Here’s three photos taken by our coaches wife. Our coach for the Office Depot Team was Alan Kurtz, AKA Captain Sprocket. He was a great coach and made training for the ride a lot of fun.
Mingling with the crowd at 7 AM.
Finally at the start line. That’s me behind the “S” of stop.
End of the ride on day one at John Pennekamp State Park. I’ve never been happier to have a chicken sandwich and popsicle in my entire life.
Here’s a few photos my husband took during the first day of the MS150 ride.
Start of ride. Around 7 AM, still a bit dark.
Top of Card Sound Bridge, waiting for the rest of the Office Depot Team to catch up so we can take a team photo.
Taking a much needed rest stop.
And here are a few more photos from one of the official MS150 photographers.
Office Depot chicks Deb, Victoria and Lynn.
My husband Rob.
Riding with the pack.
I think I am in a bike ride induced coma. My husband and I did the PAL ride today with 4 of the cyclists we are doing the MS150 ride with in May. This was the first annual PAL ride to benefit the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League.
It was a well organized ride. Lots of police coverage - who would have guessed!?! Goody bags included event t-shirt, chamois butter, chewable electrolyte tablets, sunscreen and biofreeze. We broke out the biofreeze at the second rest stop for all our achy joints - it sucks getting old!
Breakfast was available at the beginning of the event: bagels, croissants, cream cheese, peanut butter, jelly, dunkin donuts, water and gatorade. And there was a greatly appreciated lunch at the end of the ride. Salad, chicken, French bread, red skin mashed potatoes and baked ziti, along with more water and gatorade.
One of the girls we were riding with got a flat tire around 6 1/2 miles into the ride as we were coming off Blue Heron bridge. Had a HUGE nail stuck in her back tire. So we all stopped while the tire got changed.
Pretty awesome day, although I got a cramp in my left thigh as I was coming back up Blue Heron bridge at the end of the ride, and had to get off my bike to get up and over.
My heart rate monitor was messed up all day, but here are the rest of my statistics from my Garmin Edge 305 cycle computer:
Distance: 65.96 miles
Total time: 3:43:16
Average speed: 17.7 MPH
Max speed: 33.9 MPH
Calories burned: 3,889 - yeah, I can eat today!
Saw lots of other people we knew out there; HOLLA to Karina, Holly, Ted and Martha!!!
And HOLLA to the people I rode with all day: Alan, Victoria, Deb, Julie and Rob. You guys were all freaking awesome!!!
But I want to know how a metric century ended up being 66 miles? And that wasn’t even counting having to go over that last freaking hill to get to the lunch area, then back to our cars at City Place. Somebody’s idea of a joke?
Rob and I had a chance to visit the Palm Beach office of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society today. We met with TNT Campaign Coordinator Jill Kieta to go over Rob’s responsibilities as a coach and my duties as a mentor.
We are looking forward to starting to train the Palm Beach County cycle team while getting ready for the Intracoastal Waterway Century Ride. This 100 mile road bike ride takes place on Saturday, October 26th in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Here is a link to our fundraising page. Please consider making a donation to support our participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society’s mission.
I hope you’ll visit our web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see our progress. I will be updating the Bike Diva site with details of our training program and fundraising efforts.
Thank you for your support!
Rob Smythe - Palm Beach TNT Cycle Coach
Lynn Smythe - Palm Beach TNT Cycle Mentor
Cocoa Beach Century Ride
As some of you might remember, last year Rob and I raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through their Team in Training program. The event we trained for was the 109 mile El Tour de Tucson, which took place on November 17th, 2007. We were the mentors for the Palm Beach County cycle team. It was a phenomenal experience, both the ride, and working towards raising money for such a worthy cause.
This year, Rob is going to be the coach, and I will be the mentor for the group training for the 2008 Intracoastal Waterway Century Ride. This 100 mile road bike ride takes place on October 26th in Cocoa Beach, FL. We are looking for people to participate as a member of the Palm Beach County TNT cycle team.
This is a great way to get the support and structure you need to get in shape, meet new cycling friends and achieve something many people haven’t - riding 100 miles on a bicycle in one day! The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a charity that does much to further research towards cures, and ease the burden of those battling leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphoma and myeloma along with improving the quality of life of patients and their families.
In exchange for the support and training, you commit to raising a certain amount of money. The participation minimum for this ride is $2100. This might seem like a large amount, but you’d be very surprised at how quickly and easily this amount of money can be raised. Last year Rob and I raised over $6,500!
ALL CYCLISTS WELCOME
Last year’s team had everyone from very athletic road bikers, to recreational cyclists, to diehard couch potatoes, to a 63/73 year old couple riding their tandem bicycle. EVERYONE is welcome, no matter what prior road biking experience you may have. The Palm Beach County cycle team will have a coach, and a mentor to help you out with your training and fundraising goals. Each training ride also includes a SAG vehicle, filled with snacks and goodies, that sweeps the ride route should anyone have a mechanical problem or any health issues.
INFORMATION MEETINGS
Information meetings will be starting in Palm Beach County over the next few weeks. Rob and I will be attending most of these meetings, and will spend a few minutes at each meeting talking about our experience with the Team in Training program.
BOYNTON BEACH - Monday, April 14 - 6 pm - West Boynton Beach Library
JUPITER - Monday, April 14 - 6 pm - Jupiter Community Center
WEST BOCA RATON - Wednesday, April 16- 6 pm - Fleet Feet Sports Boca
EAST BOCA RATON - Monday, April 21- 6 pm - East Boca Community Center
ROYAL PALM BEACH - Tuesday, April 22- 6 pm - Royal Palm Beach Library
WEST PALM BEACH - Thursday, April 24- 6 pm - South Florida Water Mgmt District
PALM BEACH GARDENS - Saturday, April 26- 9 am - NIKE Women, The Gardens Mall
WEST PALM BEACH - Saturday, May 3- 9:30 am - The National Croquet Center. This is also the Fall Season Kickoff for all TNT events including the Accenture Chicago Triathlon, The Nation’s Triathlon, The Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Nike’s Women’s Marathon and the 20th Annual Intracoastal Waterway Century Road Bike Ride.
If you are interested in joining the TNT program, know someone who might be, or would like more information, please drop me a note.
Lynn Smythe
Team in Training Cycle Mentor
Thebikediva@yahoo.com
www.bikediva.net
For more information about Team In Training and the Palm Beach Area Chapter, visit their website at www.teamintraining.org/pb or give them a call at 561-775-9954.
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