Adventures on a Bike

I just didn’t feel like writing and now I do.  It’s really as simple as that.

But just because I wasn’t writing doesn’t mean that the Adventures came to a stop.  Since we last got together, I’ve chosen 2009 goals, designed a new training plan, integrated mountain biking into my life and ridden about 1,029 miles on dirt and road.  My goal is to get you up to speed so I’ll be writing more about all these missing Adventures in the weeks to come.

Feels good to be back.

My friend Ajay is currently the fifth most successful fundraiser for the upcomming MS Bike Tour, having raised $4,832 so far in the fight against MS!

Ajay is a founding member of Team Climb On! and was our leading fundraiser in our innaugural appearance at the MS Bike Tour last year.  He’s the guy in the middle of this photo.

Last year, Ajay signed up for the MS Bike Tour just after being cured of cancer.  Training to ride the century was his comeback training!  As a cancer survivor, he has pledged to donate 50% of whatever he raises in the MS Bike Tour to the Livestrong foundation.  So if you sponsor Ajay, you’re really donating to two really great charities!  Nice work Ajay - I hope you stay a top-5 fundraiser!

Would you like to support Team Climb On! in the fight agains MS?

 Remember when they said that computers and the internet would isolate us from each other?  They said we’d spend all day inside, “playing” with computers, disconnected from the “real world”…

Here’s a map that Google Analytics provides which shows the global distribution of web traffic to this site over the last 30 days. Make sure you click it to get the zoomed view. 

The green areas are places where people visit this site from.  The darker the green, the more visitors.

Here is the breakdown within one country, the United States of America

I find it very cool that this little blog gives me the opportunity to connect with so many people from around the world. And I am inspired that my adventures resonate enough with people that they come back.  People from all around the world.  I could never image being this connected to the “real world”.

Thank you, World. I’ll keep sharing my adventures as I find them and I hope you continue to enjoy them.

One of my first adventures after getting back on a road bike was riding last year’s MS Bike Tour.  It was my first century ride ever and my first exposure to charity bike rides.

With just a month to go before this year’s MS Bike Tour kicks off, I have to thank everyone who has so generously contributed to my fundraising campaign to fight MS!  Together we’ve raised $1,215 so far!  Both I and the National MS Society thank you.

Can you believe that my team (Team Climb On!) has raised $13,584 among just 16 cyclists?!  Everyone is doing a lot of riding to get in shape for the 150-mile course next month.  While I’m pretty confident about my ability to do the ride, I am still a bit short of my fundraising goal of $5,000.

So, if you would like to contribute there is still time.  Making a tax-deductable donation takes just 5 minutes.  Just click here to join the fight against MS.

http://www.biketofinishms.com/arlynasch

Donations of any size are greatly appreciated!

Last year, my friend Andrew invited me to ride the 2007 MS Bike Tour with him.  It’s a 150-mile event over two days that raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Wow - 150 miles!  The longest I had ever cycled in a day was maybe 40 miles - could I ride a full century followed by another 50-mile day?  I love a good challenge so I accepted and we started training in earnest.

I told another friend, Dave about it and he immediately signed up.  Then his friend Firger, who’s Mom struggles with MS signed up.  Firger actually signed up without owning a bicycle.  Next thing I know, we’ve got 7 people on the team.  We’re started calling ourselves “Team Climb On!“.

When you sign up, you commit to raising at least $400 for the National MS Society.  I was pretty nervous about being able to raise that much so I procrastinated asking for donations.  I had no real connection to the MS community and was happier focusing on the cycling challenge.  In the back of my mind, I pondered whether I would just pony up the $400 myself rather than ask for donations.

Then one day, it occurred to me that one of my best friend’s dad has multiple sclerosis.  His name is John.  John used to have a really active life, he was an avid skier, cyclist, hiker and tennis player. After his diagnosis in 1992 he had to use a cane to walk, then a walker, and now a wheelchair.  He’s unable to move on his own or even feed himself.  John considers himself very lucky that even though he has lesions on his brain typical of MS, they have not progressed and he maintains full mental capabilities.

All of a sudden, what really mattered to me was how we could help people like John live with MS.  I told this story and asked for donations and people gave far more generously than I could have predicted. I was inspired by their contributions.  As the summer progressed, Team Climb On! worked harder and harder to make a significant difference in the MS community.  We were all getting stoked by people’s commitment to do something good.  It drove us to go farther.

By the time the actual event rolled around in October, we had raised $22,047.01 to fight MS.  Each member of Team Climb On! was awarded Top Fundraiser and 4 of us were among the top 150 fundraisers, which is a special honor.  We were presented with a team award and I even won “Rookie Team Captain of the Year” at an awards banquet in January.

