Altitude Camp: One Month To Go Till The Big Day

Just a quick update about last weekend's Team in Training "Altitude Camp" --

a weekend of camping and riding in the Sierras to prepare us for next

month's Death Ride.

Hoping to soothe out pre-ride nerves, the coaches had us ride a couple of

the mountain passes that we'll be riding on the big day. The idea was to

show us the terrain. Give us a taste of what's to come. Demonstrate that it

is not as daunting as we might imagine.

What a crock. It scared the sh*t out of me. With a month to go, I'm still a

fat f*ck, I can't climb and there's no way I can do it. The weekend was

capped by a weird pep talk from the coaches, who basically said, "You'll

want to die. Just keep going."

The first day we rode up and over Ebbet's Pass -- a steep, winding grind

that snaked high up into the mountains. There was still lots of snow and the

air was thin and cold. We climbed to just under 9,000 feet, flew down the

other side into a warm valley and then slogged our way back up again.

The next day we went over Carson Pass. Carson is not as high or as steep,

but featured long uphill straights that stretched forever and shimmered in

the heat like vistas from Lawrence of Arabia.

I thought I was going to lose my mind on those endless sections -- just like

O'Toole. The top of Carson, they say, is the hardest because you can see the

road snaking up the mountain ahead of you. It winds long and steep up the

granite cliffs, and disheartens many. But I found it to be the easiest and

the most enjoyable. Beautiful views and a goal you can hard against because

you know how much effort it'll take to get there. So I let rip and by the

time I got to the top I was as high as a kite on endorphins and giddy with

happiness. God I love to ride a bike.

Anyway, here's the fun part: the fundraising deadline is less than a week

away and I'm still $1,000 dollars short of my fundraising minimum ($3,500).

If I don't raise the money, I've got make up the shortfall myself.

If you can help me in the fight against blood cancer, please make a pledge

using the "Make a Donation" widget at the right. It's fast, easy and totally

secure. I only need 20 people to make a $50 donation (or one person to make

a $1,000 pledge). The deadline is June 24 -- less than a week away.

I'd like to ask you to make a donation right now, if you can.

Many thanks for reading this -- and your support. I'd appreciate you sharing

this post via email, Facebook or Twitter. Every penny counts, and it's for a

very good cause.

PS: Charlie, the five-year-old kid from Melbourne being treated for

leukemia (see below), is about to undergo the hardest part of his treatment. He's got a

few weeks of intensive therapy, and then hopefully he'll be back to school.

Prayers for the kid.

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More Cycling Suffering

Lest all my cycling stories are becoming boring, here are a couple more tales of suffering and woe. But read on: there is an upside. A couple, actually.

Last Saturday we went out on a couple of classic climbs in the Livermore area. The first was a breeze: a 25-mile out-and-back on Tesla Road that went over up and over a moderate hill. Then we set out on the Altamont/Patterson Passes loop, a 30 mile run through windmill country.

Before we set off, the coaches said to be prepared for a surprise, laughing. Bastards. The surprise is Patterson Pass -- a true nightmare of a hill that rises almost straight up into the sky. It looks like something out of Jack and the Beanstalk -- the road goes straight up into the clouds!

You come upon it after grunting up another challenging hill that looks like the summit. Seeing another, tougher climb ahead of you is a surprise -- a thoroughly unpleasant one. I'd totally run out of liquids and was getting badly sunburned (no sunscreen, like a moron).

Looking at it, I thought there's no way I'm going to be able to climb that. No way. I'm totally dehydrated, sunburnt and shagged out. I'll have to get off and walk, I thought, and it'll take me hours.

But, amazingly, I did make it, although I really suffered the last few miles. Dry as a lizard and as red as Santa, I was wiped by the time we got back to the car park. The others did another loop over some other crazy hill, but I bagged it.

The weekend before was also hard: a couple of classic rides up north in beautiful Humboldt County. We started with the classic Dyerville Loop (http://northcoastbikerides.blogspot.com/search/label/Dyerville%20Loop%20Short) followed by a gruelling ride up and over Panther Gap.

The Dyerville loop includes a long, hard climb up an old logging road. One of the guys almost ran into a giant bear before we started it. I didn't see the bear but I heard it go through the bushes like a Sherman tank. On the climb, a rider behind me was breathing as hard as I've ever heard anyone breathe -- really gasping for air. I wanted to ask him if the bear was chasing him uphill but was breathing too hard myself to speak.

We followed this by tackling Panther Gap, a 2,700ft summit that's the first major climb in the Lost Coast Century, a freakishly hard ride that's billed as the toughest ride in California (http://northcoastbikerides.blogspot.com/search/label/Tour%20of%20the%20Unknown%20Coast).

Lance Armstrong did the whole century in 4hrs 45mins early in his career, including a crash. We did half the distance in a longer time, which just shows how freakishly fast Armstrong can ride insane hills. He's a machine.

