Life Spoke

Today I bought the bike that will take me across the country. It's so nice! I can't wait to go on a nice long test ride tomorrow.

REI hooked me up with a Team Novara discount. Team Novara is the REI cycling team which I recently joined. The team discount isn't normally available to new members such as myself though. I worked with Guy in the shop and he fitted the bike perfectly to me. I can't wait to ride without knee and neck pain like I had with the big training bike.

If you are a new reader of this weblog, here is the link to the American Cancer Society Fundraising webpage: Team ACS

Tracey and I have been discussing how best to put your names on the bike. More to come on that.

Thanks everyone,
Andrew

Hello!

Been training and getting in touch with tons of people. Between phone calls, emails and letters I have spoken with literally dozens of people in the past week. There is an amazing, growing community of individuals, families and companies that care about this fundraiser. It's an awesome feeling to have you all behind me. Thanks.

I think I may have a chance to get the perfect bike for the ride. I may know today (Thursday) or tomorrow so check back; I'll have photos. May be getting some press coverage both in New Jersey and in Oregon; I'll let you know where to look for me!

I have been blessed with the second job in a row where my boss is a great guy. I was recently granted Leave Without Pay so that I can have time to do the ride. My job will be waiting when I return. Thanks Dave!

Spent a fun afternoon with my man, Mr. Dan Harrington, who recently retired. Dan was diagnosed for the fourth time in his life with a difficult form of cancer and he's not expected to beat the disease this time. He's living life to the fullest and I really did enjoy spending some time with him this week. I'm transcribing the story he wrote about his fight and will post it on this webpage before the next update. It's insightful to say the least.

It was really hot in Eugene this weekend. I shouldn't complain though, the weather map looked like we were all boiling last week. I hope it's not an omen that it will be freezing cold in the Appalachians in mid October!

Wish me luck on the bike! Until next Thursday - Andrew

I rode last Thursday with my friend Eric Birkhauser. Another hill ride south of Eugene. Some of the hills are pretty steep and I'm not used to the high gearing of the road bike (only two gears in the front 42-52 and six in the back 13-24). My thighs alone weren't enough to get me up the hills. I started pulling the pedals up through the top part of the stroke (remember I was clipped into special pedals with shoes that Shimano sent me for this purpose). It's difficult to explain but basically I was cranking on the pedal from 9 o'clock all the way to 6 o'clock (3/4 of the circle).
After a few long hills with this kind of work my left knee started getting sore. After the ride I iced it a bunch. I rested on Friday, and then Saturday I swam for 30 minutes. Sunday evening I got back on the bike, intending only to do flat riding with lots of spinning (high pedal RPMs and easier gears).
I rode west out of Eugene into a pretty strong head wind. Before I knew it, I was working almost as hard as I had been when climbing hills. It only lasted 45 minutes or so and then I turned across the wind. 30 minutes later I turned east and was getting a nice tailwind. Spinning on flat, narrow country roads my average speed was about 21 mph.
Everything was fine for a while; no knee pain, sweet sunset, light traffic. With only eight miles to go something changed. The pain had started back and went from a one to about a six in a single pedal revolution. I got home after 2:15 of riding and iced it for the rest of the night.
Yesterday I went to my buddy Kenji Carp. He's the physical therapist who fixed the same knee six months ago. I originally injured it training for the Philadelphia marathon three years ago. Kenji was happy to see me at 5pm. He'd tacked me onto the end of his busy schedule for the day.
After twisting my knee around and having me do some tests he found the problem. Basically, the tendon (sartorius) that connects from my hip across my thigh to the inside rear of my knee is the culprit. Luckily, he thinks between ice, stretching and a comprehensive hip strengthening regimen I should be in good shape to keep training. He shot a bunch of therapeutic UV light into the tendon area and asked me to come back later this week.
The source of the problem is complex but comes down to three things. The wallet I sit on in my left hip pocket might be tightening the muscle connected to the offending tendon. Also, I've been training hills that are too steep for the gearing I have on my bike. And the bike seat was adjusted too high. I fixed the wallet problem and just have to stick to longer, flatter rides for a month or so.
My excitement at such a benign diagnosis is only matched by my previous nervousness and uncertainty about it. I got home from Kenji's office, changed into mountain biking gear and rode over to Eric's house. We put in 17 miles on the trails south of Eugene. It was nice to get on my mountain bike and get off the road. I really love riding that bike and the gearing is so much easier than the road bike. We each went over the handlebars once, but were both fine.
I iced my knee all night after the ride and again today while I was at work. This evening I stretched a ton and worked out at home. I've been icing it off and on all evening.
For the bike, I dropped the seat and moved it back a touch. Hopefully these changes will take care of the problem until I can get a touring bike that's the right size and gearing for me. In the meantime, I'm going to stay off the huge, steep hills and do what I can to keep the RPMs up.

