Day 26 Donated Ride

My sister and her friend Lisa rode again today and donated her miles to me. They are really riding there up in Ga. It's also a little stormy here in Safety Harbor with the Hurricane Helene offshore.

Day 24

Yesterday's ride was tough. I really felt it last evening. I decided not to try and ride today and may not be able to ride for the next few days because of the approaching hurricane.

But my sister Palmer Ann is also riding in the GCC and her friend Lisa is riding with her and has offered her miles to me and my challenge. I'm going to accept that offer. I am grateful for the help.

Day 23, Ride 15

Okay, in my last post I said I would not be riding anymore this month. I decided to give it a shot today and went on a short ride. It went well but I was whooped by the end even though I did take a nice long break halfway through.

I'll try and get a short ride everyday the remainder of the month.

With these brief glimpses I've had of cancer treatment it is not something I would wish on anyone. This money that all of you had helped raise will go a long way toward helping to prevent any child from having to go through this pain.

https://youtu.be/vRs-I7n47zg?si=DEZd7ZLDAInmN0ow

No more rides this month😟

Way back in at the end of June I started to have issues with my bladder. Assuming it was a UTI I called my primary care to have some tests done. The tests came back negative so my primary care Doctor ordered a CAT scan to explore this farther. A mass was shown to be in my bladder. So calls were made to my urologist for their input.

Now when I signed up in April I was feelling good and really thought I could ride 500 miles but 217 miles may be as far as I get this year.

This Monday I had a procedure to remove a tumor from my bladder. The surgeon was able to remove all the tumor and it is off to pathology for testing.

Needless to say I’m a little sore and have been told by my Doctor not to ride my bike for at least two weeks. So kinds take care of this years Great Cycle Challenge ride for me.

I’m a little bummed but we are riding to help prevent kids from having to deal with this disease. If you have already donated, thank you. If you have not, I'm asking that you think about making a donation.

Just go to https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/ChanBliss and click “Donate Now.”

Day 14 update

It appears that my weather forecasting is not quite as good as I thought. Alter this afternoon I looked out my window and saw sunny blue sky's. So I took a short ride before dinner. It was nice, light breeze and pleasant temperature. There were still a few puddles out.

Day 14

I awoke this morning to rumbling and an overcast sky. It appears that I will not ride today until the thunder stops

Day 13 Another Ride of Discovery

I'm out today on another ride of Discovery. Riding trails I have not ridden before.

Today I'm on the Duke Energy Trail. ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/LT8cVDnwwp7Njon98 ) In the video you can see why it is called that.

I did not ride the entire length today. I'll save that 11.68 mile ride for another day. But the part I rode today was nice, except for the power-lines.

Day 12

Today I took a long ride out to the bridge and back. I've decided to give up on the water bottle holder on the back of my seat and just carry my extra water in the pocket of my jersey. You can see it in the picture of me riding away.

Day 11

Got a late start today. I had an appointment with yet another Dt and then lunch with the Romeos. The Romeos are a men's group (old men) from our church that meet for lunch once a month.

I'm happy to say that my ride just surpassed $2000 to help the kids. That is amazing. I am blessed to have such generous family and friends.

Day 10

A meandering ride today but I still got in 18 miles. Rode a little slower and again had to deal with my water bottle holder breaking loose. This time I figured out a way to secure it and keep on riding. I'm just going to carry my second water bottle in my jersey's back pocket. I stopped about halfway for a mid-morning snack, I think it helped me power through the rest of the ride. I forgot to make a video today because I was focused on the water bottle holder. So until tomorrow,"Keep on Riding!"

Day 9

Okay, I got one ride in this morning and was intending on doing another ride this afternoon after my doctor's appointment. But that took longer than I had anticipated. And last night I had a crown follow off one of my molars so I had to get an appointment with my dentist to get that worked on. I was lucky they had an opening this afternoon. But that cut into my riding time.

This being retired sure takes a lot of my time.

Day 8

A very short ride. Today I had a lot going on and I'm tired from the last 7 days of riding. But I made a commitment to ride every day this month for the kids and to reach the 500 miles I said I would ride. So I figure a ride is a ride and I'll do a longer ride tomorrow.

