Ride to Empower

What's your 2010 New Year's Resolution?
Breast Cancer Network of Strength is proud to present the third annual Ride to Empower October 21-24, 2010 in Springdale, Utah.  The Ride to Empower is a destination century cycling event, with routes up to 100 miles through southern Utah and Zion National Park. This exciting event will produce memories of a lifetime, build friendships, and most importantly give you that "I did it" spirit!  Register Now 

A Serene Destination
Springdale, Utah is located in southern Utah 120 miles northeast from Las Vegas, Nevada.  Springdale is a beautiful desert with green shrubs and trees accented by many colors of wildflowers.  The route offers routes up to 100 miles.  The Majestic View Lodge serves as the host hotel and is located just outside of Zion National Park 

Flexible Fundraising
Select from various fundraising packages to participate.  Packages start at $350 (Ride-Only) to all-inclusive packages which include courtesy airfare provided by United Airlines, three nights at the Majestic View Lodge, all meals, and bike transportation for $4,000   >>View fundraising packages

Want to learn more?
If you are not ready to register but would like to stay in the know, watch the video below and sign up for our Ride to Empower e-newsletter. >>Get the newsletter

It's not to late to set your 2010 New Year's Resolution and let the Ride to Empower be one of them!

Questions? Contact us at 877-973-7223 ext.2729 or ride@networkofstrength.org

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Hi All -

We wish everyone a wonderful, delicious Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is far and away our favorite and best food holiday of the year. Starting now, and all through December, we tend to spread the joy by sharing high carb meals (YUM! We LOVE mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing...), indulging on candies, cookies, pies, breads, and so many other things that will, unless we keep working out, contribute to an expanded winter waistline...

So eat! But do yourselves a favor and keep up with your exercise and fitness routines. Go to the gym. Ride your bike if you live in a climate where you're able. Take walks. Partake of winter sports like skiing, skating and snoeshoeing. And then EAT!

Enjoy!

We wish you and yours a very Merry Holiday Season and Good Health and Happiness in the coming New Year!
:-)
Deb & Brian Bowling
Planet Ultra

CONGRATULATIONS RIDERS!!!

Congratulations to the riders who hit the roads in Las Vegas for the second annual RIDE TO EMPOWER! Whether you rode 25, 37, 67 or the full century, we're SO PROUD OF YOU for reaching your cycling goals and for toughing it out on this very challenging route! You are all STARS!!!

We are so honored to be part of the Ride To Empower. We're touched and inspired by your stories, your struggles, your accomplishments, your warm hearts and kind spirits. We look forward to seeing you again in Springdale, Utah in October 2010.

Keep in touch and know that we're still here for you all year long to keep you interested and motivated to ride your bikes, stay fit, and set new goals for the future.

Thank you for a GREAT EVENT!!!

Deb & Brian

Get out a map and follow along...

Only 12 days to the BIG DAY!!!  We're so looking forward to meeting all of you and hosting what will hopefully be a special and rewarding experience for each of you. We hope you're feeling confident, well trained, and super excited about the 2009 Ride To Empower!

We've received some emails asking for details about the route. So if you want to get out a map and follow along, it's super easy to navigate!

Starting at the Red Rock Casino, you'll hang a left on Charleston, which becomes Highway 159. You'll enjoy a nice, flat warm-up. Turn right at the Scenic Drive heading into Red Rock Canyon. From here the climbing begins. You'll start gradually, then it pitches up a bit as the scenery becomes more and more beautiful! At the top of the climb you'll enjoy the view and drinks and snacks at the first checkpoint.

You'll climb a bit more before you reach the summit - then it's a wonderful, rewarding descent down to Highway 159 where you'll make a right. The road rolls gently along Highway 159 all the way to the right turn to Blue Diamond, where you'll find the second checkpoint. Then you head back to Highway 159 again until you come to the t-intersection at Highway 160, where you'll turn right.

Here the climbing begins again. About 8 miles of climbing to the summit and the 3rd checkpoint at the top. Then it's a screamin' downhill for three miles; and then a right turn onto Lovell Canyon Rd.

Lovell Canyon is an 11-mile, very gentle climb. At the end of the road you'll refuel, make a u-turn and retrace the route back the way you came. The return is a straight shot down Highway 160 to the left on Highway 159 and all the way back to the Red Rock.

