John's Journal...
4th July 2008.
SIX weeks to go to Start Date…. 42 days! I can’t really decide whether I am excited or scared over the prospect! I can tell you that every day as I try to cover the miles, I wonder how in the world I’m going to cover 1100 miles…I usually conclude that I’m better off not looking at the big picture, and instead just taking it one day at a time. I guess in reality that is all any of us can do as we confront our own particular Everest.
All in all it has been a good week, and very interesting to say the least. I only got in about 130 miles which included an encouraging 56+ mile ride on Thursday and an absolutely abysmal ride in the rain on Friday. I never know from one day to the next how I will do….Some days I feel strong and can accomplish a really good ride, and the next I struggle to even get a few miles in! The good days are elating and the bad ones are really depressing. So I am just thankful for the good ones and on the bad ones…Well JUST KEEP ON PEDALING! I plan to take a couple of days off, and start putting longer rides together back to back. It won’t be long before I need to be able to do 50-mile days for 5 days of the week!
On Tuesday, Josh Smith from WJHL (the local CBS station) came out and interviewed me. The spot ran on the 6 and 11 o’clock news. (The video and web article can be seen at the tricities.com web site ). The next day, I quit counting at 50 the number of cars that honked as they went by! Several people stopped and asked about the Ride and how they could help. I appreciate Josh’s and WJHL’s support in getting the word out about the Riding For Hope project. The interview has resulted in a significant increase in the number of people who have shown interest in the project.
Special THANKS this week go to: My friend Marty…who else do you know that would keep the office open to give me a pit and refueling stop?…Wayne S for all of his help with arranging for my classes at the Cherokee Rod & Gun club…Dale J and J.D. Bacon for stopping on the roadside to give encouragement and make a donation….Clara B for her kind encouragement and her donation….Gary and Tina V…for their interest, encouragement and donation…Jerry and Beverly L…for their support and generous donation…The gals at Healthy Effects, Heather, Honi, Kim and Martha for their continued support and encouragement….The whole gang at Mountain Sports who put up with me almost daily…Cindy…always ready to do what it takes…and to ALL of you who continue to honk, call encouragement, and flash your lights as I ride along… BLESS YOU ALL!
More to come…..john
27th June 2008.
Seven weeks to go to Start Date…. 49 days! There is so much to do between now and then both on and off the trike. I have to finalize my cooking/camping arrangements, start putting together a menu of easily prepared foods that will supply the right mix of carbohydrates, proteins and fat, finalize my hydration plan/schedule, print out my daily maps and mileage logs, do a major periodic maintenance on the trike…etc…etc…and I thought I could just get on the trike and ride to Memphis…. WRONG!!!
It was a light week on the trike… a long ride on Saturday (60 miles)...recovery ride Sunday (35 Miles at “relaxed pace”)…Trike maintenance (and barn chores) on Monday…Middle distance (about 37 miles) on Tuesday…. Hill work (34 miles) Wednesday…Medical down day on Thursday…moderate to hard intervals (35 miles) on Friday. As is always the case… I had good days and not so good days, but I keep hoping that the good ones will out number the bad. On the whole it was a pretty good week.
There are a lot of people to thank this week…Marty, Wayne, Dave, Heather, Honi, Martha, the whole gang at Mountain Sports, Thank you for all of your emotional support and encouragement…It is a HUGE help and always motivates me to keep on pedaling! A big thank you to Henard Metal Fabricators for their kind and generous donation and the nice encouraging note…. To Sonny F. and his friend … I appreciate your support…. To Heather and Brandon who just keep on giving and supporting the cause… To Liz… a big thank you for your donation and for your support for so long… I appreciate it! To the folks at the Cherokee Rod & Gun club… What an organization! Thank you for all of the support. Finally, to Cindy, who in spite of it all remembered my poor aching feet! (She will know what that means….) Thank you! As you can see, I am blessed by so many people who make it possible to keep…Riding For Hope. Please keep spreading the word… we have a long way to go to reach the goal!
More to come…..john
20th June 2008.
