MS Bike Tour 2007 - Cokering for Charity

[tomblackwood]

Dear Fellow Unicyclists,

On September 8th and 9th, I’ll be riding in the National MS Society's
annual "MS Bike Tour", a two-day ride to raise funds for the MS
Society’s research and local programs. This will be my third year
riding, and like the last two years, it looks like I'll again be the
sole unicyclist in the Washington ride. The first year I did the ride
mainly for selfish reasons...get in better shape, get deeper into
distance unicycling, have a fun weekend. I didn't have a personal
connection with MS. But through my involvement in the event the past
two years, I've met more and more people afflicted with MS, and have
seen first-hand its devastating effects. I've also met more and more
people that have been helped by the programs run by the MS Society, and
have seen first-hand the positive impact the Society's work can have on
MS victims and their families.

The more I’ve been exposed to people with MS, the more passionate I’ve
become about doing this ride. MS is a chronic disease of the central
nervous system affecting the brain and spinal cord. It is also an
unpredictable disease that can attack anyone in the prime of life. One
day you’re on top of your game, and the next you're hit with the
diagnosis of a debilitating, incurable disease. I feel blessed to be in
relatively good shape for my age, and hope my ride can help those less
fortunate.

In past years, I was hesitant to send out anything that could be seen
as “spam”, but these fora and many members remain important elements of
my riding life, so I wanted to share this and at least give those that
want to—and are able to—the opportunity to join me in supporting the
National MS Society's mission.

Sponsoring my ride is easy to do and every dollar helps. One way is to
just click the “sponsor me” link below and make a secure online
e-pledge. If you’re averse to online transactions but still want to
help, just PM me and let me know how much you’d like to pledge. I’ll
add it to my total then send you a note in September when it’s time to
write the check. Last year, thanks to the generosity of friends,
family, fellow unicyclists, co-workers, and a match from my employer, I
was able to raise over $5,000 on my ride—the 16th highest fundraiser
out of close to 1,000 bicycle riders. The pro-unicyclist community
came through, and I hope some of you will consider helping me again
this year with a donation to my ride.

The training is going well so far, although I'm a bit behind where I
was last year at this time. I've logged about 350 miles, and will log
another 150 at least before the event. One key learning from last
year's event is to focus more training time on hills, so I've mixing it
up between intervals climbing on my 29-er, and longer rides on the
36-er with 130 cranks. I received some advice to learn to climb
everything on the short cranks, so I've been trying to gradually
ratchet up the hills, while also working on the overall efficiency of
my spinning. Hopefully between the extra climbing, a focused August,
and the energy and contributions of my supporters, I'll get through the
two days in fine shape.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE TO ANYONE THAT CAN HELP! Together we can make a
difference…

Tom B

To sponsor me, 'click here' (http://tinyurl.com/2tow6t), then click the
"Donate to Thomas" button.

To learn more about this year’s MS 150 Bike Tour or to get involved,
'click here' (http://tinyurl.com/ypkg8k).


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[aspenmike]

Go for it Tom. Keep up the training, especially the mountains and
focused spinning for hours. You will get er done, I have confidence
this will be a successful tour for you!! Keep spinnin and grinnin:D


--
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[mscalisi]

Good luck Tom! 150 miles in two days is very impressive, as is raising
$5k for a good cause. I bet you'll be the top unicyclist.


--
mscalisi

><> Unicycle for (reducing the) Buddha <><
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[tomblackwood]

mscalisi wrote:
> 150 miles in two days is very impressive, as is raising $5k for a good
> cause. -I bet you'll be the top unicyclist-.


Yes, in a field of one, my chances are a bit better than they were at
Tahoe. :D

They've changed the positioning (and routing) of the event to make it a
bit more accessible to non-competitive riders. It's now the MS Bike
Tour, dropping the "150". At least in Washington, they've also added
more mileage options. The first day, you can do a 100, 75, 50, or 25.
The second day, a 75, 50, or 25. So it's now possible to do the MS 175,
or the MS 50. I will end up doing either the MS 100, or the MS 125,
which is what I did last year. I won't do 75 on Day 1, 'cause then I'd
have to miss the big group start, which is my chance to lead the field,
even if only for the first 75 yards. I can't complete 75 in the
"official" time they have the course open, so to do it last year I was
out on the course an hour and a half early.