Day 7 New Jersey

I got a new jersey from the folks at the Great Cycle Challenge. I think it is for participating in the challenge for the past 10 years. Whatever, I'll take it! My ride was a little shorter today because of technical problems. The water bottle rack I attached to the back of my seat kept falling off. I was about 7 miles into the ride and I felt something bump on my back tire. It was my bottle rack barely hanging on. I stopped in a shady spot and got out my tool kit and put it back on. I rode for a few more miles and it fell off again. This time I decided that it needed more of a repair that I carried in my tool kit. So I packed up most of the stuff in the back pockets of my new Jersey and carried by hand the final 2 miles back home. Once I got home I used my favorite repair tool, Gorilla tape to add some grip to the clamp holding the rack to my bike. If this doesn't work I my be visiting the bike shop for a new rack.

Day 6 Afternoon ride GCC 3

So as promised earlier I am going on a second ride today. This one is also about 10 miles. Breaking up my ride like this seems to be easier on my body.

I'm doing real well on my mileage. I'm a little ahead of where I should be to be able to reach 500 miles.

I just got a notification from The Great Cycle Challenge that Tuesday the 10th is Kick Cancer's Butt Day! On that day any online donation will be matched! So if you are thinking about donating next Tuesday will give you more bang for your buck!

Usually on a ride I take a few little breaks along the way. But this afternoon I rode without stopping. As you can see from the picture and the video.

Day 6 Short Morning Ride

Okay, This pace is having its toll on me. So I decided to break today's ride into two parts. I just finished a 10 mile ride and have a timer set to remind me to ride again later today.

Day 5, Longest ride to date.

As promised I did a longer ride today (20 miles) to make up for yesterday's shorter ride. I went all the way to the top of the bridge. This ride puts me back on track of 16.6 miles a day to complete 500 miles this month. I took a little break on my ride tight at the border of Hillsborough and Pinellas County. It is a nice shady spot with a little place to sit.

Day 5, Longest ride to date.

As promised I did a longer ride today (20 miles) to make up for yesterday's shorter ride. I went all the way to the top of the bridge. This ride puts me back on track of 16.6 miles a day to complete 500 miles this month. I took a little break on my ride tight at the border of Hillsborough and Pinellas County. It is a nice shady spot with a little place to sit.

Day 4, Little shorter ride.

I had a lot going on today. An 9 am Doctors appointment all the way across the bay near USF. It was a good appointment and the P.A. was pleased with my numbers for a blood test. So that started my day off on a good note.

The drive to and from the office was not the greatest, a lot of traffic.

By the time I got home I had time for a little lunch and then off to ride the bike. I had to get the ride in because this evening Jan, Patty and I have a Silver Sharks baseball game https://www.milb.com/clearwater .

My ride today was shortened because of lightning. I'm not a fan of riding in the rain and I really don't like to ride when there is lightning. So I turned around.

Day 3, Ride of Discovery

Today I took a little different route. Instead of heading out on the Causeway like I usually do I headed north from my house to SR580. from there I decided to ride up to a place Jan told me about Lake Chautauqua Park. It is a nice park with lots of trails and paths. I then rode around to the Boy Scout Camp Soule. Both are nice wilderness areas on a lake. Right in the middle of a very urban area. I will ride up here again.

Day 2

Road out to the big bridge today. Stopped at the little shaded rest area. I think this may be my go-to spot for this month. It is a little farther than my plan needs but that's ok. While on my ride I noticed two of the GCC stickers I put on the crosswalk signal along my route. I had put three and it looks like someone pealed one off, but two remain a year later.

Day One, First Ride

I did my first ride of the Great Cycle Challenge month today. I have challenged myself to ride 500 miles in the month of September. That is a lot of miles but I also challenged my friends and family to help me raise $2500 and we are about half way there and it is only the start of this challenge.

For me to ride 500 miles this month I figure I should ride at least 16.7 miles each and every day. I rode 17.2 miles today so I'm a little ahead. But this is going to be a long month!

First ride with my new shirt

Saturday I received my 2024 GCC cycling jersey and today was the first time I was able to wear it out riding. I really like that this year the jersey has a zipper all the way down. It makes it much easier to put it on.