Wow… 8 weeks until departure date! Will I be ready? Can I possibly get this decrepit body to manage all of those miles, especially in the projected time? How will I manage to climb some of those hills in Eastern and Central Tennessee? Have I addressed all of the maintenance and mechanical issues that are likely to arise? Is my hydration plan going to hold up in the 100-degree heat? What should I take to eat and how am I going to prepare it? Will I be able to find a safe place to camp at night? …….On and on the questions race through my mind as I pedal along… and I am never sure that I have the right answers. So I just keep pedaling…. keep planning…keep HOPING…Hoping that the best that I can do will be good enough.
I had a really great ride on Saturday… from Blountville to Poor Valley VA. I left at dawn and headed northwest on quiet streets under an overcast sky. The world seemed to still be asleep as I quietly passed through their space. The air was cool and heavy in that wet sort of way that warned of the rain that was on the way. It seemed like I was pedaling through a thick soup, but the peaceful quiet made up for it and soon I settled into that hypnotic cadence that somehow managed to keep the miles rolling under my wheels and the minutes and hours pass as if in a dream. Thinking back, I am not quiet sure that I can remember exactly what I was thinking but I do remember the almost childlike awe at the beauty and richness of the countryside slowly rolling by. The wonder of the approaching mountains, covered in the low hanging cloudy mist was tempered only by the realization that I was going to have to pedal up that twisting road somehow! How in the world could I do that? Keep pedaling John… one pedal turn at a time… and then one more… and another … and another…. Just ONE MORE!
Hours later, all of those “one mores” added up to 50 miles and my arrival at the Henderson homestead in Poor Valley…Physically exhausted and mentally drained, I sat on the stone wall beside the road listening to the birds sing, swatting the sweat bees and watching the men in the distance loading hay bales…the skies opened up and the rain began… and it rained and rained and rained… I had just managed to avoid the storms… Now THAT was good planning… or was it really just another blessing on a day that was filled with miracles? I think the latter… and I am thankful for being so blessed!
Thanks this week go out to all who have provided so much encouragement… First, to my two new sponsors…Tauscher Roof Deck Co., Inc. and J.A. Street & Associates Inc… my profound thanks for your generous and much needed support…to the Kiwanis Club in Gray… thank you for your hospitality and support…To Sharon for her encouragement at the Relay for Life…to Honi for her “just checking in” and her admonition to “just keep pedaling” … Marty, who as he always does, keeps track of my daily wonderings and always provides that safe haven way-station and a few encouraging words…to Cindy, for her never-ending support and patience. A really GOOD week….
More to come………….john
13th June 2008.
Tic…Toc…Tic…Toc…Tic…Toc…the beat of the metronome in my head persists at the rate that I have learned over the long training days and miles to be 85 to 90 beats per minute…My hands and fingers dancing over the gear shifters like a pianist practicing scales, searching for that combination of gears that will allow my legs to push the pedals at a cadence that will match the rhythm of the metronome. This ever-changing challenge continues mile after mile… hour after hour. Some days my legs seem to cooperate without much protest, settling into the almost hypnotic rhythm with a minimum of struggle…other days become a constant battle to somehow mesh the demands of the metronome with the protests of the legs…I never know when I start out which it will be. Within about an hour of pedaling, the answer becomes clear… How I pray for those good days! Tic… Toc…Tic…Toc…Tic….
My goal for this ride has been, from the outset, to average about 50 miles a day. On a good day, on fairly challenging terrain, with moderate headwinds, I can average about 7.5 miles per hour. That translates to about 7 hours of actual pedaling, which takes me about 9 to 10 clock hours. My routine is to pedal for about 1.5 hours and then stop for about ten minutes for a pit stop, to walk and stretch a bit and rub numbing lotion into my feet to deaden the hot spots. Then it’s back on the trike for the next leg. If I am able to meet the metronome’s demands and maintain my goal cadence of 85 to 90 RPM, each hour means just over 5000 turns of the pedals. That’s almost 36,000 pedal turns each day! I wish I could tell you that I can do that day in and day out, but not yet…. But I am trying… So please keep up the good thoughts and good wishes…I can use all the help you can muster!
