Cancer Crusaders Team Thread

Psycho Mike · Guru

Cancer Crusaders Team Thread

afewspokesshort · Veteran Member

Hi Mike and All,

Good call on the team thread. Will definatly make it easier for people to find us. Just wondering if anyone has made it out to any of the RCC info sessions? I made it to one that was out in St. Albert a couple weeks ago. Didn't find any potential team mates, as the 5 that showed up were already part of a team, but nun the less some good exchanges of information. there was one fellow that showed that rode last year and brought up some concerns with Jill (i believe) some regarding fun raising and the fact that there is no longer a ride office here in edmonton. One other point that was brought up was the fact that everything that seems to happen in regard to the ride happens in Calgary. He really felt that us northerners were not in the loop. When you look at the web page he felt that all the training help was in Calgary, with very little support for the riders in the north. He made some good points. I think that we seem to be getting more support up here as time goes on but I could certainly understand his point of view. that's all the news for now.

I noticed that Revoloution Cycle on Stony Plain Rd and approx 152 st is having a customer appreciation day on Wednesday Nov 18. For new comers, Mike has also set up a standing invatation of support for our team from an area Bike store. Contact Mike via PIM(private instant message) for details.

that's all the news from this farmer.

Dale

Psycho Mike · Guru

Well, I'll be hitting a few more orientations in the not too distant future. I am planning on getting a "raw" jersey done (i.e. no sponsors, just my original idea) for my birthday as an awareness thing I can wear to the orientations and on spring training rides.

Although I'm not sure of the status for this year, I know a lot of the metro Edmonton shops were on board with some discount (typ. in the 10-15% range) last year. Hopefully they will be on board again this year....after all, every little bit helps and it is for a good cause. Dale, thanks for the reminder about Revolution Cycle :) I'm going to try to remember to get a proper pull-tab sign there...right now, all they have is one of my team cards.

I think for us, we're going to need to step up a bit with training rides in the spring. I may set up the Cx bike with a slick and the trainer to try to keep in shape a bit better for when the snow has come and gone...that way we can start earlier. If we can take the lead, perhaps we can pull in a few more members.

Speaking of training rides....If anyone is thinking of doing some long rides in the spring, I'd be willing to help with the Tofield Triangle (it's about 100 miles / 160 km for the full loop) or some runs to Cooking Lake - Blackfoot.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Hey ABS,

Did I get you your business cards yet? I found a bundle for you in my Ride binder last night...I'm thinking I oopsed and didn't pass them on.

JCYC5 · Newbie

Mike,

Could you also email me the business card template? Would like to have it just in case I need to print off a few more!

Thanks!

Psycho Mike · Guru

JCYC5, just drop me a PM with the email you'd like it sent to (file is about 1.4 M)

abrokenshire · Senior Member

Nope, haven't seen you yet to get them. No worries, we'll get together yet.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Okie dokie ;) Just thought I'd check :)

Psycho Mike · Guru

Woohoo!!! I received a call from a contact in the US. Yes, the same contact I've been chatting with about jerseys ;) I should have a "teaser" jersey (what I've been flashing around on paper) for my birthday in early January. *evil grin with rubbing palms together*

Katy · Veteran Member

Hey I just found this thread.

I've started spin classes 2X week at United Cycle and it's slightly intimidating but good for me. I picked up an used trainer for $25 off KIJIJI.
Fundraising seems slow-I have handed out cards-but have been getting the response-yes but the ride is not until June.
I put out a jar at a craft sale and got $42. So now I'm over the $100 mark.
Katy

Psycho Mike · Guru

Don't worry, Katy.

This time of year is tough to fundraise...Christmas is the main focus for a lot of people. Still, you've broken the ice and that's a good thing.

Good on you for getting into the spin class too, btw...it'll help keep your legs in shape for riding once the snow and ice are gone :)

Jason · Veteran Member

Spin classes seem to be the way to go. Ive been to about 10 now and are big time sweat equity. I feel stronger each and every time I jump on them.

abrokenshire · Senior Member

I agree with Jason. Spinning is a great workout (& my only option until my stupid hand heals disbelief ).

