My Tour DaVita 2011:in training

It is hard to believe that another year has passed and it is that time again. I look forward to September as I do Christmas. It is time for the annual Tour DaVita. This year the tour is in beautiful Connecticut. If I have my way the weather will be cool but more importantly, dry. Last year in Washington State it rain most of the time we were there. The weather broke on the final day and we were able to see the mountain. I still had a lot of fun and enjoyed talking to teammates from all over the states.

This year I am going to push myself to do the century ride. On the third day of the tour we are giving the option to do a 100 mile ride. I have not been up to the challenge in the past tours but I am training hard this year. I have been doing daily 14 mile rides and then this last weekend did a 50 mile ride. I know it doesn't sound like much but I am training on a mountain bike. Not to mention that the temperature has been triple digits for just about the last month. I was able to do the 50 mile ride in less than 5 hours and the temperature was 94 when we finished.

I will continue to do the short 14 mile rides during the week but I think I will hold off on the long rides due to the extreme heat. I think I will keep it under 30 miles a day on the weekends. That should be three hours in the saddle, more than enough to toughen the skin for the tour.

Last year my camera bit the dust due to the wet weather. I kept it under my wet weather gear but the rain was such that it soaked though the gear. I hope to have a new camera to take with me so I can capture all the memories. So check back after September for a follow up on how well I did and I hope to have some pictures posted.

Tour DaVita 2010

I have survived the tour yet again, only this time unscathed. Last year on day two I ended up in the Emergency Room and had 13 sutures placed in my right calf that was sliced opened from the sprocket. For those of you that don’t know what I am talking about, the tour is Tour DaVita. It is a three day bike ride that benefits the Kidney Trust

The Kidney Trust is a non profit organization that provides free testing of kidney function and provides financial assistance to dialysis patients. On the first service, 90 percent of adults with kidney disease do not even know they have it. Once found, lifestyle modifications can be made to prevent the disease from progressing to end stage renal disease (ESRD). That is when you need to be placed on dialysis three times a week until you can get a kidney transplant. The second service takes the burden off of a patient having to decide between paying for a medication and paying the rent.

The tour this year was in Washington State. You can check out the route and pictures and video at tourdavita.org. We started off in Tacoma. The first day was approximately 66 miles. The rain was a slight drizzle most of the day with the temperature in the upper 50’s. There were two large hills that day. I made it half way up the first hill and then had to walk my bike up the rest of the way. I looked at it as on opportunity to stretch my legs and enjoy the sights. The second hill was even more brutal. As I start to make my way up I get cramps in my legs. I had to get off my bike to stretch my legs out. I look down at my legs and it looks like snakes crawling under my bike shorts. The muscles were just jumping. I couldn’t even walk. Then the cramps moved to my lower back. Ouch! The guest speaker for the night was riding his bike up the hill and saw that I needed help. He took my bike and pushed it up the hill while I tried to stop the cramping. After about 15 minutes and a bottle of water, I was back to good and continued on my way. I finished all the miles that day and made it in by 3:30. I hit the showers and then the massage table.

Day two was the visit to the dialysis clinic for a presentation. The morning was crisp and just a very slight mist coming down. We rode to the clinic and just about half way through the program the rain started to come down in buckets. I decided to stay and tour the dialysis clinic to kill some time and see if the rain would let up. After about 30 minutes it did not so I took off. It was raining so hard I had to remove my glasses to see. There were several steep hills on the ride and I stretched my legs on all three. On one of the hills a car full of girls drove by and one yelled out the window “Nice ass!” Boy, it had been a long time since I heard that! Only my bottom was starting to hurt and I was ready to give up. I had two friends, Kevin and Marjorie that pushed me to continue. I carried on with their encouragement and we all crossed the finish line together. That was 79 miles in the pouring rain and temperatures in the 50’s. It was a miserable weather for the ride but the sense of accomplishment and the company kept was worth it. It was after 6:30 when we arrived. I took a nice hot shower but unfortunately the massage tables were closed.

I started day three with the intention of doing the full century mile ride. As the day went on the soreness on my groin was getting worse and worse. The hills were plentiful this day as well. The day started off with rain and about 30 miles out the rain slowed down and then the sun actually broke through the clouds. By the time I made it to the lunch stop I was in so much pain it hurt to walk. Not the legs, the groin. This was the 45 mile mark and I made up my mind I was done. This was a difficult decision but the right decision. I did not want to risk further injury. I ate lunch and turned in my bike. I fell asleep on the one hour bus ride to the camp. After a nice long shower I went to the finish line to cheer the arrival of other riders. I had so many different emotions as I rang the bell and waved to the riders. I was filled with joy that they had finished the ride and disappointed with myself for not completing it. I just have to remind myself that I did my best and there is always next year.