For those who want to ride less than the full century, you can turn around pretty much any time, as the route is an out-and-back with a detour up into Red Rock Canyon at the start.

If you have any specific questions about the route, feel free and shoot us an email at Embassy AT planetultra.com

Keep up your training!
Deb & Brian

Less Than Three Weeks To Go!

Hi All!

How's your training coming along? You're just about there...
So we hope you're feeling really strong, confident and ready for THE BIG DAY!

With less than three weeks to go, you should now have ridden at least one 60-65 miler; and over the next two weekends (October 10 & 17th) have a plan for doing at least 70 as the final test.

It's really important to do the long training rides. Besides making you strong and building your endurance, it's the only way to learn whether your bike is properly fit for you and whether your shoes, shorts, gloves, etc. will work for the long distance day.

Have you done some climbing rides? The full century is a pretty challenging course with over 7,000' of climbing. You'll face some short, steep climbs and some long, gentle grades.  If you haven't trained on some serious hills, you might find this route tougher than you imagined. Not trying to scare you... But we also don't want you to be surprised when you get there.

Have you practiced changing a flat tire? If not, please do! You absolutely should be able to do this yourself. While we will have roving SAG vehicles on the route, it's sometimes not easy to get to you exactly when you need help. For example, the Red Rock Canyon loop is ONE WAY; so SAG drivers can't make a u-turn and go back to you if you flat on that road. Also, Highway 160 has sections where the highway is divided and a SAG vehicle would have to drive many miles before being able to turn around. So please plan on being as self-sufficient as possible.

Finally, Tynesha is receiving inquiries about the exact route and the various distance choices. So here's the scoop. The route is basically an out-and-back, with a diversion around the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop at the beginning. So once you've completed the loop, you can turn around at any time.

If you get out a map and follow along, the route is...

From the Red Rock Casino, turn left on Charleston, which becomes Highway 159. It's a flat road until you turn right on the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive. The Scenic Drive is a one-way loop that climbs to a summit then drops you back down to the highway. The first two or so miles are fairly gentle and then the next couple really pitch up. You'll hit some 8-10% grades in the last mile before the first SAG stop. After the stop you'll climb a little more, then it's mostly down hill to the right turn on Highway 159. 

Highway 159 has some gentle rollers and some flat ground all the way to the right turn to Blue Diamond and your next SAG stop. After the stop, you'll turn right on Highway 159 and then right again at the t-intersection at Highway 160.

You'll start gently climbing on Highway 160, and it gets a little steeper at the top of the 10 mile ascent to the next SAG stop at Mountain Springs. This will be the turn-around for anyone who decides they've had enough climbing for the day. Those doing the full century will descend three miles and make a right on Lovell Canyon Rd and begin a gentle 11 mile climb to the turn-around SAG stop.

(There are two short, unpaved dirt sections on Lovell Canyon Road. When we were there two weeks ago, the first section was a little thick, so we walked it. The second one was more compact and ride-able. If you feel safer walking both, then walk! Always err on the side of caution!)

The rest of the route is simply the return trip on Lovell Canyon Road, a very careful left onto Highway 160, another careful left onto Highway 159, then the straight shot back to the Red Rock Casino and an end to your triumphant day! The SAG stops at Mountain Springs and Blue Diamond will remain open for the return trip if you want to stop.

The navigation for the century is super easy. The scenery is wonderful. There's a bit of traffic on Highway 160, but there's a HUGE shoulder, so it's totally safe. Just stay to the right. No hugging the white line please!

If you have any questions about the route, please send us an email at embassy AT planetultra.com

Will post again by the end of the week!
Deb & Brian

How's Your Training Coming Along???

The RIDE TO EMPOWER is only 8 short weeks away!

Based on our suggested 12-week training plan, ideally you're riding 5 days a week and have ridden at least one 35-mile ride.

Are you there?

The best plan for success is ride, ride, ride! Be consistent in your training. Stay with it. Keep focused and motivated!

If you're not there, why not? What can we do to help you get motivated??? PLEASE contact us and ask questions. Let us help you get ready for this ride-of-a-lifetime! We're here for YOU!!!

Deb and Brian
embassy AT planetultra.com

Women Who Inspire Me

I sometimes find it difficult to come up with topics to write about. Most of the time, my goal is to inspire you as you progress in your journey that will culminate in Las Vegas, Nevada, but I'm not sure if sharing my riding experiences this summer is always the best way to get my point across. The truth is there is not much excitement to share about my riding over the last month. I ride and ride just like you. So, I thought I'd try to think of something different to write about other than my own riding and fundraising experiences. Sometimes, I do my best thinking while riding, and today was no exception.

