Thirteen years and counting.....join us as we share our journey toward a cure for type 1 diabetes!

Monday, May 31, 2010

Mmmmm, that omelet was good

And so was the company. No better way to start a Saturday morning than 42 miles and an omelet stop with friends. Thanks Bob K, Kate E, Dennis, and Danny for a good time! The picture we took didn't turn out so well, but the ride sure did.

That makes 122 road miles for me last week. So happy to be finding my bike legs again! Happy riding, everyone......

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Memorial Day and Other Stuff

I'm looking forward to a lot of riding over the Memorial Day Weekend. Call (908-9452) or email if you'd like to try to connect for a ride. I usually do longer distances on Saturday mornings.

Also, I have a few old issues of Bicycling Magazine. Bicycling is full of great info ranging from eating to training. I'm more than happy to share these with anyone who wants them.

Ride often and safely.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

My A$$!!

Note to self: never ever under any circumstances ride without bike shorts.

Lisa (see previous post) invited me out an impromptu ride this afternoon.  I foolishly didn't wash my shorts Saturday after the ride because I quickly got distracted by other things; plus, I didn't think I would need the shorts again until Tuesday.  Yes, I only have one pair.  Even though I quickly washed them this morning, they weren't even close to dry for my ride with Lisa.  I wore regular work out pants --- a.k.a. the huge riding mistake.

We had a blast!!! It was WAAYY more country riding than I've ever experienced! Super fun!  Can't wait to get out there again Tuesday :)  Let's see if I can conquer those hills!!

girl power


Heather and I sneaked out for a gorgeous ride this afternoon. It was too beautiful not to be on the bike! Congrats to Heather on another personal best, 24 miles (her longest distance yet). We girls are knocking out our goals!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Great ride everyone!



I posted this on the JDRF Facebook page, so thought I'd save time and post it here as well:

The Indiana Cure Chasers had a very nice 30 mile training ride, 13 riders (if my counting was correct). Cloudy skies, but not rain, re-routed because of a marathon, dealt with some stupid drivers and some very nice ones, saw a few dogs, some barns, pigs & cows, a few too many potholes and dealt with Indiana's version ...of hills, THE WIND! All in all a great Saturday morning.

Oh yeah and here are some photos - the group shot is now our team photo.

Friday, May 21, 2010

I've been bitten

Yes, that's correct: I'm officially a cycling gal.  Okay, not every ride has been easy and I even turned around once, but I LOVE a challenge (and none of you are getting rid of me THAT easily! HAHAHAH).

It doesn't hurt that Coach Alex called me the star blogger either!  As many of you are probably realizing as you get to know me better, I kind of like the spotlight :)

Two months in to this, I'm already thinking I underestimated myself and I should have bought a better bike.  The one I have is a good bike, of course, but I erred on the side of caution (and because of my husband's disapproving looks for a $900 bike) and got the lesser one.  I'm already thinking I need a new one.  EEK!  I might have to wait until next year since I came home with a new Mac yesterday without talking to him first.  I am not a horrible shopaholic.  I am not a horrible shopaholic. 


I still have a long way to go, a lot to learn (namely how to switch gears; I did get a FABULOUS lesson last week, but I think I need to work on it more regularly to get any good), but I'm just really glad I joined a stellar group of people who are helping me along the way!

just because

I wanted to take a minute for a public thank you to Coach Alex. It's a great thing to have someone like Alex around. We have a coach who goes the extra mile in making sure everyone's needs are met, whether beginner or veteran. That can't be easy to achieve, and I for one am grateful for her efforts! Kudos to you, fearless leader. And thanks for all you do for us.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Good Wind...

We had a great ride last night with Ted (he finally made it to a training ride after 2 years), Heather (our star blogger), Tony and Kevin G.  The traffic was a bit heavy, both in the car on the way there and on the bike on the way out.  I think we will start our weekday rides from a slightly different location in the future.  Just before we headed out the clouds parted and the sun was shining, making us all a bit warm.  The storm clouds seemed to be gathering on the way back and it got a bit cool, but no rain. For once the wind gods were smiling on us and we had a tail wind on the way back - YAHOO!  Of course you know that will never happen again this year OR maybe it was because Gary wasn't there - only time will tell.  See you all on Saturday - we will be tackling Florida Hill.