Oh, and I did the cycling.  It was a great ride, in fact.  But do you know what was so inspiring and what got me really passionate?  It was the difference we made in the MS community.  It was all the lives we touched.  From the riders on our team who were getting into cycling just for the event, to the people we inspired by our example, to all the people who would benefit from the money we raised.  I had no idea that contributing like that could be so rewarding, so fulfilling. I really got that life is the most rewarding when you are being a contribution.

This year we’re going even bigger.  We’ve already doubled the size of Team Climb On!, which was pretty easy - people want to be a part of making a difference.  We’ve also increased our fundraising goal to $50,000 which I think is actually pretty doable - with a bit of help :)  I’m not worried about the training anymore and there are 30-mile and 100-mile course alternatives for people who are more focused on the contribution aspects than the cycling.

I can’t wait to see how much we can accomplish this year. Visit my donations page, make a contribution and be a part of it.

ps: Would you like to be a part of Team Climb On?  Visit our team web site to see what we’re up to and drop me a line at arlynasch at gmail dot com if you’re interested in joining.  We’re always looking for people who want to make a difference.

Thanks to Bike Noob for tagging me. Rather than tempt fate , I’ll go ahead and comply with the instructions. Here it goes…

If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?

My bike. I love it and it loves me.

Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?

I’m really not that much of a bike wiener, except that I love the one I have.

If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?

Embrun to Alpe d’Huez via the Col du Galibier, Col du Telegraph and Col de la Croix de Fer. In fact, go ahead and add the Col du Mollard just for kicks. Every day, buddy. Anyways, I have a feeling this will be my purgatory ride.

What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride for the rest of her / his life?

You’ve never ridden from Embrun to Alpe d’Huez.

Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrow-minded?

I wore out my mountain bike and can’t afford a new one. Wearing out a bike is a good sign I think.

Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent.

Have you ever seen someone ride a recumbent? That’s why not.

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?

I live in the triathlon capitol of the world. A couple of months ago, one got eaten by a shark. Is that enough reason?

Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?

Ice cream, duh. Don’t ask about beer.

What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.

Do you think there should be more questions in this list? No.

You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?

Well, the definition of a bike race is two cyclists on the same road, headed in the same direction. So, assuming he is one of those circus bears that ride little bikes, I’d drop his ass. Then I’d pull down my shorts (ala Voris) and show him who’s boss.

Now, tag three biking bloggers. List them below.

Sorry guys, gotta be

• Mark at A Rider’s Almanac
• Andrew at More to Life Than…
• Dave at his bike blog

Same blog, different address.  I have switched my blog address to http://www.AdventuresOnABike.com to be consistent with the title of my blog and so I can talk about it more easily.  All the redirects should work, so ping me if you have a problem.

I am still a team captain for Team Climb On! of course, and you’ll see lots of activity there as we prepare to raise over $50,000 to fight multiple sclerosis this fall.

Enjoy!

I don’t speak French.

I’m fluent in C#, know a little German, a smattering of Spanish, but zero French.  And yet, I’m leaving for France next Saturday on a whirlwind tour of the greatest sporting event known to man - le Tour de France.

I now rely on you, my community, to help me out… “Hello, hello, is this thing on?” 

I need you seasoned Tour-vets and Euro’s to give me the top 100 phrases that I’ll memorize to make my way during my adventure.  I’m going with a tour company (BikeStyle Tours) and they speak English (albeit with an Aussie accent) so I’m not too concerned about lodging, transportation, etc.   And forget about wimpy stuff like, “Do you have vanilla ice-cream?”, or “My stomach feels funny”.  I need the stuff specifically for Le Tour, like “Who is in the breakaway?”, “How long until the peloton arrives” and “Are you that crazy devil guy I see on TV?”  Stuff like that!

So, here’s your chance - use that little comments button and give me the words I need to make my trip happen.  You can also email me at arlynasch at gmail dot com if you’d rather help that way.

Thanks everyone!

Got a recommendation to read The Rider, by Tim Krabbe and wow - am I glad I did!  I’ve read a few books about bike racing, but this was the rawest, most exciting and genuine account of a bike race I’ve ever read.  Here’s the first paragraph.

Meyrueis, Lozere, June 26, 1977. Hot and overcast.  I take my gear out of the car and put my bike together.  Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes.  Non-racers.  The emptiness of those lives shocks me.

Go to Amazon (or whereever) and get it now.  Or ask me and I’ll loan you my copy.  Seriously, this is the real deal.