2010 Tour De Donut
There were over 1200 riders at today's TDD.
Some observations:
The volunteers do a great job. It seems that their number gets bigger every year. The cowbells in town were a great touch. Their encouragement is great. They have the toughest job of the day. Imagine standing on a hot road for 4 hours and making sure the turns are safe for the cyclist.
Some people are taking the race way too seriously. We have non-registered riders leading people to the finish so they can win the non-adjusted divisions. If this trend continues, it could lead to the end of the TDD. IMO, it is time to get rid of the non-adjusted times. (That would take care of this issue. This would also speed up the awards ceremony.)
I would put a 3 hour time limit on the race. This would let the corner volunteers quit their assignments buy noon. This would get the awards ceremony started at a more reasonable time.
Make sure the people riding slower know that they should avoid the first few rows at the start. The most dangerous part of the race is the different speeds at the front during the start. When I see a mountain bike with knobbies near the front I try to stay as far away from them as I can.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Saturday, July 11, 2009
We had a first today. Joe Booth once said: "It never rains on the TDD"
It took 21 editions, but boy can it rain on the TDD.
The volunteers did a great job watching the turns and donuts for us today. Thank you for to make our ride so much safer than in the old days.
My brother and I got into Staunton around 8 am and there were already at least 100 cyclist lined up at the start line. No riding at the front today. By the time we got to the start we lined up with a couple hundred in front of us. We never even saw the police car escort us out.
1200 of us stood waiting for the official start and it began pouring. With the weather and so many people, I expected to see some crashes today. Fortunately, the start went off without any crashes. Most of the riders near me were behaving themselves due to the wet roads.
My biggest complaint about the TDD is the amount of casual riders that line their mountain bikes up near the front of the race. There was even one older gentleman that was walking his mountain bike to the start line if front of us.
These same riders like to take up more than their share of the road. I'm not that fast of a rider, but it really gets to me how many people ride on the left part of the right lane and don't move over. With it raining so much, it was ever more dangerous passing them than normal.
When someone says on your left, move over, you are going too slow to be taking up the left side of the lane.
It took 21 editions, but boy can it rain on the TDD.
The volunteers did a great job watching the turns and donuts for us today. Thank you for to make our ride so much safer than in the old days.
My brother and I got into Staunton around 8 am and there were already at least 100 cyclist lined up at the start line. No riding at the front today. By the time we got to the start we lined up with a couple hundred in front of us. We never even saw the police car escort us out.
1200 of us stood waiting for the official start and it began pouring. With the weather and so many people, I expected to see some crashes today. Fortunately, the start went off without any crashes. Most of the riders near me were behaving themselves due to the wet roads.
My biggest complaint about the TDD is the amount of casual riders that line their mountain bikes up near the front of the race. There was even one older gentleman that was walking his mountain bike to the start line if front of us.
These same riders like to take up more than their share of the road. I'm not that fast of a rider, but it really gets to me how many people ride on the left part of the right lane and don't move over. With it raining so much, it was ever more dangerous passing them than normal.
When someone says on your left, move over, you are going too slow to be taking up the left side of the lane.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Stage 4. Becoming more aggressive against the enemy.
I continue to read as much as I can on how to defeat cancer.
Supplements.
What supplements? Omega 3's, vitamin D, vitamin C, Magnesium, Greens
One of my favorite websites is now Naturalnews. Mike Adams "the health ranger" produces this wonderful site as well as a daily newsletter. I don't agree with everything he writes, I love his passion for sharing health info with others.
Another website that I can't read enough is Vitamin D Council. This site has the most in depth info on Vit D that I have found. This is the site to visit if you want to know anything and everything about D.
Did you know that research conducted at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Nebraska has revealed that supplementing with vitamin D and calcium can reduce your risk of cancer by an astonishing 77 percent. Think about that 77%.
Natural News recently posted an article that talked about Magnesium preventing Cancer. The interesting thing about that is that I noticed the majority of women receiving chemo were also being given Magnesium by IV. Is there a correlation? Maybe: http://www.naturalnews.com/023279.html
Another tool for the fight. An alkaline diet. (more Fruits and Veggies)
There are some people that believe Cancer thrives in a more acidic body chemistry. Why not eat a more alkaline diet?
What do we avoid? We try to limit exposure to chemicals that might weaken the immune system
I continue to read as much as I can on how to defeat cancer.
If diet helps defeat cancer, what have we been missing.
Supplements.