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[bungeejoe]

If you will let me know what you will want and where you will like to
have us be, I will try to add a food and drink stop for you on Saturday
afternoon or evening or on Sunday late afternoon or evening. I had
hoped to ride some of it with you. But I am set to do the Ride 542 -
Mount Baker Hill climb on Sunday morning. Willing to help out as
needed. Just ask.

Keep a watch out for the afternoon winds on the Skagit flats. When
that wind starts blowing it can really suck the energy out of you.

Joe


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[tomblackwood]

bungeejoe wrote:
> Keep a watch out for the afternoon winds on the Skagit flats. When that
> wind starts blowing it can really suck the energy out of you.


Hey Joe,

You ain't kidding about those winds. Two years ago they were just
brutal. Felt like a 20 mile climb to finish the day. Last year, they
were a bit more side-wind than head-wind, and I got through it a little
bit easier.

Thanks for the offer of refreshments! I tend to carry lots of stuff,
then supplement with whatever they happen to have at the regular rest
stops. If you guys are out on the course, I'd love to stop and meet
you. I'd also invite you to come by the Rider Village in La Conner on
Saturday evening, 6pm-ish. There is an excellent and moving program
that talks about MS and the hope and good work that the MS Society
generates. If you can make it and would like to connect, PM me and
I'll send you my cell number. I'll be at the Team MSFT tent after the
ride both days.

Good luck with the Hill Climb. Are you doing it on a uni?


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[tomblackwood]

I wanted to provide a quick late-summer update on my progress toward the
MS Bike Tour that I first highlighted at the top of this thread. Since
I began training in May for the National MS Society's two-day
fundraising ride, I’ve logged over 500 training miles on my 36-er, and
have raised over $2,000 in donations for the ride. That’s a lot of
pedaling, and some big generosity from the many people that are
supporting my ride and the MS Society’s great work. But there is more
ground to cover and more funds to raise before the ride starts on
September 8th.

From a training perspective, I’ll be putting in another 100+ miles by
the end of Labor Day weekend. From a fundraising perspective, I’m now
70% of the way toward meeting my goal of $3,000 for the ride. I’m
confident I can meet and exceed both targets, although it will require
focus and help.

For you RSU regulars that have already contributed to my ride, thank
you very much! Rest assured I'll work hard to earn your hard-earned
money for the MS Society. For those that haven’t, I hope you’ll
consider joining me in supporting the National MS Society's mission.
Your generous support can help end the devastating effects of MS,
sooner rather than later. I know with the growth of the forum
membership, we're starting to see more of these requests. To me that's
a good thing, even if it dilutes the potential donors for any given
charity. The net donations to charities in general will increase,
which is good. But right now, I'm just focused on obtaining support for
my particular charity of choice, the MS Socieity. Donating is easy to
do and every dollar helps! Many of you generously sponsored me last
year, and together we contributed over $5,000 to the National MS
Society. If you can help this year, we’ll get there again.

You can support my ride by clicking the “sponsor me” link in my first
post above, and making a secure online e-pledge. It's easy to do. If
you’re averse to online transactions, you can help by simply sending me
PM and letting me know how much you’d like to pledge. I’ll add it to
my total then send you a note with details on where to send the check.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Together we can make a
difference in fighting MS…

Tom B


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[saskatchewanian]

I am also participating in a MS bike tour at Waskesiu Saskatchewan on
September 15th. This will be my first MS tour and also my first time
where I will be riding my unicycle with more than one biker. The
Waskesiu ride is only one day but should be a challenging at 91km
(especially since I have never rode more than 60km at a time before)

I think this is a great opportunity to do something to help people and
at the same time do an awesome ride with other people.

100 or 125 miles in two days is an impressive feat and I wish you the
best of luck!

Eric


--
saskatchewanian

Unicycling is a thorough activity, it's Gestalt, any amount of
completion is an accomplishment, fulfillment. - BluntRM
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[tomblackwood]

saskatchewanian wrote:
> I am also participating in a MS bike tour at Waskesiu Saskatchewan on
> September 15th. This will be my first MS tour and also my first time
> where I will be riding my unicycle with more than one biker.
> I think this is a great opportunity to do something to help people and
> at the same time do an awesome ride with other people.
>


Eric, congrats on your commitment, both to the MS cause, and to your
distance event. You may find it a challenge to stay connected with the
bikers through the ride, but hopefully that will work out. For my ride
next weekend, I've connected with a biker who claims to be "unicycle
slow", so hopefully I'll have a riding partner for the first time in
three years.