Thursday Nebo Ridge - Deep Thoughts

I thought I'd share some thoughts on Thursday's rainy ride.
1. Surprisingly there were about 30 hardy folks present and correct for the evening jaunt.
2. Splitting the ride into two groups correlates to getting dropped earlier in the ride.
3. Glasses do nothing to help seeing in the rain.
4. The rooster tails coming up off the riders in front of you is worse than the precipitation coming from the sky.
5. Indiana road grit has a unique flavor to my palate than say Vermont road grit.
6. The rain stopped at mile 18.
7. Wool base layers are priceless as is the rain shell I picked up after last years Ride to Cure.
8. I usually feel content walking around in my cycling gear. But yesterday evening I felt embarrassment like having a full diaper.
9. I hope my shoes dry out by Saturday.

Good ride, good progress!

This week's ride went WAY better than last :)  I'm eager to see how I'll do trying to tackle those hills again on Tuesday! EEK!

I just spoke with my Avon Lenny's and they agreed to do a fundraiser too!! We set it up for July -- I'll send out the flier when we get closer to the time.

Happy Thursday :)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Pizza Hut Fundraiser

My local Pizza Hut has agreed to host a fundraiser so I can raise money for the ride!!!  So, if you live near Brownsburg (or don't mind driving a little bit) come out on Tuesday, May 25th!! Bring the flier (I'll have to e-mail it to you if you're interested; heather.chastain@gmail.com) and eat anytime that day! It doesn't matter if it's dine-in/carry out or delivery!

Lenny's also agreed to do something for me, but the manager and I keep missing each other ... more to come on that :)

My mom, husband and I are going to Chili's tomorrow for dinner to help raise money for the organization.
Eating for a good cause is ALWAYS a good idea :)

Monday, May 17, 2010

I've had a really good Monday!

Normally, rainy days and Mondays always get me down :) but today has been a phenomenal day!  It was so good, I even went out and bought 3 lottery tickets!!

--I was able to use my fly girl charm to convince Sprint to give me a replacement blackberry for free, despite the fact I'm beyond warranty and don't have insurance on it.  WOOT WOOT!

--Then I found out I came into some money I wasn't expecting! HOLLA!!

--A friend shared a job opportunity a friend of hers sent out to only a few people in an e-mail and immediately hit me up! YESSS!!!

--AND my doctor finally diagnosed what was wrong with me! (Save the sarcastic jokes LOL)  Nothing serious, but frustrating and now it's over!!!  WHEW!

I'm sending good karma out to all of you for the rest of the week!!! See you all Wednesday!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Morse Lake Metric

Jeff, Sam, Dan, & Kevin S. (not pictured) joined me today for the Morse Lake Metric.  The rain held off and it wasn't too cold (over 60 degrees).  As usually it was windy in parts, but we managed and it seemed a lot better than previous years.  They also had great cookies and wonderful singing.  We did 35 miles, although Jeff was heading out to do another 15 miles and Kevin took the long way home so probably did 40-45 miles.  Great ride!

Alex

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Sat May 15

If the weather cooperates, I'll be riding from home on Sat morning. Usually leave around 8 a.m. Ride direction depends upon the wind but I'll shoot for 40 or so miles. There will be a breakfast stop anything from McDonalds to The Bread Ladies (Greenfield) to Noblesville Coffee Company. Let me know if you are interested.
Bob

Great Hilly Ride!

We had our first hilly training ride on the south side on Tuesday night. The early forecast was predicting rain, but we had nearly perfect weather. Those who ride a lot with me would have recognized my friend, the wind, was along for the ride, so it wasn't quite perfect -- we had a decent head wind most of the way out.

Kate, Heather, Tony, Ted and I set out as a group and enjoyed the rural, rolling countryside of Mann Road. There was a bit of car traffic at the start, but it thinned out as usual as we made our way south. They have recently repaved parts of the route, which was really nice.

Heather turned back at the big hill (see her post below) and the rest of us continued on to our usual destination... the county library in Brooklyn. The ride back in was pretty uneventful, with the wind at our backs most of the way.

Great job everyone!

I look forward to seeing some of you at the Thursday night Nebo Ridge ride -- hopefully the weather will cooperate then too!

Pedal on..