Today while riding, I started to reflect on some news I received yesterday having to do with the death of a long time member of my breast cancer support group. I had trouble remembering who the women was because she mostly attended the group before I became involved as a facilitator. When someone in my group mentioned that she was the one who knit all the time, I finally remembered meeting her last January at our holiday party. Even though I had met this woman only once, I felt moved by the fact that she passed away after having been a 10 year breast cancer survivor. At my next meeting, I intend to bring a card to pass around and have signed by the women in my group because I feel that our group should send a card to her family giving our condolences. This is the first death that I've encountered in my breast cancer support group. As time goes on, I become more and more emotionally attached to the women in my group, and I find myself worrying about them. I really love who they are and what they represent to me. I hear their breast cancer stories, including  fears about their futures. One death in my group is one too many. However, our group tries to focus more on life than death, and that is why these women inspire me.

This year the turnouts for our meetings have been fairly large. On a consistent basis, we usually have between 20 and 30 women attending our meetings. Many of the women having been coming for some time but every month we have a number of newly diagnosed women.  It doesn't matter that we come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, or that we have different personalities or lives.  We are there for the sole purpose of sharing our breast cancer experiences, and to emotionally help each other. There is a feeling of comfort in our group, and as a result, we spend time laughing and crying together. There is a strong connection among us which remains constant even though the women attending these meetings vary all the time. It is sometimes the only place these women can come and feel totally accepted and understood as breast cancer survivors. It is a place that we all feel comfortable being ourselves.

There are so many things that move me when I facilitate our meetings. I love when one of our members shows up and is finally starting to grow hair after having completed her chemotherapy. Many times I've never seen this particular person with hair so this is always considered a big event. Also, I love to  look out among the women in the group and see wonderful transformations taking place, both physically and emotionally, in those who originally came when they were first diagnosed. I feel joy at seeing them finally returning to the main stream of life. I love to see them smile and hear them laugh in a more carefree manner. I think how wonderful it is that they are doing better.  These women who finally are doing better,as well as many long term breast cancer survivors, continue to come because they want to help others going through similar experiences.  I love when a group member announces that she is a 20 year breast cancer survivor who originally was diagnosed with  a more advanced stage of breast cancer,and then see a newly diagnosed breast cancer survivor get the look of hope in her eyes. At our last meeting, there was a newly diagnosed women who was attending her second meeting. In talking to her, I found out that she had been calling another newly diagnosed women who had been struggling greatly at our last meeting. Notwithstanding all that she was going through, she still took the time to call this other breast cancer survivor to help her in her struggle. Through our own breast cancer struggles, we learn about empathy and the importance of helping others.

As I said earlier, our emphasis is on life rather than death. We focus on staying positive but at the same time we acknowledge and share our fears and anxieties and even our struggles with depression. We encourage and support..we say that we know what you are going through..we hug (we do that a lot) and say, " if I made it this far so can you"....We are a breast cancer support group that does amazing things for women who in a blink of an eye have had their lives turned upside down. We help women of all ages , including, family members  who are struggling with the reality that someone they love has breast cancer. Yes, this group does amazing things just like all the other Network of Strength support groups around the country. 

 Remember you are raising money for these support groups as well as the other services provided by the Network of Strength. By supporting this cause you are helping breast cancer survivors like those in my support group. The individual stories of each of these women, as well as those of all the other women out there who have had, or now have, or in the future will have, breast cancer gives meaning to the term "breast cancer survivors". I thought this might be the type of inspiration you need to ride a little further, or work a little harder in meeting your fundraising goals.  These women inspire me and I hope that they will inspire you in the remaining months ahead.

  

Shifting Gears

The best advice we can give about gears is - - USE THEM!

You should shift as soon as you feel your cadence (the rate you're spinning the pedals) getting either very slow or very fast, and/or you're feeling too little or too much pressure on the pedals.

To effectively and efficiently ride long distances (60+ miles) without wearing out your legs too early in the ride, you need to have a fairly high cadence and not so much pressure on the pedals that your legs are straining too much. What cadence are we shooting for? On the flats, 85-95 rpm. On the climbs, your cadence will naturally fall. That's fine -- but don't let it drop below 73 rpm. Most people produce their highest amount of power at cadences in the 70s; so this is where you climb.