Which reminds me, one week left until the big day. Training-wise, I'm
close to as ready as I'm going to get. I plan on a 30-miler tomorrow,
then a 40 mile espresso ride with john_childs on Sunday. After that,
maybe a Wednesday fine-tuning ride and that's it. For anyone still
open to supporting the great work of the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society, please consider sponsoring my ride by 'clicking here'
(http://tinyurl.com/2nnmw8), then clicking the "Donate to Thomas"
button.

Any support from the unicyclist community is GREATLY appreciated.


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[Unirene]

Good luck this weekend Tom! I'll be thinking about you riding around
beautiful Washington.

--Irene


--
Unirene
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[tomblackwood]

Unirene wrote:
> Good luck this weekend Tom! I'll be thinking about you riding around
> beautiful Washington.



Thanks Irene! I may have to wear my Unirene Pro Rider tee shirt for
good luck. :) It looks like the weather may cooperate, which is good.
I didn't get a lot of training in the rain in this summer.

Which reminds me, -it's time!- A half-day of work tomorrow, then I'll
be driving up to La Conner for the opening reception and pasta feed.
Training-wise, I feel ready. I've put in about 650 miles in prep, legs
are feeling good, the Hunter 36 (still minus brake) is feeling good,
and the fundraising is feeling, well, there's always room for a little
more. :)

Thank you to the numerous unicyclists--some whom I've never met--that
have contributed to my ride. FOR ANYONE STILL OPEN TO SUPPORTING the
great work of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, please consider
sponsoring my ride by clicking 'HERE' (http://tinyurl.com/2tow6t), then
clicking the "Donate to Thomas" button. We're down to the wire!

Any support from the unicyclist community is GREATLY appreciated. I'll
post a write-up with my final totals next week once the ride is
complete.

Thanks!!!

Tom B


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[tomblackwood]

Shamelessly bumping on way out of town...


--
tomblackwood

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[harper]

tomblackwood wrote:
> Shamelessly bumping on way out of town...



No shame there. This is a great cause and there is still time to
support Tom. Riding with Tom these last few years has been
inspirational. Those in our group got to watch him rise from a new and
inexperienced rider into a distance dynamo. I spend a lot of my time
watching Tom's back move further away from me as we ride.


--
harper

-Greg Harper

*jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*
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[unisk8r]

Can't wait for your annual write-up. :)


--
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[tomblackwood]

unisk8r wrote:
> Can't wait for your annual write-up. :)


I'm sorry that you had to wait...this is a seriously delayed recap. I
finished the ride last Sunday, but had to catch a flight to Amsterdam
the next morning. Just now plugging back in.

Anyway, this year’s MS Bike Tour was fantastic. I look forward to this
event every year, and prepping for it drives a big part of my summer
riding. This was my third year doing the ride, and it was the best
year yet in many ways. The weather was perfect, and the turnout was big
with close to 2,000 riders. As in past years, I was the only unicyclist
in the event.

Unlike the past years, this year was a very low-stress event for me. I
was not plagued by insomnia, or by any nagging thoughts that I wouldn't
be able to make the hills or complete the course in time. I made the
decision in advance--which I promised myself would not be subject to
'last minute revisions' (http://tinyurl.com/23w2j4) like last
year--that I was going to do the 50 mile route both days. I knew the
course both days, knew the hills and had trained for them, and knew
from my ride around Lake Tahoe in June that short of a major fall and
injury en route, there was nothing that would keep me from finishing
the back-to-back 50s. It makes a difference going into an event like
this with that level of knowledge, prep, and confidence. I've learned
that from many on this forum, and most recently from Steveyo and his
Whiteface successes.

I should step back briefly to say that I was also involved in the "Team
MSFT Tent Design Committee", and it turned out my sole duties as a
committee member were packing a stepladder, cooler, 10 bags of ice, and
a whole lot of beer, along with my uni and gear. Since my son Miles now
has a N-36, I had the luxury of also bringing along an entire back-up
uni in case anything went wrong. Now that's piece of mind.