Thank you all for your support in trying to spread the word about the Riding For Hope project. Though I can’t say we are doing really well making progress towards our goal to raise the money for cancer research at Saint Jude, I continue to hope that if I do my part, the donations will come. For all of you that have helped, I cannot even begin to express how much I appreciate it!
Special thanks this week to: The unknown person in the red car who stopped and handed me a cold bottle of water as I struggled up a long hill in the 95 degree heat….Honi J. for her unselfish continued support and generous donations (you put us over $1300!!)…Heather and Kim whose Logistics Donation bought new tires and new chains…both desperately needed! … Cindy… for all her worrying when I’m out on the road…and all of the support when I get down and physically beat…and to all of you for your prayers and good wishes… 9 weeks to launch day!!!
More to come…..john
6th June 2008.
“…sponsoring an project or website by an individual has no broad-based appeal and results in little or no advertising return… from a corporate point of view it is a economically flawed strategy…”
This, in part, was a phone notification by the CEO of one of my (until today) corporate sponsors, informing me that they would no longer sponsor the Riding For Hope project. It is disappointing and discouraging to lose the support of a sponsor. I only wish that I were wise enough to make a sufficiently compelling case in my appeal for sponsorship. But as the saying goes…”you can’t control the wind, you can only control the sails”…so I’ll keep my head down and KEEP ON PEDALING!
FLASH: I have officially set the start date for the Riding For Hope ride to St Jude: August 15 I will depart from Mountain Sports and head to Memphis. Details on the exact departure time etc. will be coming…
It has been blazingly hot this week…in the 90’s almost every day. Early this morning as I set out, it was quite pleasant really; the air was still and the rising sun had yet to inflict its terrible heat on the dry earth below… the fields, so recently a pallet of vibrant green shades are already turning to the dull brown-green that results from so many hot days and no moisture. By mid-morning the heat from above was already getting oppressive and the black asphalt roads are beginning to feel like I was riding on a hot plate. The unrelenting heat makes every mile just that much tougher… About 25 miles into the ride, all of the ice in my water and electrolyte drinks had melted, my food was gone, and I was 10 miles from anywhere…struggling up a long hill, I feel sort of strange and notice that even though it is 95 degrees, I have stopped sweating! NOT A GOOD SIGN! I look around and see through the heat mirages only fields, the occasional tree, and a few cows standing in a creek…Hmmm…it appears that they are smarter than I am… so off the trike, through the barbed wire fence… off with my shoes and socks… and into the creek with the cows! They didn’t seem to mind, just standing there chewing their cud looking at me… but my oh my did that creek feel good! I suppose I stayed there knee deep in the creek for 20 minutes and was soon feeling much better… thankfully, I was on the inbound leg of the ride. The “Take Home Message”? This ride to Memphis is going to be wicked in the summer heat… I can only hope that I will begin to acclimate… and do it soon! I also guess I had better come up with a better fluid replacement strategy… Drinking hot fluids in the heat is not very appealing. I have a lot to learn in the next ten weeks!
Special thanks this week to Kim and Family…thank you for your kind thoughts and generous donation. I really do appreciate it! Thanks again go to Marty…you are truly a kind man who does so much for all of those around you! I cherish your friendship and support for this project. Thank you! To all of you who continue to help spread the word about this project…Bless you… I couldn’t do it without you all! And finally to Cindy… thank you for all of the support, the late night cookie baking… the perpetual laundry loads… and mostly for just being there!
More to come…..john
30th May 2008.
It’s just past first light in the morning, the sun struggling to break through the fog… the streets are empty. I am by myself, alone with my thoughts, pedaling along in the silence interrupted only by the constant chatter of the birds and the pounding of my heart as I try to get ramped up for the day’s ride. The air is filled with an almost overwhelming mixture of scents that only nature can create: new-mown hay…wonderfully sweet honey suckle…and that strangely clean smell of the overnight rain. It is a very special feeling and one that I cannot help but savoring! It is the actual experiencing of the type of mental picture that I often created during the long hours of chemo. It is something that every person should get to experience (well, maybe without the pounding heart….) This is why I am Riding For Hope… so that some child somewhere who might otherwise not get to feel and see and experience these things might have the opportunity to do so.
