Welcome to the Blog

I'd like to welcome any new readers to the blog since I've been meeting a lot of new people in my fundraising efforts for this year. You can find a lot of information on the blog. Just check out some of the menus at the top of the page. 

I got switched routes to South Carolina to Santa Cruz (SC2SC) this week. I thought I would be graduating this semester when I first signed up for Bike & Build, so the end date wasn't of much concern for me at the time. I looked at the calendar and realized the Providence to Seattle (P2S) route ends the day before classes start in the fall. That simply won't work. Last year I slept quite a bit after the trip was done. I would want to visit my sister near Seattle at the end of the trip once I got done hanging out with my team in Seattle. I would certainly be a couple weeks late to class (even if I was physically present sooner).

I wish I could figure out how to rotate this. I am ready to go this year with many, many tubes.

Emily sent me a screen shot of the Bike & Build website. I happened to be on there. It's random and dynamic, so you'll see someone else there if you visit the website.

Calvary Baptist Church let me stop in last Sunday and set up a table in the foyer. Several people were interested and donated. Thanks to Amy Anthony for working with me last minute to schedule this. I stayed up all night working on the poster board. I had just gotten back from a visit to Chicago for a conference and to help my brother and his wife with their bicycles. They made a generous donation for the services. I stopped by Walmart and picked up the pre-cut letters, construction paper, and the poster board. I went to Walgreens at 3:30am and printed the pictures. I continued to work through the night and ran out of double sided tape. I went back to Walgreens and got more. I ran out again as I was finishing. But let me say I don't recommend the tape I bought. Scotch Removable Double Sided Tape. I should have purchased the permanent version. I basically retaped everything with regular tape throughout the morning as it was falling off.

Calvary Fundraiser

I found an etsy shop with some cool ideas for old spokes. This was my attempt:

A little small

I was much more successful with key chain chainlinks from my ride last year. I was originally going to sell them, but I've been giving them away. They make for a good reminder of cyclists when you're driving. I told my friends at church to use it as a prayer reminder. A friend told he liked the idea of the literal prayer chain. I hadn't thought of it exaclty like that, but I now using that phrase.

We held a fundraiser event at Chick-fil-A. They accidentally double booked us with another group. A bit frustrating, but what can you do? I don't think I have much of a right to get upset when Chick-fil-A is donating to our cause. We made friends with the other group and shared the space.

Chick-fil-A

Went on a training ride with some people for Cover Indiana. This was after church on Sunday. Still haven't slept at this point, but it was a really fun ride!

A little water never hurt anyone, right?

Michigan State, University of Michigan, Purdue, and Notre Dame

I'm almost back to 100% after my crash at Marian. I can breathe without pain, but my wrist still hurts a little. This week I noticed my bottle cage was broken, and after looking at this photo, it must have been from the crash. I don't know how my bottle has stayed in there over the last two weeks. I ordered new wheels and soon I'll get some new bar tape. It's a good time to replace it since I've had it on there since September, and I'm about to do B&B again.

Matt, the guy operating neutral wheel support, took this photo after the race. 

Tell me how this safety pin got bent this way during my crash.

I took a win at U of M! Read about it here. I can cross that off my 30 before 30 list. I still need to add items to it, though. I'll be launching a new personal blog sometime this year.

I upgraded to category B. I was a bit nervous racing at a higher level especially since regionals were moved up by a week. I thought I would have two weeks to settle into it. But it worked out... mostly. I got sick at our home race on the second lap - pineapple from my pizza the night before. I don't know how that sat in my stomach for 18 hours. Gross. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I ate two bagels later and a PB&J before the race. The pineapples survived. I think I have decided that fruit in general doesn't agree with my stomach. Last year it was the fruit from Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal. During B&B blueberries during lunch didn't settle well, and watermelon for breakfast came up at the top of Tioga pass. Well, and a couple other times on the way up the mountain. I did a medium/hard ride last week with Skratch Labs drink mix. It's like an alternative to Gatorade made with natural ingredients including real fruit. Didn't settle. What's works great for others is no good for me.So I had to find out for myself. I find it very interesting that stomachs can be so different. It only took three years of cycling to figure it out.

Marian Race Weekend

I wrote up a race report, which you can find on the team website. I also am the photo of the week!

So You're Thinking About: Training Off the Bike

"Does anyone have any tips or advice on training off the bike- weight training or other forms cardio, etc? Anything you wish someone had told you/wish you had done prior to your trip/were more prepared for...?"

I think I should have done some lower back workouts before the trip. I got about 1600 miles in before the trip with no back problems, but the hydration pack killed me (I plain just carried too much and didn't have it adjusted quite right. That and my bike was not adjusted for touring). That being said, I was not prepared for the mental challenges of B&B and would not do any more training than you need for the sake of preventing burnout.

Other workouts? Maybe plyometrics, core/abs, squats, leg presses, lunges, calf raises, leg extensions and leg curls. However, I tore my meniscus a couple years ago and my doctor (also a team physician for the Washington Redskins) told me to stop doing leg extensions - apparently really bad for the knees, but I listed it here because it's in this book, and it may improve kneecap tracking.

Additionally, the cyclist's training bible lists step-ups, seated rows, heel raises, and other upper body workouts.

There are only a few pages on weight training in each of those books, but if you want to know more about cycling and weight training.

Lastly, I cannot overemphasize the importance of stretching - after warmup, during and after workout, and before bed. I really neglected this, and it may have eliminated my back issues altogether. Tight hamstrings contribute to a tight lower back and can lead to pain.