I wanted to mention that my fundraising is going incredibly well. If you're reading this you are probably one of the awesome people that have contributed. Thank you.
I have a lot of names to mention, so here goes:
Rich Bascue is my dad; he donated for his co-leader in Boy Scouts, Chris Hughes. Dorothy Merereau and Carla Nickelsen are long time friends of Dan Harrington here in Oregon. Anne Nodes and Marci Fourre and my mom's friends through artwork, they've known me since I was 13 and they both do beautiful stain glass. Alan Swartz is Marci's coworker. Molly and Emily Bernath are friends and climbing partners who I know from Rutgers, they're both doing a breast cancer fundraiser in Boston. Clayton and Liz Spurell are Tracey's friends from college and high school, thanks guys! The Ferdinando Family lives a few doors down from my parents; Joe and I worked together to fight a road widening project that would have ruined the rural feel of our island in New Jersey. Gavin Lau and Nick Wirth are friends from the EPA in NYC, both incredible athletes. Jason Kuo is the guy whose eye I almost gouged a few weeks ago in Washington, strong dude for sure!

Oh yeah, if you want photos from the mountaineering trip in Washington:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/abumyn/album?.dir=/61f0scd&.src=ph&.tok=phk96MFB1h5G3Gx3

Thank you so much, everyone. Having you all read this and donate is a huge motivation!

