Patrick Anderson's Blog

This week, we had plans to visit friends on Friday evening in Colorado Springs. We weren't sure how late we'd get home and were worried we wouldn't be ready for an early morning bike ride. But thanks to the kindness of our friends, we stayed at their place Friday night and got the opportunity to ride with the Colorado Springs TNT group.

When we woke up Saturday morning, we had an email in our inbox. The Springs got a dusting of snow and our coach had been out to check out the roads already. He changed the start time and location of our ride to make sure we didn't have too much snow to deal with.

At 10ish, we met at the Old Town Bike Shop in downtown Colorado Springs. After checking out some gear in the shop for one of the new riders, we headed out on the streets. We made are way over to the Pikes Peak Greenway. It was still a bit chilly in the shady spots with the occasional slick spot from snow. I think the temp was right around 32 degrees.

After we got off the trail, we went up Woodmen Road. It starts off as slight incline and keeps getting steeper. By the time we made the left onto Orchard Valley Road, the climb was getting pretty steep and we were getting warm despite the near freezing temps. This climb was relatively short and not that steep compared to the training we did last year, but because it was only our second training ride of the season, it was still tough. 

Luckily it was over pretty quickly... and then it was back down the hill and the fun part of the ride. We had a nice easy ride back to our starting point and along the way I chatted with Natalie. She is a new TNT member. She told me her personal story of being diagnosed with Lymphoma just about 2 years ago. She underwent 6 months of treatment and is cancer free. That was a good way to finish the ride and be reminded the reason we are doing this in the first place.

Today I just took a short warm-up ride by myself. I rode over to Cherry Creek State Park, did one loop and then came back home. It was a bit chilly -- maybe about 38 or so. I wore some of my cold weather gear, but not all. I'm still learning what combos work best on these chilly days.

For this ride, I wore an UnderArmour type shirt, leg warmers, full finger gloves, and a wind breaker. My core was warm and even hot at times, but my mid section and feet were freezing. Luckily, it was just a short ride, so it wasn't too bad. Next time, I'll go with the cycling tights and shoe covers.

In any case, it is all part of the process of learning about cycling. This is my first time riding in temps like these or in February. On Saturday, we have a Team in Training ride in the morning. Temps are expected to be around 20 degrees, so I will definitely have to be better prepared. 

February 16th Ride Map and Info at MapMyRide.com

After last week's kickoff meeting was almost snowed out, we were all hoping for good weather for the first day of training. That was not to be the case. When I loaded the bikes on our new bike rack, it was snowing again and about 15 degrees. 

Of course, our coach was prepared for this. We all met at Bicycle Village and had gear clinic and then did an hour of indoor riding using the trainers. 

This was the first time I have had an organized training session like this and it was a bit tougher than I had imagined. First of all, when you are riding on a trainer, there are no downhills or stoplights to give you a break. In addition, our coach kept us pushing ourselves to work harder. At each change in the music she brought, we were encouraged to change our cadence, gear or riding position. It made for a very good workout, but I'd still prefer to be outdoors next week.

I have a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training(TNT) and help advance the research for cures.

As many of you know, this will be my second TNT event. This June, I will be riding another 100 miles -- this time around Lake Tahoe. My original intent was to do one event in honor of my dad, who lost his fight with Leukemia in 2007. But now I have changed my mind. I hope to continue doing TNT events and helping LLS fight blood cancers.

Why did I change my mind? Well, the biggest reason is that LLS is such a great cause and the TNT program is great. It is truly an outsanding organization and a great program.

After completing my first century ride in September, I think I am now in this for the long haul. I enjoyed the summer of training, and I have been riding since the Moab Century. On my birthday, I went up Lookout Mountain with Jennifer and some TNT friends. A couple of days later, we went on the 71 mile Tony's-to-Tony's Ride with some other TNT friends. After the weather got cold, it has been more difficult to ride, but Jennifer and I have gotten out there a few times.

Seeing that biking is becoming a permanent part of our lives, Jennifer and I also decided to upgrade our bikes. We were both looking at the sales and checking Craigslist daily. As luck would have it, we both found bikes on Craigslist in the first part of December. And even more of a coincidence, they are both 2009 Fuji Roubaixs. Hers is the RC model, and mine is the one notch below Pro model.

So now, in the heart of winter, it is time for us to look at the 2012 calendar and commit to some events. Nothing is absolutely set in stone right now, but these are the events we have talked about.

Most Likely

America's Most Beautiful Ride - Lake Tahoe - June 3rd, 2012

We are pretty much definitely going on this ride. I have been selected as a Team in Training Ambassador, so I will also be helping to recruit other TNT participants.