It may be worth mentioning that cycling is a low impact sport and over time (how much? I don't know), your bone density will decrease. Apparently, that's why clavicle breaks are common in cycling. Well, and in some cases from improper falling - a FOOSH injury (falling on an outstretched hand). So, running may be helpful in the long term to prevent this. I took an athletic injury course a couple semesters ago, so it's been a while. Anyone please feel to correct anything I've said. Good luck with your training!

So You're Thinking About: Mounting a Camera to Your Bike

"Hey friends! So I'm thinking about taking a GoPro this summer. Probably mostly doing time lapse stuff and I would mess around with it before hand to work on angles and all that stuff. Anyone who has taken one on their trip have any comments, or helpful advise?"


PoV Cameras

• GoPro
• Contour
• Sony
• Epic
• VIO
• RePlay XD
• more...

Do your research to find out what will fit your needs best. The most popular is probably GoPro and Contour. I own four Contours.

PoV Filming Basics

Someone on the Faceboook group talked about time lapse of their summer. I imagine it to be pretty difficult to pull off a successful and interesting time lapse video that holds the attention of your audience. I think you'll have much more interesting footage if you change up viewing angles and just video of your teammates having an awesome summer. I really enjoyed Nathan Kane's (P2S) video from this year: http://vimeo.com/48453748

Footage with stationery objects to give the audience perspective makes for a much better shot - well, at least in my opinion - especially time lapse.

I liked some of the angles from Alex Caves (NC2SD):

I regrettably didn't bring all my mounts last summer. I think some of the most interesting riding shots are the ones facing the riders behind you, so you can see their faces and not their tail end. This is the result of my footage as well as others' GoPro and iPhone video (bring an external drive to snag everyone's video before the end of the trip)

You can layer your data on top of the footage if you are using sensors: http://dashware.net/  Pretty interesting.

Mounting

If you need mounting ideas, there are many here. I used this last summer:

I also recommend RAM mounts. You can pretty much mount anything anywhere. Here is their GoPro page.
You can fool around with the parts and combine them with the ultra clamp. This might help to get wider shots if they ever stock it again.

For my ultra clamp setup, I replace this with this. I add this and then this.

There are different sizes and the price may or may not be cheaper on RAM's web site. The thing about the ultra clamp is that it is pretty versatile. Generally, dedicated handlebar mounts are good for one thing - handlebars, but it could be worth it if it carries no vibration. Just do your research and plenty of testing before you show up to the Atlantic.

So You're Thinking About: Making a Documentary

"I'm planning on making a documentary while on the trip. Let me know if you have any concerns/oppositions/comments/etc"

Let me preface this post and let you know I am not a film student nor have I ever taken any classes (just dabbling for several years). I do have a few suggestions from experience.

1. Find and watch as many cycling and B&B videos/documentaries as you can. Watch a few other documentaries that are highly regarded. This will serve as a "literature review" of sorts and help model your processes, methods, and techniques. See what you like and don't like. What did they do well, and what didn't work for them? See what you can take away from their framing, layering, and music track choice (or lack thereof). How did they keep their audience's attention? What emotions did you feel when watching? How did they tell their story? First person? Chronological order? Here are a few videos to get you started:




Plus some more:


1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHcqIYzdoD4
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imvCGnRU3u4
3. http://vimeo.com/58677296
4. http://vimeo.com/250349
5. http://vimeo.com/10647514
6. http://vimeo.com/56020726
7. http://vimeo.com/57158272
8. http://vimeo.com/58468045
2. Determine your audience (B&B, the community at large, your peers)
3. Determine your (a) goals, (b) strategies, and (c) tactics - the why, how, and what. This is how a business is run, this is how you wage cyber warfare, and I suppose it works for making a film. 
1. Why should your audience watch your documentary? 
2. How will you deliver those (inform, demonstrate, entertain, or persuade)? The basic structure of a good story is "a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it."
3. What will you tell in your story to achieve your goals? If your tactics don't feed back into your goals, don't do it or modify your goals.
4. Remember your original motivation for B&B.
5. Don't stress about it and have fun.
6. I try to give a lot of information for you to be successful, but scale back as you see fit.

So You're Thinking About: Using Your Own Bike

"Does anyone have suggestions about taking your own bike vs taking the one provided?"

First, to bring all my readers up to speed: Bike & Build provides a bike from Giant to each its participants. They can opt out for a $450 fundraising credit.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using your own?

Using your own:

1. don't need to raise $450 more, thus saving effort + time if you're having trouble fundraising
2. familiarity with your own equipment
3. you already are comfortable with the geometry and fit
4. you've already been through the breaking period. Some riders had issues the first couple weeks
5. you get to take your baby across the country
6. it's easy to find your bike among all the others

However, there are some benefits to getting the new bike:

1. upgrade to your previous bike = faster, more comfortable, better components, bling factor
2. you'll be able to get it at a good price compare to normal pricing
3. you get to keep it
4. you can sell your bike when you are finished
5. most people have similar bikes, so it makes part swapping easy if something breaks
6. no sentimental attachment if something catastrophic occurs

I used my own, and I'm glad I did. It's possible to come away from B&B with minimal damage/wear/tear. I overhauled my headset, replaced the cabling afterwards, and replaced the handlebar tape, but everyone probably should, so it's a moot point. There are hoses often at the hosts, so if you take some time, you can clean it regularly. I probably would have been just as happy with the (upgraded) Giant if I did 500 miles on it before the trip. I wasn't willing to switch bikes in the middle of racing season.