I wish I could tell you that this is what the entire day of training is like, but that is unfortunately not the case. It is not long until the morning traffic picks up in what seems to develop into a raging competition by so many for the same piece of road. The sounds of traffic drown out the birds and the exhaust soon overwhelms the honey suckle and hay. The heat of the awoken sun begins to bear down…Still, I feel lucky to be alive and thankful for the occasional friendly honk and wave.
The week was good for training…I had three days of 35+ miles and one of 50+ miles. Though it still takes me most of the day to accomplish this, the good days are getting much better and the not-so-good days seem to be more bearable.
Special thanks this week to all who are helping to spread the word on the Riding For Hope project. As you can tell by the donation scale on the last page of the site, we are not doing particularly well on money raising front…So all your efforts are especially appreciated! I’ll keep my head down and keep on pedaling!
Finally, this week I will be finalizing the actual start date of the run to St Jude in Memphis. Stay tuned….I’ll keep you posted… john
23rd May 2008.
As you may have read in my previous post, last Saturday I achieved my longest ride…. then came the consequences….my body absolutely rebelled to the point that I physically was unable to ride at all the first part of this week. I finally was able to ease back into the saddle today with a lazy ride of about 35 miles. It took most of the day and my numbers (speed, cadence, average climb, decent, flat times) were not great, but it was nice to be back at it again. I will try to ride just a bit longer and a bit harder each day in the coming week to get back to my previous level… I think I have learned my lesson on pressing too hard and will try to be a bit more judicious in my training approach.
On Thursday I was honored to be the speaker at a Cancer Survivor’s Group. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and was both amazed and touched at the stories I heard… what AMAZING courage these folks have! As I spoke with them, I was even more convinced of the role that HOPE plays in the lives of not only the cancer patient, but also those who make up his/her support group. These people touched my heart, and I came away with far more than I ever could have given them. Thank you all!
This week special thanks go to Suzanne and Joe, Honi, and Dewayne for their generous contributions to the project. I appreciate your caring and your willingness to support the cause! I also appreciate all of those at the VA who have been so encouraging. The kind words really make a difference when the going gets tough on some of these hills!
Please keep spreading the word…. it is the only way we will reach our goal… I’ll keep you posted…. john
17th May 2008.
Report on Saturday’s “full day marathon” ride.
It was a cold, foggy, damp morning when I got started at the Tennessee state line in Bristol. The first few miles, mostly uphill, were a real struggle. It seemed impossible to keep my legs loosened up in the damp 45 degree weather, and in no time I was completely soaked and chilled to the bone. This, I thought to myself, is no way to start a long long day! Still, the excitement of this first real “test” day helped to offset some of the physical misery of the early morning hours, and the miles slowly passed under my wheels.
Around 11 o’clock the sun started to break through the fog, and the rising temperature really helped my spirits. By this time I had managed to survive the Saturday morning traffic of Kingsport and headed out to the more rural portion of Route 11W towards Rogersville. The terrain turned from relatively steep (but short) hills to longer (but more moderate) hills enabling me to keep a fairly decent cadence and make decent time for the next several hours.
By noon, the joy of the warmth of the sun was replaced with despair at the increasing headwind. The luxury of calm winds was replaced with the nightmare of a 15-20 MPH headwind! This combined with the long climbs made for difficult pedaling and significantly hampered my progress. After fighting the wind and hills for another four hours, I was completely exhausted.
So what were the numbers? 61.7 Miles in 8.5 hours (7:45 pedaling); Total Climb 2500 ft; Average Cadence 84; Average Heart Rate 99; Calories 4000. NO FLATS; NO TRIKE PROBLEMS!
I was happy with the effort but somewhat disappointed with the results. Now we will find out how long it takes to recover! More later………..john
16th May 2008.
Greetings All. Thanks once again for your support this week. I certainly appreciate all of the encouragement! I really enjoy getting your e-mails, and try to reply as quickly as possible. For those of you that honk as you go past, know that I hear it and even if you don’t see me wave back, it really cheers me up!
Some people have told me that they are having trouble getting through using the email link on my site…I apologize… my web master is working on it. In the mean time, if you experience any trouble… you can contact me also at jdrury@charter.net.