What supplements? Omega 3's, vitamin D, vitamin C, Magnesium, Greens
One of my favorite websites is now Naturalnews. Mike Adams "the health ranger" produces this wonderful site as well as a daily newsletter. I don't agree with everything he writes, I love his passion for sharing health info with others.
Another website that I can't read enough is Vitamin D Council. This site has the most in depth info on Vit D that I have found. This is the site to visit if you want to know anything and everything about D.
Did you know that research conducted at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Nebraska has revealed that supplementing with vitamin D and calcium can reduce your risk of cancer by an astonishing 77 percent. Think about that 77%.
Natural News recently posted an article that talked about Magnesium preventing Cancer. The interesting thing about that is that I noticed the majority of women receiving chemo were also being given Magnesium by IV. Is there a correlation? Maybe: http://www.naturalnews.com/023279.html
Another tool for the fight. An alkaline diet. (more Fruits and Veggies)
There are some people that believe Cancer thrives in a more acidic body chemistry. Why not eat a more alkaline diet?
What do we avoid? We try to limit exposure to chemicals that might weaken the immune system
Fluoride toothpaste, chemicals (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) in soaps, detergents, chlorine in the shower and tap (filter it out)
One final point to remember: You are the only one in charge of your health.
Next topic: Gravity Never Rest
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Stage one: Getting to know the enemy> Cancer
In the summer of 1999 my family's life changed forever.
My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Most people think it will never happen to them.
Until the doctor approached me after the initial operation, I was in denial. It hits you like a ton of bricks. Some of the initial thoughts are; We are not going to have any more children, I must be dreaming, this can't be happening, why us? How am I going to raise a two year old by myself? (the scariest thought of all)
The hardest part of the whole thing was the first post-op meeting with the Doctor to discuss chemo. My wife's Dr. considers ovarian cancer a chronic condition. On the way home we start crying. We realize death is a possibility. You start thinking about all the horror stories you have heard about chemo. This can't be happening.
The next Saturday is the beginning of my favorite sporting event. The Tour De France.
I had known about Lance Armstrong's struggle with cancer. I have a brother in Austin Texas who I use to ask how Lance was doing. He would tell me not so good. We all know how that story turned out. I'm downstairs watching the opening prologue of the Tour and am given my first positive hope for beating cancer. If Lance can do it, so can my wife. The next question is how?
My wife tells me that she feels I am the key to her survival. We get Lance's book, It's not About the Bike. The part that sticks out in my mind is the advice he receives about nutrition. He is told to eat broccoli and free range chicken. I ask myself why?
I am a research junky. The Internet is going to become a wonderful tool use to gain the knowledge we need. To this day I still read as many different articles and newsletters about health that I can. Why do we get cancer? How does cancer grow?
The more I read, the more I become convinced that diet is the biggest key to beating cancer. We also realize that our diets need a major overhaul. We had been eating a lot of processed foods. I find out later that more changes are going to be needed.
A few of my favorite sources of information are; The Weston A. Price Foundation, Dr. Mercola, Dr. Jonathan Wright.
Stage 2: It's back
Ovarian Cancer is monitored with blood test measuring what is called the ca-125 level.
In the fall of 2001 my wife's ca-125 level begins to increase for the first time since her first bout with cancer. Why? A MRI shows an enlarged lymph node in her abdomen. During the initial surgery in 1999, two cancerous lymph nodes had been removed. In March 2003, the lymph node is finally big enough to biopsy. Sure enough it's cancer. She has the lymph node removed, fortunately no other tissue in her abdomen shows any sign of cancer. During the first post-op meeting we are told she must go through more chemo. Some of my thoughts at this time are;
This cancer is tougher that we thought, What other changes to we need to make?
Stage 3: Brain tumor
She finishes round two of chemo by August, 2003. Are we finally done with this? We get the answer to that in September 2003. One night my wife is reading a bed time story to our daughter. She is having trouble. My daughter ask her, mommy why can't you read the story?
the next day my wife call her internist. He tells us it is probably nothing but stress, but decides to schedule an MRI of her brain for the next Friday evening.
The next Monday morning one of my wife's co-workers calls me with some more bad news. The MRI shows a brain tumor. I have to take my wife back to Barnes Hospital asap. I am so upset I almost miss the exit on the highway. I pull up outside the office building where she works and she is outside shaking. The co-worker helps her into our car, we go to Barnes.
The neurosurgeons come into her room and are very concerned. They can't believe that her sight hasn't been effected yet. They keep testing her sight by having her follow their fingers as they move them from side to side in front of her face. This is some scary stuff.