Drew

Good times. My friend Drew flew out from NJ on June 30. Tracey talked us into a road trip up to Washington. No plan, just got in the car with the map and a trunk full of camping and climbing gear. No kids, no pets, no house to worry about.
We drove north out of Oregon and decided Mt. Rainier would be cool to check out. Wow. Our first full view was from about 20 miles away and the mountain was spectacular in the evening sunshine. We drove closer and found a campsite just outside Mt. Rainier Natl. Park.
After dinner, I turned on the little radio I keep with my camping stuff and we sat playing Rummy 500 and Dominoes. Sipping red wine with an old friend, feeling the cool air of an alpine evening, campfire crackling and laughing the whole time.
The next day we drove through the park, stopping at the roadside attractions and taking in the views. We even went for a hike that turned into mostly a snow climb. Tracey didn't have any shoes so she wore her Chaco sandals. We hiked up about 1000 feet of snow and alpine forest to a rocky ledge where we had lunch and soaked in the full view of Rainier. On the hike down, Tracey's toes kept freezing as they were covered in snow. Drew realized that if he warmed up a mouthful of water and then 'squirted' it on her toes they'd warm up. Anything is better than freezing toes, disgusting as it might sound. BTW - she washed her feet afterward and yes, she's a rock star.
So there were dozens of cyclists riding through Mt. Rainier Natl. Park. There is one main road that traverses the southern end of the Park and it must gain nearly 2000 vertical feet over several miles. Riding down looked fun, but riding up looked pretty tough. Now that I've been training I had a real appreciation for these riders' efforts. I guess it's safe to say I'm a little nervous about riding over the Rockies and some of the passes between here and there. All I can do is get on the bike and ride a lot.
Back to our road trip; that night we made a huge batch of vegetarian burritos (I started cooking with this stuff called textured vegetable protein (TVP) and it makes the best burritos). Another night of games and laughter around the campfire.
Back on the road the next morning. We ran into some of my old climbing partners from NJ at the Paradise Visitor's Center. It was good to see Brendan and Molly; I guess there was a lot of Jersey energy coagulating in that spot at that moment. Glad we were all there together.
We drove around the east side of the mountain to a place called Sunrise. Yet another breath taking view of Rainier. By this point Drew and I were ready to drop Tracey off with her friend in Seattle and come back to climb the mountain. We cooked up some mac-n-cheese in the parking lot and stared at the mountain, contemplating every crevasse and detailing all the gear. The photo to the right is the view we were drooling over for an hour or more. If you zoom in you can make out the climbing route in the center of the photo, about halfway down from the summit to the bottom of the frame.
But alas, we had plans to meet another friend in Seattle and climb a different mountain. Rainier will have to wait.
We got to Seattle, saw the Space Needle from the Interstate and met up with Jason. Drew had met Jason on a climbing trip to Peru last year. We joked around a bit and got to know each other then did the deed and unloaded the car of all the climbing gear. Planning was underway. The photo to the left shows the mayhem that ensues when planning for a three-day climb on a mountain you've never seen with partners you've never climbed with. In the end we each packed a 30 lb pack. That night I dropped Tracey off at a friend's house and Drew, Jason and I went to bed as early as we could so we could get an early start.
Up at 6:45. Drove cross town to pick up a beat-up bicycle from another friend. Drove in a delirium up to Bellingham and got some garbage breakfast at 7-11. East from Bellingham into North Cascades Natl. Park. Register for a backcountry permit at the Ranger Station. Stash the bike on the west side of Mt. Shuksan at a ski area. Drive to the north side of Mt. Shuksan. Dial in gear and make last minute adjustments when we realize how heavy the packs are.
Now the fun part. Walk down to the river and cross a 12 inch log to the big dirty root ball. Climb the root ball and jump from here to the river bank four feet away. Then about 2.5 miles on an old overgrown logging road. At a nondescript path off the main trail, bushwhack down to another river and find the log that crosses it. You can either walk right across with no hands or you can shimmy along on your butt. Jason and I walked, Drew shimmied. We laughed at him a little but it's OK.
Then we had to bushwhack up the side of a ridge for what seemed like two miles through old growth forest. There was a faint path that we kept losing every hundred feet but it got us through some of the denser sections of forest. At one point the path brought us to the edge of a cascading waterfall that coursed through a chasm about 80 feet deep and 20 feet wide. When we made it to the top of the ridge we stood face to face with Mt. Shuksan. We followed marginal moraine ridges for another mile or more. I couldn't decide to stare at the aqua green of the enormous moraine lake, or the cliffs of the mountain that dropped into the lake, the waterfalls that fell a thousand feet off the mountain into the lake, the huge crevassed glaciers flowing from the mountain, or the beautiful rock on which we were walking. It was an amazing alpine wonderland that few people visit.
After six hours of the most rugged hiking I've ever done, we were tired. Jason wanted to keep going and was the strongest of us all, but between my dehydration and Drew's legs cramping we needed to stop. So we busted out the stove and started melting snow right on the ridge. We laid out our sleeping bags on the rocks and the evergreen ground cover with a 360 degree view of Shuksan, the lake and the mountains up in Canada. We talked about the scary-looking route that zigzagged around gaping crevasses. We talked about our lack of food and my and Drew's waning energy stores. We took sunset photos and watched the mountain change from white to blue to yellow, orange, pink and then back to a deep blue before darkness fell.
I lay in my sleeping bag watching satellites arc slowly across the sky, listening to waterfalls dropping 1000 feet into a glacial lake and avalanches of calving glacial ice cascading down the face of Mt. Shuksan, the sound like a rifle report followed by a long steady rub of rough grit sandpaper across stone. It rained for an hour and half but I stayed dry in the bivy bag that covers only the sleeping bag and my head.
The next morning we melted more snow, ran out of stove fuel and finally all decided that we were in over our heads to attempt the mountain by the route we were looking at. We packed and retraced our steps along the ridge, and back down into the old growth forest. Jason was hiking right behind me in one rough section and my hiking pole caught on a branch and flipped up behind me. All I heard was, "Ah! You got me man!" I turned and saw the right side of Jason's face streaming blood, all he could see was red. We were hours from the car and at least an hour by car to a hospital.
My pole had flipped up into his glasses, broke the frame, tossed the lens and bludgeoned him. I cleaned up the mess in his eye, got the moss out of the cut and the bleeding stopped. The pole (read, "me") punctured his nose and ripped a small gash in his upper eyelid. Drew found the lens and taped the frame back together. In a few minutes we were off, but I still feel horrible about it.
After we picked up the bike, and drove toward Bellingham we found a small grocery store with Q-tips and antibiotics and I cleaned out the cut really well. It's amazing that it didn't cut right through Jason's eyelid. Anyway, back to Seattle to drop the bike and then down to Olympia to drop Jason off at his sister's house. We drove through the night to Eugene and slept a long time.
Thursday, Drew and I spent some time in the kitchen and basically recovered from the hiking and driving. Friday, we went on a short hike to Spencer's Butte and gazed out over Eugene and east to the Cascade Mountains. We did some gardening at my grandfather's house and when Tracey got home from work we drove over to the coast. We spent a nice relaxing night in Yachats. Watched the sunset, played cards, ate incredible food prepared by our friends Todd and Rebecca and sipped red wine and champagne. Photo, left to right, Rebecca, Tracey, Todd, Bethany, Drew wathcing the sunset in Yachats.
Saturday, Todd talked me into going surfing. I had never swam in the Pacific (too cold) but he lent me an old wet suit and a body board. I got pounded. The waves were breaking in continuous sets with no channel to let you get out past the breakers. I got dunked twice and after the cord wrapped around my neck the second time I decided to chill on the beach in the sun until Todd had had enough. We drove Drew up to Portland in the afternoon and said goodbye. It had been an awesome eight days.
Tracey and I drove down to Eugene to another friend's house. Slept the night in the backyard under the stars and got up for a great breakfast. I think there were eight of us all together and we drove out to the Oregon Country Fair. Imagine fairies and hippies and artists at a party in the woods. The Country Fair is also reminiscent of the Ewok village from Star Wars somehow.
And then Monday back to work. Monday night I got in a really good 2.5 hour bike ride in the hills south of Eugene. Tuesday I was sick and yesterday I was really sick. I feel a little better today but decided to take the day off of work to keep my coworkers from getting sick and to recover faster. Plus, now you have something to read! I wish I had more pictures from the hiking, maybe a link in the future.
Thanks to everyone who has donated. Thanks to everyone who has told me they enjoy reading this blog. Today is my birthday (28!) and I'm hoping I feel well enough to go for a spin this afternoon.
Thanks again,
Drew