Not long after I posted my last journal entry, I got a question about how I am preparing for the monster hills that I will encounter on this ride. I am trying to include at least some hill climbing training in every ride, with at least one long ride each week emphasizing hill work. I try to include short steep hills as well as long grinding grades. If you click on the small icon link below, you can see an example of a Garmen GPS terrain chart from a typical long weekly ride. As you can see, there is very little flat riding, and a huge amount of hill climbing. This type of terrain is where the weight of the trike is a definite disadvantage. Pedaling 250 lbs of trike and rider up grades greater than 5% is slow going! As a rule, the day after such a ride, I take off completely to try to recover.
Special thanks go out this week to Honi, my friends Marty and Patsy, and Kay for their generous donations and continued support. Also a ‘warm fuzzy” to Martha who is doing so much to get the word out on this project. Thank You! I would be remiss if I did not again express my special appreciation to Cindy for all of her support. She keeps things together so I can get all of my training and trike maintenance done. I couldn’t do it without her!
Weather (and body) permitting, I am going to attempt a full day “marathon” ride on Saturday. The objective will be to emphasize endurance over speed and just see what the numbers say when I am done. I will keep you posted………… john
Oh…by the way…. Would YOU park here? (New sign along parkway)
9th May 2008.
This week has been an important one in several ways. First, I am thrilled to welcome as a sponsor Healthy Effects Therapeutic Massage. Owners Kim and Heather and their staff have been generous and steadfast supporters of the Riding For Hope project and have been key players in keeping the project going. They are good at their profession and have a wonderfully peaceful and cozy complex. Welcome Kim, Heather, Honi and Martha. You are all special people!
Secondly, this week brings my first ever 60+ mile ride. While the time and speed numbers are not particularly impressive (it took me all day to get it done, and, to be honest I was a basket case when I finally finished), at least an important milestone was reached. I will have to achieve this on consecutive days during the ride if I expect to get the trip to Memphis and back done in the time frame I am shooting for. I have a lot of work to do to be able to do that, but hopefully this will serve as a good beginning. Thanks to all for the encouraging e-mails and calls. Your support is really important!
Thirdly, I had the opportunity to drive the first half of the route from Bristol to Memphis. I must say that it was a humbling experience. Though I have traveled these roads many times as a child going to visit my grandmother in west Tennessee, I assure you that from the perspective of pedaling a fully loaded tricycle, some of the hills are quite daunting! The segment from Rockwood to Crossville is a great concern (read that nightmare): 25 miles of continual steep grade up the mountain to the Cumberland Plateau. Based on the steepness of the climb, and my current capabilities, I figure it will take about 20 hours of pedaling to make the 25-mile climb! Talk about terrifying!!…I guess I am going to have to revamp my training. I also am going to begin searching for ways to reduce the weight of the tricycle and load. I’ll keep you posted on progress on both fronts.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed this week? I appreciate each individual who joins in this effort. I will update our totals on the Donation page of this site each week.
I’ll be taking Mother’s Day off…. Then back to work…..
More later…. john
2nd May 2008.
This was a tough week! Between doctors appointments and an uncooperative body, I only got two decent training days in. The first day was almost an aquatic adventure with driving rain throughout an all day ride. The second day was sunny and extremely windy, spiced up with a flat tire…what an adventure!
The good news is that after three down days, I felt up to venturing out again and while the performance numbers were not all that impressive, it was such a blessing to be able to be out training again! Along the way, several kind souls went out of their way to provide welcomed support: Stephanie, at the BP station who provided a hot cup of coffee, emotional support, and a donation to the cause in the midst of the howling rain storm… Thank you Stephanie….Wesley D, whom I do not even know contributed on the web site… I appreciate it very much…Renee and Sean… old friends who sent such supportive e-mails during a difficult time…Bless you!... And Marty… good old Marty… his business is along one of the training routes at a convenient point for a much needed pit-stop… along with his bathroom he always has cold water and a few minutes of encouraging conversation to offer before sending me off to climb the last few killer hills at the end of the run… You are a good man, Marty… thank you for being you! I would be remiss if I did not thank a special lady… Janice B… who has been so supportive from afar. Thank you Janice for all that you do…You make me smile!
