The Quarterfinals

The Scott and BR Cycling Team started in May with 30 riders selected to compete for 1 prize; a sponsored ride in the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge ride from San Francisco to San Diego from October 18 through 24. Over the course of the summer we've become friends and grown close; we've cycled hundreds of miles and climbed thousands of feet in training. One week the mysterious selection process has whittled our numbers to 15, then 1 more rider was cut from the team each successive week. As of this week only 4 remained; Nina, Carl, Mike and I.

This week our charge was to choose one person to speak Live on the Radio, at 6:40 am on XX1090 AM, on the Scott and BR Show on our behalf, as to why we should be selected to advance to the final 2. The kicker - they would only get 1 minute!

Nina chose her mom Jennifer. I chose my wife/best friend Diana Curtis. Mike chose his fundraising co-host and recent radio contestant Todd Northup. Carl chose our friend and fundraising co-host Brent Reman. Each spoke eloquently, persuasively, convincingly about why their rider should make the selection and continue to ride for the team.
But in the end, there could be only two.

I was cut from the Scott and BR Cycling team, as was Carl.
Our friends Nina Vosburgh and Mike Henderson advanced to next week's final selection.

With their advancement they earned an invitation to ride the 2009 Tour of California San Diego/Palomar Mountain race course tomorrow October 2, with our fearless radio host Scott Kaplan and Jeff Jacobs from Qualcomm, title sponsor and champion of the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge benefiting the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

As I've mentioned a few times, I was already a winner when I was selected to join the team. I've had an opportunity to talk live on a 50,000 watt radio station, to become fitter and more skilled as a rider, to participate in the planning and execution of a fundraising charity event which was attended by inspirational athletes Ryan Levinson and Patrick Ivison, to meet many new friends and riding partners, and to raise awareness for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Many, many thanks to all of the staff, ride leaders, coaches and volunteers of CAF and QMDC, and to Scott Kaplan, Billy Ray Smith and Jack, John, and Mike from BCA Radio/XX1090 AM Sportsradio for a great, great ride.

Check out the links on my blog for information about the other riders, Challenged Athletes, the QMDC ride route, the Scott and BR Show.

If you'd like to donate to CAF on my behalf, follow the link at the upper right of the page.
Thank you!
Scott

Lunchtime run

No HR monitor, no footpod for speed/distance; I didn't really plan to go throughout the morning, but I did have all I needed -running clothes and shoes. For the first time a couple of months I got out for a lunchtime run.
What a revelation. I felt warm (not hot) September sun, heard birds, watched clouds and glided through a 4 mile lunch run today. How fast? Who cares; it was a great crosstraining, and the route includes 1.25 mile uphill, turnaround and back down. It was great to run, sweat, and stretch. So simple, no bike, water, tire pumps. Just a great reward.

Dailard Outdoor Adventure weekend

The fathers of Ralph Dailard Elementary School held our Second Annual Dailard Outdoor Adventure on Saturday 9/27 to Sunday 9/28.
This free event started at noon Saturday, with Dads and kid(s) arriving at the school campus and registering, dropping off tents and equipment, the heading over to hike up Cowles Mountain; later returning for an evening hot dog/hamburger cookout, free play, movie projected on the outdoor wall of the school, before heading back to our tent city set up on the multi-use soccer field next to the school.
Once again, my Emma, now age 6, hiked all the way up Cowles Mountain and back down (bringing a great deal of the mountain dirt with her).
The DADS set up a perimeter around the camping area, and within, we pretty much let the kids do what they want. Lots of running, chasing, playing on the gym equipment, yelling, laughing and plain old fun.
There were 400+ kids and DADS this year, and we are already planning next year's event. One lesson - need more cocoa! Next year Owen will be at Dailard; I'll need a much bigger tent. Sleep was partial. It would have been possible to get up and break camp early Sunday, in order to ride with the CAF/QMDC on Oceanside/77 route, but instead Emma and I had a leisurely morning coffee/cocoa, then helped clean up the campsite as the DADS and kids woke and headed home over the course of the morning. Emma and her friends even picked up a trash bag and cleaned up leftover cups, cans and water bottles on their own, before I dismissed them for some more playing.
It was a great time for me and my sweet little girl.

No elimination Wednesday
The Chargers played the New York Jets on Monday Night Football this week, so XX1090, Home of the Chargers Fans and The Scott & BR Show, moved the weekly Tuesday morning elimination to Wednesday this week.
Carl, Mike, Nina and I were all glued to our radios at 6:45, hoping for the phone not to ring! Unlike previous weeks, when there was a call to an Immunity holder and another to the Rider getting cut, this week there was no pre-show setup call - the call was made live on the air...
But there was no answer; the phone number was not in service. Scott and Pratty talked about and tried different variations of the number and area code - still no answer. We all learned that the call was to a 619- number. Both Carl and I have 619- numbers...

However, BR made the executive decision - no completed call meant no elimination this week! This leaves 4 riders, with 2 weeks to go, and only one rider able to win the chance to join the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge ride from San Francisco to San Diego starting on October 18th! Good thing we're doing all this exercise, our hearts are still pounding!