Psycho Mike · Guru

Well, I've still got the moderately wide knobbys on the mtb and a good set of lights....once my shoulder heals up a bit more, I should be good for some winter riding ;)

I must say, though....I'm leaning toward the cross bike for next year. I think I can dress it up more in the team theme than my mountain bike ;)

Psycho Mike · Guru

Brrrrrrr....it's been a cold one. I hope everyone is staying warm :)

abrokenshire · Senior Member

Woo Hoo!!! Things are looking up biggrin

. X-rays show the hairline fracture in my hand is healing nicely & I can start incorporating upper body into workouts again. Not sure if that is a plus or a minus confuse

. Cookbook sales are going well (almost $400) & hoping to get into the malls (not sure if that will happen). In Jan am planning to start motivational speaking, but need some practice. If anyone knows any organizations I can speak to could you please let me know.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Yay Annette!! I noticed the good jump in where you're at. Keep it up! smile

That's great news about your hand...keep healing smile

Myself, my shoulder seems to be doing generally better. It isn't 100% yet, but it is certainly better....down to more of a dull ache when it is acting up. hmm

I'm thinking with the weather tomorrow, I may just do a little maintenance tonight and then try a little (say 10 km) ride on the 'cross bike tomorrow. biggrin

Psycho Mike · Guru

Ung...more snow :(

Well, I didn't get out on the bike this weekend like I hoped :( I finished my Medical First Responder re-cert (yay!! I guess I still know which end of the AED goes where *zot!!!*) but the practicals this Saturday took a wee bit longer than I expected. Oh well, the ~8 min of CPR seemed to help the shoulder a bit and it has been behaving a fair bit better overall for the last week and a bit, so I think once the last of the ache subsides it'll be 100% again.

I'm promised a proof early this week on the jersey....all the Christmas orders put my early-Jan birthday order on the back-burner. Oh well, it's minor. Once I get it and get some pics, I'll post some on the team Facebook page and throw one up as my participant page picture.

I hope everyone is setting up for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Jason · Veteran Member

Well congrats on the re-cert and get better! Glad someone on our team knows cpr we may need it after the hills. By the way who is carrying the oxygen bottles for the team???

Merry Xmas!!!!1

Psycho Mike · Guru

Hehehe...if I'm one of the medics, I can call in a shuttle and get you to the next first aid tent...they can get the O2 if needed ;) Besides, I'll have what I need with me to deal with the stuff you can at the side of the road (road rash and such) and to get started on anything bigger (hard mask, 'scope, bp cuff...the basics) :)

I'm thinking I may try to do a little mtce on the bikes on Sat AM and then see how the 'cross bike likes the snow and such (I've got the knobbys on it...it should cut through ok, but it is a different style to slice through vs float on the fat tires of the mtb). The shoulder isn't doing too bad these days.

Anyway....enough bike stuff for a moment...

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Psycho Mike · Guru

Oh, that was really needed. Went out on the 'cross bike today. Interesting experience: handled the road and paved stuff better than the mtb, but down on the trails....well, I don't know. With the way conditions are, I may have endo'd regardless...but no harm no foul.

Anyway, I managed to get a few km's under the wheels today, and that was much needed.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Happy New Year team :)

I have finished my relaxation reading during my time off, and managed to print off the 30 or so of my 5x5 sized cookbooks for sale (again, thanks Annette). I'll start hawking them a bit tomorrow.

For the chainmail, I have four different items thought up and done up...one won't be going forward, I don't like the look of it as a sale piece, even though it is easy enough to make. I have a few with ribbon charms, but I'll be doing a bunch more with chain side plates too. I did a bunch of link making the other night (nixed the last of my roll of galvanized wire), so I'll try to churn out a few more of the three pieces in the near future.