Lessons learned

I learned a lot on this trip. The next time (and there will be a next time) I will take my pillow so I can sleep better. I will take some Motrin along to help with the sore body. If I can find the cold packs that you squeeze, I'll take them along for the sore butt. As well as some muscle rub. There is a cream that you put on your shorts to prevent friction rubs. ( Now I know not to wear underware under my cycle shorts!)I know all about friction rubs. I have two of them. They are much better today thank you very much. The last day I took full advantage of the break snacks and I felt I had much more energy for that ride. I need to ride a few more hills to learn exactly how and when to shift. The hills are what gave me a lot of problems. I came to look at them as an opportunity to stretch my legs and hydrate (walk and have a drink). That last day I only walked up 2 hills. Either I was getting better or the hills were not as bad.

The ride of a lifetime!

Day 1 camp site on the lake

Day 2 camp site on a baseball field.

Day 1 injury to my right leg.

Day 2 injury to my right leg

It was billed as the ride of a lifetime. It certainly lived up to that for me! I flew into Grand Rapids via Chicago. The flight was on time and the weather was perfect. The first camp site was by Wabasis Lake Park in Greenville. It was beautiful. We had dinner in a large circus style tent which was followed by the opening ceremony. Then it was off to bed for me as it would be my first long ride in the morning. The temperature got down to 40 that night and I was glad to have a mat for the sleeping bag.

Coffee was at 6 o’clock and breakfast at 6:30 (as it would be for the remainder of the trip). The ride today was from Greenville to Fremont. The first break was at the 15.7 mile mark, more miles than I had ever done in one day. Just about killed me but I survived. I fell off the bike at the stop sign crossing the street to the rest area and skinned up my right knee really well. Lunch was at the 27.3 mile mark at Long Lake Park. I had pasta and a salad and headed out after about an hour. There was a rest stop again at 48.3 and 61.4 miles. We ended the ride at Branstrom Park for a first day total of 67 miles. What a day. I could hardly walk to my tent to get my shower stuff. I was holding the hand rail with both hands to make it up the stairs. It was shower, dinner and bed for me tonight. I was so tired but I had a feeling of accomplishment

Day 2 was from Fremont to Stony Lake. It was a short 2.6 mile ride to a dialysis center in the rain where we had a program ceremony until 10:00. The first real break was to be at the 12.2 mile but I never made it to that stop. At about the 11 mile mark I needed a drink so I slowed down so I could stop for a drink. My foot got caught up in the stirrup and the bike fell over in what seemed like slow motion. The sprocket put a large gash behind my right calf. A few seconds later the blob started dripping out, slow at first and then faster. I had to use my bandana as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. The backraods van came by and took me to the dialysis center to have it cleaned up. I removed the tourniquet and the blood started back up again. It was off to the ER where it took 11 stitches to close the leg up and get me on my way. The backroads van was waiting for me when I got out and I had him drop me off at as close to my fall as possible. I continued the day and finished up at about 5:30. That was 66.7 miles. What a long and painful day. Once again it was shower, dinner, and bed.

Day 3 was my chance to do a 100 mile ride. I had until mile 61 to decide if I was going to go that route or if I was going to do a metric century, 100 kilometers (65 miles). Well lunch was not agreeing with me and my legs felt like they were made of jelly, and my stitches felt like they were pulling. The 100 mile ride would have to wait. I pulled into camp about 3 o’clock. I was ready to drop. I took my shower and headed over to the massage tables to have my back worked on. Afterward it was dinner and bed. I was ready to drop. I had blisters in places that you are not supposed to get blisters.

That was almost 200 miles in a three day time span. There were many times when I wanted to quit, calling for the van and taking the easy way out. But I didn’t. I did most of my riding alone. I was way to slow for the good riders and a little faster than the other novices. I am so glad that I was asked to ride and I hope that I can do it again next year. We raised almost $700,000 for the Kidney Trust. It is a non profit that tests for kidney disease so that dialysis can be delayed or even prevented.

Tour DaVita

I will be representing San Antonio Kidney Disease Access Center in the Tour DaVita starting this weekend. This is a fund raising and education awareness event that is sponsored by DaVita. I will be biking 250 miles in 3 days in the hills of Grand Rapids Michigan. The first day is 70 miles, the second day is 70 miles, the third day is 100 miles, and then it is a wake up and a short 10 mile ride to the finish. The nights will be spent camping in tents. I looked at the weather and it should be very good for biking. I will be taking my camera with me and take pictures along the way. I’m not sure of the site but I heard that a web site is set up for folk to follow the tour on line from the comforts of home. I leave at 0720 in the morning and will return on Wednesday evening. I hope to have fun and promote education in the communities that we are riding through. Wish me luck!