That Wednesday brain surgery is scheduled. When we have to say goodbye, we're more scared than we have ever been in our lives. We realize my wife may never be the same person again. What if the brain is damaged during surgery?
A few hours later and I feel like the luckiest man alive when the surgeons tell me everything went great. It gets even better when I go to see her in the recovery room. She is wide awake and doesn't seem any different than she did before this episode began.
What's next? Getting to know Radiation. We find out the next week that she is going to undergo three weeks of radiation. Afterwards she tells me radiation is harder to go through than chemo.
Next: Stage 4: Becoming more aggressive against this enemy.
In the summer of 1999 my family's life changed forever.
My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Most people think it will never happen to them.
Until the doctor approached me after the initial operation, I was in denial. It hits you like a ton of bricks. Some of the initial thoughts are; We are not going to have any more children, I must be dreaming, this can't be happening, why us? How am I going to raise a two year old by myself? (the scariest thought of all)
The hardest part of the whole thing was the first post-op meeting with the Doctor to discuss chemo. My wife's Dr. considers ovarian cancer a chronic condition. On the way home we start crying. We realize death is a possibility. You start thinking about all the horror stories you have heard about chemo. This can't be happening.
The next Saturday is the beginning of my favorite sporting event. The Tour De France.
I had known about Lance Armstrong's struggle with cancer. I have a brother in Austin Texas who I use to ask how Lance was doing. He would tell me not so good. We all know how that story turned out. I'm downstairs watching the opening prologue of the Tour and am given my first positive hope for beating cancer. If Lance can do it, so can my wife. The next question is how?
My wife tells me that she feels I am the key to her survival. We get Lance's book, It's not About the Bike. The part that sticks out in my mind is the advice he receives about nutrition. He is told to eat broccoli and free range chicken. I ask myself why?
I am a research junky. The Internet is going to become a wonderful tool use to gain the knowledge we need. To this day I still read as many different articles and newsletters about health that I can. Why do we get cancer? How does cancer grow?
The more I read, the more I become convinced that diet is the biggest key to beating cancer. We also realize that our diets need a major overhaul. We had been eating a lot of processed foods. I find out later that more changes are going to be needed.
A few of my favorite sources of information are; The Weston A. Price Foundation, Dr. Mercola, Dr. Jonathan Wright.
Stage 2: It's back
Ovarian Cancer is monitored with blood test measuring what is called the ca-125 level.
In the fall of 2001 my wife's ca-125 level begins to increase for the first time since her first bout with cancer. Why? A MRI shows an enlarged lymph node in her abdomen. During the initial surgery in 1999, two cancerous lymph nodes had been removed. In March 2003, the lymph node is finally big enough to biopsy. Sure enough it's cancer. She has the lymph node removed, fortunately no other tissue in her abdomen shows any sign of cancer. During the first post-op meeting we are told she must go through more chemo. Some of my thoughts at this time are;
This cancer is tougher that we thought, What other changes to we need to make?
Stage 3: Brain tumor
She finishes round two of chemo by August, 2003. Are we finally done with this? We get the answer to that in September 2003. One night my wife is reading a bed time story to our daughter. She is having trouble. My daughter ask her, mommy why can't you read the story?
the next day my wife call her internist. He tells us it is probably nothing but stress, but decides to schedule an MRI of her brain for the next Friday evening.
The next Monday morning one of my wife's co-workers calls me with some more bad news. The MRI shows a brain tumor. I have to take my wife back to Barnes Hospital asap. I am so upset I almost miss the exit on the highway. I pull up outside the office building where she works and she is outside shaking. The co-worker helps her into our car, we go to Barnes.
The neurosurgeons come into her room and are very concerned. They can't believe that her sight hasn't been effected yet. They keep testing her sight by having her follow their fingers as they move them from side to side in front of her face. This is some scary stuff.
That Wednesday brain surgery is scheduled. When we have to say goodbye, we're more scared than we have ever been in our lives. We realize my wife may never be the same person again. What if the brain is damaged during surgery?
A few hours later and I feel like the luckiest man alive when the surgeons tell me everything went great. It gets even better when I go to see her in the recovery room. She is wide awake and doesn't seem any different than she did before this episode began.
What's next? Getting to know Radiation. We find out the next week that she is going to undergo three weeks of radiation. Afterwards she tells me radiation is harder to go through than chemo.
Next: Stage 4: Becoming more aggressive against this enemy.
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