What does this mean for your training? Try to keep your cadence high and feel a little discomfort (not pain) in your quads. On your fast days, your legs should burn most of the ride. On your long day, pace yourself so that you can keep the effort constant throughout the ride.

Experienced cyclists shift a lot. The more you practice the more natural it will become. In time, you'll be able to know what gear you're in without looking. You'll know when you're out of cogs so that it's time to shift chainrings up front. 

There are two reasons to shift to an easier gear before you need it. First, the bike shifts much better without a lot of pressure on the pedals. Second, it helps prevent you from wearing out your legs by mashing down hard on the pedals to get the speed to shift.

Shift to a harder (faster) gear as soon as your cadence goes too high to be comfortable or you're not exerting yourself enough. This may also help prevent (excuse the bluntness) crotch problems related to bouncing on the saddle.

Bottom line: Use your gears to keep your exertion level fairly constant during the ride (the hills will always be harder though)!

For the super newbies, please read on:

These are chainrings:

    

You shift these with your left hand/shifter. For the purposes of the Ride To Empower, and generally speaking, you only need the biggest ring when you're riding downhill or on a very flat road with a tailwind. The smallest ring, or "granny gear" is your best friend in the hills. Don't be shy about using it. 

This is a cog set.

You shift up and down the cog set with your right hand/shifter. The smallest cogs are for descending and riding on flat roads. When you're climbing, move on up the set, all the way to the top if needs be! Use those gears!!! Don't be shy!

Our Cycling Summer Vacation

We get a little summer break from our Planet Ultra events; so we hit the road for 7-8 weeks in our RV. We enjoy cycling both on and off road - and would like to share some of our wonderful experiences with you, via photographs. We hope this inspires you to get out and ride!!!

Off road in Ketchum, Idaho (aka Sun Valley) - some of the best mountain biking in the U.S!

An awesome 10-mile bike path around Diamond Lake, OR. We had the path pretty much to ourselves!

 

Diamond Lake, OR.

Crater Lake National Park, OR. The BEST way to explore our country's National Parks is by bicycle!

Mountain biking in Westfir, Oregon (off-road HEAVEN):

 

Winding your way through a lush pine forest on smooth singletrack makes for an absolutely perfect day of mountain biking! If you love to ride bikes - you just have to do it both on and off road!

A beautiful tunnel of trees on the Aufderheide Memorial Highway - part of the West Cascades National Scenic Byway.

 

Great views from a one-lane bridge over the Willamette River.

Scenes from the Olympic Discovery Trail between Sequim and Port Angeles, WA. The Trail will ultimately stretch approximately 100 miles from Port Townsend at the East end to the Pacific Coast at the West end.  Currently 30 miles of the Olympic Discovery Trail are completed with another 30 miles funded and heading toward construction, mostly west of Lake Crescent. 

Mount Rainier National Park, OR. We did a magnificent 80 mile loop through the park and then meandering in and out of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

More to come! We'll post more pictures from our 2009 summer travels in Oregon, Washington and Idaho!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Cycling

Right now I'm having a love/hate relationship with typing this post. I just spent a good 2 hours typing and by mistake ended up erasing the whole piece. Oh well, I will take a deep breath and start over....I will rely on the patience I have developed while riding long distances.

For those of you who are training to do your first century ride, I'm sure you're feeling a little overwhelmed as you look at your training plan and see that in the months ahead you are supposed to start riding longer distances. I remember I felt this way at the end of July last year as I trained for the 2008 Ride to Empower. My love/hate relationship for riding kicks in when I start having to ride for 4 or more hours at a time. This happened to me the other day.  I'm a little bit ahead of schedule in following my training plan because I know I will not have as much time to ride in August. So, my goal was to ride 60 miles that day. I decided to ride on the bike path along  Lake Michigan. Before I start out on a long bike ride, I try not to think about how far I have to ride or how long it will take. I tell myself that I can turn around at any time and head home. I play these games in my head so I don't get too psyched out by all that awaits me. The problem is I know too much because of having trained for the ride last year. I know how many times I will have to ride up and down the lake front in order to accomplish my goal and how grueling it can be sometimes. To be honest, during my 60 mile ride there were times I definitely wasn't happy about it. I know that hate is a little strong for what I was feeling but there were definitely times my feelings teetered in that direction. However, I happened to have good endurance that day, and the wind was minimal and the day was not too hot so the ride went fairly well. Once I was done, I felt  the relief of being done as well as the thrill of having accomplished my goal. It is then that my love of cycling returns. 

