Another week closer, more sponsorship and a few more miles

This was an interesting week of riding and fund raising. I raised an additional $305 from 9 new sponsors! This puts me at $1,165 towards my goal of $1,250. I've got a few more people thinking of sponsoring me, so I'm confident I'll make my goal.

I rode 3 times this week. Two early morning 15-mile rides, where I didn't warm up enough and pushed it a little too much. That lack of warming up showed up Saturday when I went out for a 70-mile ride. At around 45 miles, my left hip was bothering me. It wasn't saying "Stop", but it was saying "Hey! I need some attention!" So, I got off my bike and stretched both hips, my lower back and quads. Instant relief. I repeated the same thing at 60 miles. Stretching - I forgot. Really, I haven't been as attentive to this kind of workout as (a) I used to be, and (b) I really need to be. I didn't ride Sunday (but I did stretch) to prepare for a week where I plan to ride 3-4 times in the morning and then a long ride Saturday. I also saw Angels and Demons on Sunday afternoon. Non-stop action (unlike my riding on Saturday.) I'm going to take it easy the next few mornings and ride to work out any stiffness or soreness in my hip. I'm doing some assisted stretching for both hips, and it seems to have already helped.

I picked up some new gel gloves from Specialized on Friday night. The gel pads are located close to the base of the palm where I have had issues in the past with road shock. (How about that photo!? It's a gel (pad) glove, and the web site photo is of the side of the glove without the gel pads. Marketing is a profession!?) They worked exceptionally well. And they're black, so they go with everything! I made ample use of GU Gels during the 70-mile ride including one Roctane. They definitely helped. I'm working out how I plan to eat on the Best Buddies Ride. I need to do some calculating (all those Calculus classes, well, they won't help) and some more experimenting next weekend.

I passed (and, truth in advertising, was later passed by) two guys riding tri bikes. One guy was using a prosthetic right lower leg. They were taking turns leading and were chatting it up, too. That was an inspiring moment that lasted the rest of the ride.

Thank you again for sponsoring me in this year's Audi Best Buddies Ride. I'm working on getting fitter and ensuring I can complete the ride for you and for the Buddies who will benefit from your generosity.

Cheers,

Greg