The Durango...two cokers, a ladder, and a whole lot of beer and ice
22376
So the Day 1 ride is an interesting mix...mostly flat for the first 20
miles, then some big ups and downs for the final 30. I made two big
changes to my setup this year, and this was really the big test. First,
I swapped my GB4 36 frame for a Hunter 36 frame. Goal here was to
eliminate the thigh strikes I was getting from the GB4 squared crown,
and this was achieved. The only time I get any frame contact now is
climbing with 170 cranks, and even then it isn’t significant. The
second change was to get rid of my Magura brake. This was initially
done out of sloth…when I swapped frames, I just never got around to
putting it back on. But as the event got closer, I made a conscious
decision to leave it off, and instead leverage the flexibility of my
tri-tapped Kooka cranks, and just switch to 170s for the big, steep
downhills. Results were great. I’ve never been super-comfortable using
the brake, especially on steeps, and this year gave me direct ability
to compare the brake vs. no brake strategy. Saturday, I made it down
two different steeps with my 170s that I haven’t been able to make it
down in years past with the brake. In fact, on all previous attempts,
it had been mis-management of the brake which ultimately caused me to
fall. I feel like I could go down almost anything with the 170s, so I
may be selling that Magura soon. Now all I need is a decent saddle, and
my setup is ready for Uninam next March.

Day 1, Rest Stop 2...down at sea level just before the big climbs
begin
22377
The Day 2 route, on paper, is much flatter than Day 1. But this year,
the route had a secret weapon to create artificial hills: a killer
headwind. I’m not sure how strong it was, but I’m guessing it varied
between 15-20 mph. During the first 30 miles, amazingly, it came at
one time or another from 3 of the 4 sides of the compass. During one
section--a 5-mile flat straightaway, several bike riders were actually
standing up to pedal, as if they were climbing a big hill. That was the
worst section, and it was just exhausting. Fortunately, at the end of
that straightaway came an espresso stand.

"The Beacon", offering convenient drive-up service, a ray of hope,
shining against the darkness of perpetual headwind.
22374

Now, after coming off some pretty major espresso distance training with
john_childs, I knew my best chance of success would be to take a quick
break and re-fuel with a double espresso. Take a look at the picture
below, and specifically at the flag across the street. I didn't have to
wait for the right moment...it was just pinned horizontal like that.
Just once, I made the mistake--in desperation--of thinking that a
couple of cyclists would offer a bit of a wind break. I worked hard to
catch up to one couple that was making slow progress, just to find
there was -nothing- there for shelter. Ugh.

22375

By afternoon, it became more predictable although no less strong, and
fortunately turned to a tailwind for the last 8 miles of the ride,
where the route doubled back down the straighaway that led to The
Beacon. Of course, this was an opportunity to stop again, a fresh
double espresso providing another ray of hope for the final miles of
the ride.

Highlights


- Great weather
- Conditioning-: the back-to-back 50s felt great, and I crossed the
line both days with legs to spare.
- The Climbs: on all the big hills I passed bikers, no bikers passed
me. That is, until the very last one on Day 2, when one of my
co-workers and her husband passed me on a tandem. The shame! Decided
I better pledge $50 to her ride in penance.
- My new setup – frame and brake changes worked out great.
- Meeting the "Guy I Tired to Catch" from paragraph 7 of 'this post'
(http://tinyurl.com/23w2j4) from last year's ride. As it turns out,
that particular event became a story for both of us. I've told it
several times from the aspect of "ride management", and how quickly I
hit the wall once I stepped up the pace to try to catch him. Turns
out he's told it too...about how all friggin' day long this damn
unicyclist kept passing him on the hills, and just how annoying that
was. Then, with just a few miles to go, he sees me chuggin' up
behind in his rear view mirror. He swears "there is no way this
ba$t*rd is finishing ahead of me", and picks up his pace. It was
funny, swapping stories it turned out we each had the same experience
with ride management...as soon as he turned it on, he hit the wall
too, but since he already had the lead in front of me, managed to
make it over before I could catch him. Small world to finally meet
the guy...
- Fundraising for a great cause: My individual total is over $4,000,
and I believe I’ll end up over $5,000. Team Microsoft just passed
$100K, and the event overall should raise $1.4 million by the time
all pledges are in next month. The power of pedaling...
- Great support from unicycling community...financial support, help
and guidance on training, nutrition, setup; companionship on training
rides. All good.




Lowlights: not a single thing...even the damn headwind led to an
espresso stop. Nothing to complain about.

So a VERY BIG THANK YOU to all of you that supported my ride, either
through direct financial contributions, or through advice, help, and
encouragement. Your help brings us closer to a cure!

For more photos, check out my smugmug gallery 'here.'
(http://www.hayope.smugmug.com/gallery/3492436#196821223). It's worth
the trip...you will see a male cyclist doing the ride as Dorothy in
Wizard of Oz. Just to get his pledge count up...and he did a century
too in that little frock.