So all in all, it was a good week…I am blessed with some really special people supporting this project. I’ll do my best to make up for the stumbles in my training this week…and as always… I’ll try to keep you posted... john
26th April 2008.
I must share with you an incredible event that happened today during my ride. First the background: Early on in my training in and around Bristol, I met a homeless man who can be seen all around the town on his cherished “3-Speed”bicycle…His bicycle is patched together with tape and wire, loaded down with all of his worldly possessions, stacked high with plastic bags, a sleeping bag, his clothes, a bible and an American flag. I met him at a laundry mat where I had stopped for a pit stop. We talked for a bit as he examined my tricycle and I left shortly thereafter, not really thinking much about the encounter.
Over the weeks and months of training rides, I have encountered Bill numerous times, occasionally giving him a bit of coffee money, a few cookies, and always having a cheerful conversation. Bill appears out of no where, when you would never expect him to, riding along side, sometimes offering me a drink of water out of an old Mountain Dew bottle, always exhorting me to fight on up endless hills or leading me to the nearest shelter during a rain storm. I like Bill… he is a scruffy, unkempt sort of fellow with a long shaggy beard… his hands stained with built up grease and grime… his layered clothes in desperate need of a wash…but I have come to know him as a good hearted and thoughtful soul…and one, to be honest, that I look forward to seeing as I ride around town.
I hadn’t seen Bill for several weeks, so today I took a break from pedaling close to the old train station where I knew that he often slept. As I sat there on the ground next to my trike, eating cookies and drinking water, Bill appeared from across the tracks, pushing his 3-Speed and sat down next to me. We talked a bit, shared some cookies and in general just passed the time with light conversation. As I climbed on my trike to get back on the road, Bill stood and reached out his hand and said “I’ve been saving up… here, give this to the kids”. In his hand was a wadded up bill with a few coins wrapped inside. He seemed sort of embarrassed in a shy sort of way, and headed off to who knows where. I just stood there, pondering what had just occurred. Bill’s donation of a wadded up dollar bill, a nickel, and eight pennies…$1.13 total…. Was the first donation to the cause… and it came straight from his heart. I remain overwhelmed at Bills love and generosity to these children. If I ever had any doubt or question about what this Riding For Hope project is all about… Bill answered it once and for all… Thank you Bill… for your donation… but even more for you caring!More soon….. John
25th April 2008.
What a week! First of all, THANK YOU to all who have sent e-mails with such kind words! I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to know that so many people from so many places, and in so many professions have such supportive feelings for this project. I will always do my best to reply to anyone who sends me e-mails at this site.
Be assured that your encouragement is extremely important.
Secondly, if there are any questions or comments that anyone would like addressed or answered here in the journal, just let me know. As I read your communications, if there seems to be a common thread in a number of them, I will try to not only answer the specific e-mail, but also address it here.
Perhaps the most common question thus far (other than WHY??) is how I keep track of my training. It’s a long story, but the short version is that I use a Garmen 305 GPS unit to keep track of important training categories, downloading the data after each ride to an analysis program. I then extract the data I follow and plug it into an Excel spreadsheet. Trends become very obvious in this format, and it becomes easy to see what I need to work on most… Unfortunately, the answer usually comes back EVERYTHING…but that’s another story for another time. This is what my data sheet looks like…
Comments/Suggestions/Critiques are welcome…
I will close with special thanks to Cindy for the support (and cookies). Jill and Sanders for their special efforts in getting the word out on the site, and Marty who always has special encouragement on the daily rides.More soon….. John
19th April 2008.
Welcome to my RIDING FOR HOPE site. I hope that your visit here will not be your last. As I undertake this project, I will keep you updated on my progress here. It will be a fairly unstructured journal…I’ll tell you about the ups and downs in the preparation leading up to the ride as well as interesting events along the way during the ride. I will include pictures as I can if they seem appropriate and of interest. I hope that anyone who wishes to make any comments or suggestions will feel free to contact me at my email…. Just click on my picture at the bottom of the left column. I ask for your support and good wishes…. More soon….. John