My purpose in writing today is to encourage those of you who may be feeling apprehensive about the remaining months of training. To be honest, there is a lot of hard work ahead, and there will be times you may feel as if you are losing your mind. For example, the other day while riding I started looking at other people's bike helmets in order to pass the time. I don't like my helmet very much because it has a plastic piece that sticks out of the front of it. It seemed as if most of the other helmets I observed did not have this plastic piece. When I stopped at a restroom, I removed the plastic piece and threw it in the garbage can. When I returned to cycling, the sun seemed too bright to me, and my face felt overly hot. That is when I realized that my plastic piece served a purpose in that it protected me from the sun. So, when I looped back to that restroom during my day of riding, I reached into the garbage can to retrieve my plastic piece and snapped it back onto my helmet. That is what I call "sort of losing my mind". Being on a bike that long and riding back and forth over the same terrain can do that to me. However, notwithstanding these types of mental lapses in reasoning, I know I will persevere and accomplish my goals.  I'm also  confident that you will have what it takes to both mentally and physically  accomplish your goals, whether they are those that you set for yourself weekly, or the ultimate goal of riding in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. Even though there will be times you' ll have trouble walking because your legs will be stiff from riding, I'm know you'll get right back up on the saddle and continue to ride, ride, and ride!

Other changes that I'm sure you are experiencing are those relating to your physical appearance. Are you looking slimmer yet? All those hours of riding burn calories and as a result I'm eating mostly carbohydrates and am not gaining any weight. Prior to training for this event, I had to steer clear of too many carbohydrates because at my age just breathing in the smell of them seems to put weight on me. In other words, my metabolism is usually non-existent. Now, however, I find myself eating pizza, peanut butter sandwiches,etc. in order to have the strength to ride, as well as the stamina to sustain myself between rides. To be honest, it's fun to be able to eat whatever I want because I know from last year that about 1 month after the big ride my metabolism will go back to its old sluggish pace. So, I do love that I slim down as a result of all this riding but I don't like the fact that I  tend to lose a lot of my muscle that I develop from lifting weights over the winter. After my mastectomy, I started to lift weights to give myself a sense of empowerment. One unexpected benefit of lifting weights was that the development of my chest muscles gave the impression that I still had my breast. I noticed last year that around August my chest muscles started to go down, and I found that I had to be careful about wearing certain tops. All the riding leaned me down so much that my beloved chest muscles slimmed down too. I'm not one too worry to much about that kind of stuff so I just ignored the changes. I also knew that once the ride was over I could build up my muscles again. After my 60 mile ride, I can see these changes starting to occur once again. As I said there are things I love about training for this Ride and there are some things I don't like (and sometimes even hate).

So, you will experience a lot of changes over the summer as you continue to train for the big day. You will learn how to sit for longer periods of time on your bicycle, to keep pedaling when your legs feel too tired, to keep moving towards your goal notwithstanding the weather (wind, rain, heat and cold),  to keep your mind in the moment even though you know you should be home doing things around the house or at work, to be patient without thinking too much about how many miles you still have to ride, and to take better care of yourself by eating healthier and drinking more water so as to keep up your endurance... and in the end you will grow as a person from this experience... you will learn,among other things, how to dig deep when you would otherwise like to give up, and in the end you will feel pretty darn good about yourself for persevering through it all and ending up at the finish line even if that finish line isn't at the 100 mile mark. You should all be proud of yourself for just taking the chance and becoming involved in this event. All of you should  pat yourselves on your backs for making it this far and knowing that  you have what it takes to accomplish your goals in the remaining months ahead. When you have those days of riding where the feeling of dislike (or on those really bad days, the feeling of hate) tends to creep into your thoughts, just know that at the end of your ride the feeling of love will come back to you again. Most importantly, don't forget that at the end of all your training when we  meet in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada,  we will all be able to share our experiences and enjoy each others company. We will share our love of life because as breast cancer survivors we understand how important it is to embrace this concept in our daily lives.  The wonderful memories that you will each take home with you will make those difficult times experienced while training seem minimal.  My hope is that when all is said and done you will end up saying to yourself  "hey, I think I'll do this again next year "...