Redondo Up and Back

Many of the QMDC riders participated in a Double Century Ride this weekend, up to Redondo Beach on Saturday, overnight hotel, and back from Redondo Beach to Solana Beach on Sunday. Some of us couldn't make that time committment, I had to work on the stairs in my long-paused California room project on Saturday.
A number of people had said they planned to meet in Solana Beach Sunday, but in the end only John, Nancy, Dan and I met there with the intention of riding up the coast and meeting the QMDC peloton on the way back down. We had our first flat in the parking lot, the stem lock came off John's tire and it deflated. My one spare tube, out of my seatbag was inserted in record time, but it quickly flatted. John, I swear it was new when I put it in there! Fortunately, John had another tube and soon we were on our way. We plowed up the coast making good time but not too fast, as our plan was 50 up and 50 back, or less if we met the peloton coming south. We had some good work getting up to and partway through Camp Pendleton, a strong rider named Blair (in the middle of a 500 mile week) joined us there. Good thing, too, because John had another flat. Disdaining tire levers, Blair quickly peeled the wheel and tube off the wheel. An examination of rim tape and inside of the tire revealed no punctures or foreign objects, and we were soon rolling again. The notable northerly wind had already started, and it was getting hot. I'd already been through 3 bottles. We next made it to San Onofre where Tina had CAF SAG for us. I grabbed some gels and a bar, filled a bottle with water and another with hydration. We thanked Tina, she thought that the combined CAF groups 1 & 2 were an hour and a half up the road or so.
I started to feel the first effects of cramping by the time we were close to Dana Point. Before heading up hill at 45.5 miles, we all decided we might have missed the other group heading south, and Dan needed to get back for an event. With cramping a likelihood by now, I was ready to agree. We turned around and made our way back down. Nancy's pedal came off the spindle entirely, fortunately it was just threaded, maybe installed backwards, but I was able to put it back on to continue. By the time we got back to Tina at San Onofre, I really needed more water, lunch and gels, and lo and behold the peloton joined us! Tina had a Happy Birthday sign for Mike Henderson, and Todd and many other friends were there. After a good break, we set off again, with the benefit of many more riders to push through the wind. The regular northerly coastal wind had shifted to southerly - we got headwind in both directions this day. I had a decent pull in Camp Pendleton, but by the time we reached the usual little hill coming into Carlsbad from Oceanside, the cramping was full on, just like the week before. I told the group I'd ride back on my own - Mari offered to stay and help but there was nothing she could've done without a car for me to ride in! I just kept rpm low, drank lots of water and took some more gels, and coasted home. I ended up riding just more than 96 miles today. It was a great if tiring day!

Spinning at Sporting Club

I got out of the house and to Spin Class early for once, able to actually warm up properly. The class size dwindled over the summer, with back to school, and changed work pace affecting a lot of folks who used to attend. I set up next to Mike H in the front row - and stayed there the whole time, since the bikes don't move. That certainly wouldn't be the case if the bikes were real!
Jessica led us on a spirited class of extended 2 minute climbs ending in 30 second sprints. Everyone really pushed through, in preparation for the upcoming Redondo Beach double century and the 600+ miles from SF in October. It felt good to spin, since I'd been missing lots of time off the bike. At least the intensity of spinning makes up for some of the lost saddle hours.

In Studio with Scott & BR!

This was an earlier-than-ever rising for on Elimination day. We met in the dark outside the Sorrento Valley studios of BCA Radio; Nina with the Immunity Pump, Brent, Mike, Momo, Carl and I with Jim Carbaugh, last year's winner of the XX1090 CAF/QMDC contest. How did poor Jim get roped into a 6:00 am rendezvous like this? No mind, we were all in good spirits, nice to see each other off the bike.
Shortly, Mike the Intern came out to gather us and bring us inside and we trooped through the sparkling new digs, into the studio; bright and high-tech at 6:15 in the morning. 6 flat screen TV's adorned the wall, and Scott & BR greeted us warmly, eying treats that Momo and Nina had been nice enough to bring. Scott we've, of course, all met before on our Sunday rides, but never BR - he's a big dude, as one might expect of a former Chargers star linebacker. Also got to meet Jack 'The Crow' Cronin and John 'Pratty' Pratt the producer, how cool to have faces to go with the voices I know so well since the contest began.
Soon enough though, it became intense as Nina got to sit with Jim in the safety zone, while the rest of us sat in the hot seats, ripe for elimination. After a round of recap about the contest, and chance for each of us to say hello on the air, Scott told BR that the eliminations would be done by Pratty drawing names from a hat! Billy Ray protested that it was no way to choose based upon all the miles logged by those who had come so far. So, Scott decided to change it up. One name would be drawn from the hat, and that person would join Nina in the safety zone, while the remaining 4 would decide things in the usual way for The Great Friends - a game of Pyramid! In retrospect, the questions were pretty easy but at the time, with the microphone in your face and live on the air, they seemed hard (the ticking clock sound effect didn't help). Momo and Brent were teamed up, as were Carl and I. In the end, I think we went three rounds with Carl and I winning by a few points. This was so hard; Brent and Momo are good friends and deserved to win, but that's not the nature of the contest. By 7:00 am, we were done and headed off for - a day of work, and facing the next round of elimination, with no more immunity to be won...