Now for the "earthshaking" news I mentioned earlier (and no one post this on Facebook yet...we're still letting some family know): shortly after the Ride, I should be receiving a package COD...cuddle on delivery. That's right, we're gonna have a squire for the Crusaders soon ;) We had been waiting on telling a bunch of folks until the first trimester is over (which it is now) so my wife has let me know I can share with a few folks now and the team was high on my list (in case I need to cut training rides short to respond to craving alarms :D )

-- Edited by Psycho Mike on Monday 4th of January 2010 07:56:41 AM

abrokenshire · Senior Member

Oh Mike!!! CONGRATS to you and your wife biggrin

. You must be sooooooo excited. Wish you all the best on those "craving" runs.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Hehehe...I knew there was a reason I picked up 2 of the largest panniers MEC had :) I think the 40lbs of stuff from the 2009 RCC will be dwarfed by the needs of "craving runs" in the future, but that's okay ;)

Jason · Veteran Member

Yahoo!!!!Congrats Mike and to your wife also.
Craving runs will assist in the training especially leading up to the ride.

Way to go!!

Psycho Mike · Guru

And for some more good news:

I received the proof for the jersey yesterday :) Looking good...just a couple tweaks to do, but other than that, it's almost ready for a teaser ;)

afewspokesshort · Veteran Member

Congrats Mike to you and your expanding family! All the Best to you and yours!

Katy · Veteran Member

Wonderful news Mike! Wee ones do change your life!

solange · Member

Hi Crusaders, happy to be on your team. Are you guys all from Calgary? Who is from Edmonton so I know who to call on to train when the snow melts..Hopefully not too soon as I enjoy x-country skiing. biggrin

Did the ride last year. Great ride, super volunteers. Looking to join in for fundraising. Any more ideas? Selling popcorn...
Solange

abrokenshire · Senior Member

Welcome Solange biggrin

!! Most of us are in the Edmonton or surrounding area. I live in the northwest end of Edmonton. Any training you want to do together is fine by me. If you want to brainstorm on some fundraising strategies I'm game for that too. We seem to be a bit of a wacky group but hey "Let your freak flag fly" I say wink

!

Annette

Psycho Mike · Guru

Hey Solange,

Again, welcome aboard! I'm in Edmonton in the southeast and I'm definitely game for training rides when the snow vanishes.

I tend to ride fairly prolifically in the spring, summer and fall months...including a few looooooong rides (metrics/100km, Centuries/100mile/160km, and even a double-metric/200km on occasion). I'm hoping that this year I'll get into a daily commute thing to work, which should help with the training.

Annette has had some wonderful ideas about fund raising...she is the mastermind behind the team cookbooks. I've got a few chainmail trinkets going together (with more being made) and hopefully they can add to the fund raising too.

solange · Member

Hi, Good to hear from you guys. I am game for any fundraising. I do not ride fast but like the turtle, will get to the end in good shape. I rode my Hybrid/comfort bike last year on the ride and it was wonderful. But this year my son who works in a bike shop has decided that I do need a new bike(if not for looks) to be able to do those hillls quicker with less effort.
Keep active, if not on skis, on your wheels.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Hehehee...this year I am going to lighten my load a bit too. Last year I did the Ride on my cyclocross bike (beefy road bike made for light off road use). I also volunteered with the medical crew, so with my supplies, I had about 40lbs in the panniers.

For this year, the kit gets parried down and I'm building new wheels for the cross bike. It should all help :)

Jason · Veteran Member

Hi Solange Welcome to the team!!!

Katy · Veteran Member

Glad you found us Solange-all but 1 are from Edmonton.
Solange finished the ride last year on a very heavy bike. I agree with Cory-a lighter bike will make you go "further and faster with less effort". (that is what Henry is always working towards in skiing).

JCYC5 · Newbie

Welcome to the team Solange!

How does one volunteer for the medical crew Mike?

Psycho Mike · Guru

I did last year by talking to the Ride Guides and getting them to pass my name along.

The coordinator should drop me a line this year as I have expressed interest in doing it again.

Psycho Mike · Guru

Hey team,

Anyone in need of some 700x23 tires? I have a set of barely used Michelin Oriums that I used last year for the ride but with the wheels I'm building for the 'cross bike, I won't be able to use them. If someone can, they are yours for the asking.

