Monday, August 16, 2010

BRAWC Finished!

For those not from Tennessee, Wilson County is the county directly adjacent to Nashville in Middle Tennessee. The Bike Ride Across Wilson County is an event with a couple of hundred riders as part of the annual Wilson County Fair. Big time! A friend of ours who now lives in Nashville, Brian, and I did the ride together. He is also the one who came up to Knoxville for the ADA Tour de Cure back in June. We had a good ride and did all 50 miles in just under 3.5 hours. I think I was probably holding Brian back from his full potential but that is a pretty fast pace for me. The hills were classified as "rolling" but the only rolling that I wanted to do on a few of the "rolling hills" was quit pedaling and roll backwards! However, we did finish!

At the finish, we had an awesome cheering section with Jessica, my Mom, Dad, and two sisters, as well as Jessica's Mom and Dad. It was great to have them all there for us as we entered back into the Wilson County Fairgrounds with temperatures pushing 97. The ice cold towels at the finish line sure hit the spot. A few photos are below from the day's event. Thanks to our family who came out to support us and to Brian for doing another ride with me. I am entering the two month mark before the big kahuna in Death Valley on October 16th.


...still collecting ride donations. Give today, HERE! Thank you for your support!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Month After Next

We can now officially say that "month after next" will be the second run of the Ride to Cure Diabetes for The Shafer Ten Year team. For anyone interested, you can click on the photo to the left for the full album of photos from the Ride's first stop of this year in Burlington, Vermont. Back in July, Riders descended on Burlington for a weekend of riding, all for a great cause!

I am still in the process of training and amidst the heat; I was able to get two good rides in this weekend. I did a short ride Friday after work and then a longer ride early evening tonight. The heat is killer and the humidity is killer's accomplice but I guess I better get ready for the heat that is waiting for us in Death Valley! I feel good about where I am fitness wise and my legs are finally getting in shape. A little cross training may be a good thing for me so if anyone has grand suggestions for weights or other training that could benefit cyclists please let me know!

A couple of weeks ago I sent out my annual appeal letter to friends and family. I also posted this letter on the blog (
July 20th). If you have not already done so, please consider a gift to our team! I am constantly reminded of the need for a cure and with each passing day more and more people around the world are diagnosed with this dreaded obstacle in life, diabetes!

I hope that everyone has a great start to the week and if you find yourself in Knoxville, please let me know. I would love to ride!