know several of the mentors and captains. They seemed like great people, as TNT people always are.

Now, it's time to rock 'n roll! Time to get going on training, and fundraising. I plan to join the YMCA so I have access to Spinning classes. And, I'll work on my fundraising letter and target list. But you can "cut to the chase" and click on the link at the right side of this page to sponsor me now! :-)

The FredCast--How to Prepare for Your First Century

Coincidental with me signing up for my first Century bike ride, my favorite cycling podcast has this great series on preparing for such an event:

• The FredCast Show #48 - How to Prepare for Your First Century Pt. 1
• The FredCast Show #49 - How to Prepare for Your First Century Pt. 2

I found comfort that much of the advice for preparing for a Century is equivalent to what I know from preparing for a marathon: hydrate, don't try anything new, get lots of rest, etc.

You can subscribe to this audio program on your iPod or other mp3 player, or listen. to it on your PC.

First Post

Happy New Year! Welcome to my TNT Cycle team blog (with apologies to New Riders of the Purple Sage).

Besides running a marathon, which I accomplished with the help of Team in Training (TNT), another of my lifelong goals is to ride a bicycle Century (100 miles in one day). What better way to do it than with TNT?

Last week I signed up for the TNT Spring Cycle team, to train for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMBBR) in June. We kick off the season at the end of January and start training in earnest in February.

I'm excited but also a little nervous. Where will I find all the time to train? How will I learn to ride in the cold, wind, and rain? Will I find indoor cycling for training when it's dark? TNT taught be to run in all these conditions, so I have faith that I'll become more than a "fair-weather biker", as well. Hang on for the ride!

John