Gary

Weekly Ride Update

Refer to Upcoming Ride section & Training Schedule (lefthand side)

Weekday Rides have started:
Neboridge Thursday, 6pm (full team participation 1st Thursday of the month)
Southwestway Park Tuesday, 6pm (every other Tuesday, great hill workout)
79th (Fox Rd) & Oaklandon Wednesday, 6pm (one Wednesday a month)
Eagle Creek Wednesday, 6pm (one Wednesday a month)

Weekend Rides:
This weekend's ride is Sunday, May 16th.  We will participate in the Morse Lake Metric (http://www.morselakemetric.com/).  We will head out on our bikes at 8:30am.  Routes of 15, 35 and 62 miles are available.

We will NOT have a ride on Saturday, May 29th, instead it will be on Saturday, May 22nd. Details will follow next week.  Those who missed the Orientation session can attend a make-up session following this ride.

Call me with any questions.
Coach Alex

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

I learned 2 valuable lessons tonight!

Riding against the wind and through the hills on the southwest side was brutal.  BRUTAL.  My legs were still a little sore from the Mini on Saturday and I did kickboxing this morning (clearly not smart) .... so I nearly died out there tonight :(

A HUGE SHOUT OUT to Dan!! Thank you so much for showing me how to switch gears!!! Until tonight I had never successfully changed my gears.  The last time I tried, I derailed the chain.  Whoops.  Not good.  Dan was really patient tonight and showed me how to adjust the gears according to the ride.  Awesome!!!

Gary, thanks for coming back to check on me :)  That was the second valuable lesson: keep some people's numbers in my cell phone!!!  I was calling my husband to get Gary's number from the list at home when Gary showed back up to make sure I was okay.  While I was waiting for Gary's number from the hubs, a very sweet man came over and asked me if I was broken down.  Only physically, I told him :)

Oh well ... I learned a lot and I'll be out there on Sunday!!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Check out these hot wheels

In the heat of summer, there is nothing more appropriate than riding around on a stylish bike! While I'm just getting into cycling, I can still appreciate a gorgeous bike…especially if Gucci’s Cruiser Bicycle is involved!


Ohh la la ... I think I'm in love!! My husband will laugh at me when he sees it ... but I have to say, I think I'd look pretty good on this bike :)

Alright all you Cannondale riders, stop rolling your eyes! HAHHAHA


Ladies, back me up ... this is one hot ride!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Oh, thank goodness.....

The mini marathon is over. That means less time running and more time on the BIKE, which is ever so much more fun. =) Who's going to ride with me? Can't wait to see you all out there soon......

Friday, May 7, 2010

Great Nebo Ridge Ride on Thursday!

We had a GREAT Nebo Ridge ride on Thursday. The weather was perfect... clear, comfortable temps, little wind.

And... it was awesome to see so many JDRF riders there! Michael, Kevin S, Tony, Lisa, Todd, Amy, Danny, and Heather... great job everyone! Training season has begun!

Pedal on...

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Upcoming Rides

Biking season is kicking into fully gear and with the month of May we will start weekly weekday rides and biweekly weekend rides as a group.  These are designated in yellow on the training schedule and the Upcoming Rides section shows the next 2-4 rides.  NOTE:  Start times are when we will leave on our bikes, so please arrive earlier than that.

This Thursday (May 6th) we will start our monthly assault on the Neboridge ride.  Neboridge is located at 106th & Michigan and is one of our partner bike shops.  They host a CIBA ride every Thursday that is open to everyone.  There are 4 groups so you will find one that fits your needs.  Distances are 17-26 miles.  You are welcome to attend these rides every Thursday and many of the JDRF riders do.  The first Thursday of each month we will try to attend in mass, starting this Thursday.  If you have a JDRF jersey please wear it to this ride.  The ride starts at 6pm.

The following Tuesday (May 11th) we will start our biweekly hill ride on the southside.  We leave from Southwestway Park (off Mann Rd, west side) at 6pm for a 20 mile ride that has some great hills.

Our next organized weekend ride will be Sunday, May 16th and we will take advantage of an existing ride - the Morse Lake Metric, http://www.morselakemetric.com/

See you on the road.
Coach Alex

Indiana Cure Chasers 2010

Indiana Cure Chasers 2010
Death Valley October 2010

For more information about JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes...

Contact the Indianapolis office at 317-469-9604

Go to Indiana Cure Chasers website OR JDRF website.