Start To Finish :

Oh, and lots of these along the way :

And because we ride 100 miles over mountains, some people call us this:

Event day is finally here ! After 4 months of training, we're ready to go !

Never mind the sign - there's no hot tub where we're going !

Moab: Start climbing to 8300 feet just ahead - grade is so step in places (18%) that you have to start by accelerating accross the street, and suddenly turn 90 degrees to climb - it was cold, wet, and all you could see ahead were steep climbs in the distance - ok, remember it's for a cause

OK- this didn't actually happen... this is painted on the side of a building in Moab... remember that really bad sci-fi picture from the 1950's with the atomic spiders ? Filmed in Moab... the place is famous !

View on Moab Tour 2011 - climbed the "Big Nasty", and then this spectacular view ! Take it in fast though, I was soaking wet after climbing, and it was freezing cold. A quick repair job to my frankenbike, and now a steep, fast, 6000 foot descent full of hairpin turns... and then only 70 more miles :). ok, it's for a cause...

Hmmm... don't want to disturb anything here.... didn't want this to fall down as I passed by... hey, wait a minute... isn't this where that big spider lives ?

Riding in to the finish as a team - nobody left behind - GO TEAM !

Team photo at finish line - a very happy moment for us - now which team is the one from Texas ?

Lotsa' Huggin' at the finish line - we've been through alot together

We rode ATV's at Moab the day before the cycle event... great way to see the area... next year I'm bringing my mountain bike though.

I think I got the bad ATV because it flipped... so I jumped before it malfunctioned ! Who needs motors anyway...did I say next year I'm bringing my mountain bike ?

My little sissy road bike broke (gear shifting mechanism this time) - At Moab, I had to climb the "little nasty" in my big ring... quick repairs on the side of the road, and up the "big nasty" in the right gear... then couldn't get into the low ring... finished on a broken bike, but um, next year I'm riding my mountain bike...It's indestructable, and purdy too...

Training for TNT Ouachita 2011 (mountain bike) in winter... sure was cold... that's me freezing 2nd from left... ok, it's for a cause...

OK, We've reached the FINISH LINE for now... Please don't go anywhere until you donate to the cause !

WELCOME TO MY TEAM IN TRAINING HOMEPAGE

He's such a showoff ! Doesn't look too happy after 100 miles, now does he ?

Team Texas at the finish line Moab - whew... glad that's over !

Yup - some very happy, tired, and sweatty people...

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The LLS's Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I'm raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for Leukemias, Lymphomas, Hodgkin’s disease, and myelomas. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating, and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

My name is John, and I'm training to ride in the Solvang Century (bicycle) Tour on March 10, 2012 in Solvang California for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training cycling team.

In the past, I've ridden in various century tours and races, and most recently participated in TNT's Ouachita Challenge Mountain Bike Race in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas, and the Moab Road Bike Century Tour in Moab Utah - these events are a great way to use my sport to help in something I really care about.

Tweny five years ago I knew virtually nothing about cancer until I was diagnosed with Stage IV Diffuse Mediastinal Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL)... I beat the odds, and am cured of cancer as a result of medical research and care that is in large part funded by LLS, and I'm participating in this event to raise money to help others who are going through cancer treatment.

The fact that I not only survived, but can routinely participate in extremely challenging endurance cycling tours and mountain biking is proof of the amazing outcomes that are being achieved as a result of rapidly improving treatments for even very agressive and serious forms of cancer. I was extremely fortunate since most people with my diagnosis back then didn't survive to even two years, but today most do survive - many even long term. The reasons for this difference are a few additional chemo drugs, epidemiological studies to identify the most effective chemo regimens (which combinations work best), and improved clinical care and education - all things which LLS has been a big sponsor of.

But there's still alot more that could be done - although the combinations of chemo drugs and dosing is much more effective than it used to be, many chemo drugs still in heavy use today have been used to treat cancer for more than 50 years, and most existing chemo drugs have extremely serious side-effects - we just have to do better than this - LLS is sponsoring clinical trials of new drugs, and clinical trials and epidemiological studies of new chemo regimens... visit the LLS website for details about current research.

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training to help cancer patients.

For more information about the Solvang Century Ride visit their website:

http://www.bikescor.com/solvang/

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. I post alot of funny stuff from our training and rides. Thanks for your support!

A little background about Team In Training and the Leulemia and Lymphoma Society:

TNT is the world's largest endurance sports training program, preparing people of all athletic abilities to participate in marathons, bike rides, hiking adventures, or triathlons. In return for professional training and travel to one of many national event sites, participants raise valuable funds to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS's) mission.

LLS is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. Our mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

MEET THE NORTH TEXAS CYCLING TEAM:

(That's me 4th from the left)

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Team Texas Moab 2011 Century Tour: Most are riding Solvang 2012 Century Tour too... In this picture, we were just doing a short training ride for the main event the next day - everyone looks fresh and happy... not for long :)

MEET OUR TEAM'S "HONORED HERO", KAITLIN - OUR INSPIRATION:

As a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program, I and the Solvang team have pledged to cycle on behalf of Kaitlin to help raise money for cancer research and patient assistance. Kaitlen was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) in 2007. She is currently in remission.

Some of our team and volunteers having lunch with Kaitlin and her family, after a Saturday team ride

And a little about the "bike crazies" on the team:

Rides start with many, but after a few "bumps in the road", it thins out.... just kidding... but seriously, TNT is different than any other ride I've done because we all know each other from months of training together and ride together as a team... and we ride for a cause ! Left is the Make-A-Wish ride in Plano TX, and right is the Lonestar Aids Ride pretty much all over the Dallas region: two days and 180 miles

150 miles on my old mountain bike... my bicycle seat felt like concrete...

but, Dilbert Dog has a solution for the problem of hard bike seats :

Why do bicycle tires go flat ? Exhaustive scientific studies reveal why:

The tires are really enthusiastic about riding! As long as you keep riding, they stay pumped up!

But when you go without riding for a week, they become really deflated :(

A typical team in training rest stop - ok, ok - I'm kidding... seriously, the beer stop at mile 96 @ hotter n' Hell 100 - a 103 mile ride in Wichita Falls, Texas in August - it was 109 degrees that day so this was a very popular place :) Legal Disclaimer: team in training had no knowledge of, or association with the beer stop. Above picture shows that team in training, upon discovering aforementioned beer-hausen-stopen rapidly disposed of all beer... burp !

FOR MY ALUMS: GO GATORS !