PS: If you're so inspired, it's not to late to 'click here'
(http://tinyurl.com/2tow6t) and make a contribution!


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[steveyo]

Great write-up Tom, and great pics, too. I like that one of "Dorothy" -
Judy Garland wishes she had legs like that! Mentioning my Whiteface
travails is an honor for me. I only wish I could approach your own
one-wheeling triumphs.

I'll be using your rides as inspiration on Sept. 23, when I attempt my
first 50 miler - the 'Tour de Habitat'
(http://www.evansale.com/tour_de_habitat_2007.html), here in Albany.


--
steveyo

steveyo
...like having your own personal rollercoaster...

- a few 'uni race write-ups'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/uni_race_writeups/)
- muni and kokopelli uni 't-shirts, mugs and stickers'
(http://www.cafepress.com/steveyo)
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[UniBrier]

Great job Tom.

At last Wednesday's luncheon a business associate of mine said she saw
a unicycle on the MS ride. I was proud to say I knew him.


--
UniBrier

Steve

Hop Drop & Roll

“If something is to hard to do, then it's not worth doing. You just
stick that guitar in the closet next to your
shortwave radio, your karate outfit and your unicycle and we'll go
inside and watch TV.” – Homer
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[harper]

Fantastic ride for an even better cause. Hopefully your efforts and the
efforts of all the other riders will pay off and progress can be made
against this disease. Thanks for the write-up.


UniBrier wrote:
> Great job Tom.
>
> At last Wednesday's luncheon a business associate of mine said she saw
> a unicycle on the MS ride. I was proud to say I knew him.



This reminds me. A couple of weeks ago a family in a van pulled up next
to me asking questions and taking cell phone photos. The driver asked
me, "was that you who rode STP a couple of years ago?" What went
through my mind was, "no, that was Bruce Dawson." What came out of my
mouth, of course, was, "yes, it was."


--
harper

-Greg Harper

*jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*
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[nathan]

Tom! Congratulations! That's great.

One question: you really did it with 170s? What did you use at Tahoe?
Same? Whatever works is the right length, but wow, 170 is really long.
How short have you tried?

---Nathan


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nathan
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[tomblackwood]

nathan wrote:
> One question: you really did it with 170s? What did you use at Tahoe?
> Same? Whatever works is the right length, but wow, 170 is really long.
> How short have you tried?


Hi Nathan,

No way would I do the whole ride with 170s. Ouch! My Kookas go
130/150/170. Day 1, I did most miles on the 130 setting, and switched
to the 170s only for the biggest/longest climb (a few miles) and a
couple really steep downhill sections. Ratio in miles was probably 45/5
on 130s vs 150s. Day 2, I kept the 130s all day, although I -almost-
didn't make it up the steepest part of the one big climb.

Tahoe was a special situation, because I bonked so early and then had
major strength and energy issues. I spent way more miles on the 170s
that I would have liked (probably 35 of the 75), but it worked as a
survival technique. I could stay seated and just slowly chug along,
whereas with the shorter settings I would have had to expend more
energy standing or otherwise compensating for the shorter length and my
technique limitations. In the training since then, I tried to focus on
your advice to "learn to climb everything with the shorter cranks", and
for the most part it has been successful. I probably needed the 170s
on Day 1 more for the brakeless downhills than for the climbs. I made
the climbs last year on the 150 setting, although I definitely found it
easier this year on the 170s. Not sure how much of that was crank
length vs. conditioning.

To your other question, shortest I've tried is 120 or 125...whichever
Lars Lottrup had on his Coker when he lent it to me in Copenhagen.
Wasn't a great length for frequent mounting in crowds on cobblestone
streets, but it was a good introduction to short cranks.


--
tomblackwood

Tailgate at your own risk...
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[nathan]

That sounds good Tom. I've tried 130mm in the past and kind of liked it.
Lately I've been testing a pair of 140mm cranks which is interesting.
Sometimes I think it's the perfect compromise (fast like 125s but can
climb like 152s) and other times I think it's the worst compromise
(slow like 152s but can't climb steep like 125s). Anyway, sounds like
you had a great time training etc - just keep up your fitness and
Vietnam should be a blast.

---Nathan


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[Unirene]

Way to go Tom!

I'm happy to read that the ride was great. The weather looked
fantastic, and you looked really strong in your photos.

I'm looking forward to Uninam so that we can catch up a bit about what
is happening in Seattle!

--Irene


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Unirene
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