Also, if anyone needs binders, let me know. I'm scanning my old University notes to CD and have a fair number of binders that will come available in the next few weeks. Ooohhh! I also have some white binder combs I rescued from work (they were going to toss them because we now use black exclusively) so if anyone is doing cookbooks and needs them, again let me know :)

Cheers,

Mike

solange · Member

Hi Team
Started to train in my basement this weekend. It felt good on the legs but not on the butt...
I am not pushing too hard at this time to ask for donations as everyone is giving to the Haiti fund.
Will also cut down on my rum and coke as the calories are starting to show.
Has anyone been to France latety and has good advice to give re:cycling?
Cheers,
Solange

Jason · Veteran Member

not the rum and coke. Just cut out the coke

Psycho Mike · Guru

Ease back into the training Solange...I've been on the bike outside a bit, but I should start on the trainer again. A good saddle and easing back into the routine will help.

What part of France? I may know some people who know some people who know some good spots. ;)

solange · Member

Hi, will be going to Bordeaux, along the Altantic Coast - then through the Pyrenees then heading east through the Alps. We plan to be in Paris at the end of July for the Tour de France with the crowd.
thanks for the advice.
How do I add a pic beside my name on the left of this note...
Solange

Jason · Veteran Member

Heres my new pic....I thought the yellow was fitting

Psycho Mike · Guru

Woohoo Jason! Good job, man :) We have our first Rider in the event (Jason just blew past the minimum)! Yay!! Annette, you're making somre great progress there too :)

I figure my fund raising will start picking up in the next 6 weeks. I have some to put in from the cookbooks...just a matter of sitting down to submit it.

Also, I still have the tires available....if no one claims them from the team, I'll post them generally in a week or so.

Solange, you can change the picture under your profile....give me a second or two and I'll remind myself how to do it so I can tell you :)

Psycho Mike · Guru

Solange,

Click on your name ath the top of the page (under "logged in as"). Then click on "Avatar" on the far left and it will allow you to upload a picture :)

Mike

abrokenshire · Senior Member

Hey all, long time no post. Been extremely busy with teaching a full course load & doing labs too. To top it all off they are FINALLY starting my kitchen reno. Fundraising has picked up a bit though so that's good. Only problem is I seem to have pooched my knee (Word of advice, DON'T DANCE WITH STRANGE MEN). I go to the Dr. tomorrow & hopefully he will tell me all will be well if I quit training so hard (hope that is all it will take anyway). Anyone got any creative fundraising ideas left in the kitty? I was thinking that I may have a garage sale in the spring to raise funds. Anyone interested in playing with me on that one?

Psycho Mike · Guru

Annette,

Here's hoping it is minor and you're back up to 100% soon.

Fund raising....Well, if we could get together, I could teach you some chainmail stuff and you can add that to your mix. I know we were considering a silent auction and bar night, so those are still options. I'm also considering a local bottle drive using my bike trailer, though we get hit pretty hard by the scouts here. Plus, I'm still working on some folks for some team donations that I'll spread around if and when they happen.

A garage sale would be a great idea, but we're already de-cluttering in order to get the nursery set-up for when the little one puts in an appearance, so I won't be much help there.

Mike

Psycho Mike · Guru

Oh, by the way...

We have had another member join the team. Welcome Georges!

Dale and Deanna, the three of us met Georges down at the orientation in Leduc (he was in the ride jersey).

Psycho Mike · Guru

DAYEM! I have the prototype jersey in hand!! It looks...well....WHERE'S MY LANCE? I'VE GOT ARMOUR!! Whoooooo!

(Can you tell I'm a little excited? ;) )

Pictures to follow ;)

solange · Member

Hi Team,
Just got off my bike. Training on a Friday night you say... Ah well, got to do it when I have an hour to spare. I'm keen on doing some fundraising with the team. Bottle drive would be Ok. I do have a van we could pile some bottles in. Would need to deliver flyers beforehand in the neighborhoods? Might have a few items for garage sale, but again we cleaned up last year.
Have a good weekend.
Solange