I was coaxed into doing this 'manly ride' by John Beem, a friend, neighbor, and fellow TNT rider. John said we could bang out the 50 odd miles between Weott and Honeydew and be back just after lunch. Unfortunately, he meant HE could bang it out in a few hours.

Cut a long story short, I grunted and sweated and strained behind him all the way over the hill, and really had a hard time going down the other side into the tiny hamlet of Honeydew. You'd think going down hill is easy, but not when you're pulling as hard as possible on both brakes and you're still plummeting crazily into blind corners and hairpin bends. Both my hands were completely numb. I couldn't feel them at all - nothing. I was sure I was pulling as hard on the brakes as I could, and yet I was still bombing down the hill. I managed to stop at one point and shake the blood back into my hands, but two minutes after taking off again, they were numb again. When we got to Honeydew, I drank 8 gallons of liquid and set off back up the steep hill we'd just come down. This time I was keeping pace with John, although it was painfully slow.

Then he turns around and says, "I think I'll take it up a notch or two. Shall I come back down and get you, or meet you back at the car?" Get that: a notch OR TWO. I couldn't believe it. Not only could he take it up a notch, he could take it up two. He may as well have said "Hop on back, I'll give you a ride." I told him to f**k off, I'll see him back at the car. He took off like he was on a motorbike.

The upside is that we rode through some astonishing Redwood forest. The trees are unbelievably huge and the forest, full of giant ferns, is breathtakingly primeval. The experience is much better than hiking or riding in a car. You cover lots of ground, yet experience the whole thing -- sights, sounds and smells.

And we rode backroads I'd otherwise never go down. Even Livermore, a town I've whizzed through hundreds of times on the freeway, has awesome backroads, full of beautiful vistas dotted with graceful windmills.

The other upside is that Charlie, the five-year-old Australian kid begin treated for leukemia, is responding to his treatment. His mom says he's doing well, which is the best news I've heard all summer.

The deadline for donations is approaching fast. The actual Death Ride is on July 8th, and we still have a week or two for electronic donations. But physical checks have to be sent in now -- or they won't be processed.

Checks should be made out to "Leukemia & Lymphoma Society" or "LLS" and sent to my home address - 678 Moultrie Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. I'll send it in.

Online payments can be made using the widget at right. It's fast, easy and secure:

Again, the deadline is approaching fast. If you've been reading this drivel and have been meaning to make a donation, the time is now.

Many thanks for your support.

Mid-May Training Update: What Have I Gotten Into?

The last couple of weeks haven't been so good for bike training. First, I took a wrong turn during the Wine Country Century and rode only 100 miles instead of 120. A little mistake I guess, but one that I've tortured myself for making: The rest to the team rode without me. The weekend following my half-sister was in town I was too hungover to ride; and last Saturday's 112-mile ride from Woodside to Santa Cruz and back was seven hours of misery. I just wanted to throw my bike in a bush and catch the bus home.

The first couple of hours wasn't so bad, but when we got to Jamison Creek Road, the fun ended. As they say, Jamison starts out steep -- then gets steeper. It's 3 miles at more than 10 percent grade, with several sections at more than 18%. It is the hardest hill I've climbed and miserable in the heat, which wasn't even that bad. At one point I seriously thought I was going to go into anaerobic shock and die in the road. I had to stop several times to catch my breath - it's too steep to slow down and lower your heart rate. Go any slower and you'll topple sideways.

Going down the other side was amazing fun -- a long open run at 35-40 miles an hour -- marred by a throbbing dehydration-induced headache and freezing to death as we approached Highway 1 and gallons of sweat evaporated off my shirt. Then we turned straight into a strong headwind and headed up the coast as drunks and tourists roared dangerously by.

My hands were completely numb, my body freezing, and my lower back a massive knot of pain. No idea why. It felt like my kidneys had shut down. I was muttering and cursing under my breath like a madman - and we still had 40 miles to go. I kept asking myself, 'Why am I doing this?' I just wanted to cry. Plus I was starving. The only thing to look forward to was food an upcoming rest stop, but when we arrived, there was nothing but horrible peanut-butter pretzels and even fouler peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwiches. I stuffed albs of it in my face. If I never eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever again, it'll be too soon.

Inexplicably, the last couple of hours were the best of the day. The peanut-butter sandwiches must have worked their magic. We grunted up and over another steep hill near Sam MacDonald Park, and then up and through La Honda on Highway 84. I used to think Highway 84 was a challenge. These days it seems pretty gentle and easy.

The good news is that this ride was billed as a Death Ride prelude. If I can do this one, I can do the Death Ride in July.

Which I'm fully on to do. And that, of course, is the answer to my question: 'Why am I doing this" I'm doing this to help kids like Charlie, a five-year-old from Melbourne who is being treated for Leukemia (see below). Since finding out about Charlie a few weeks ago, I think about him a lot. I'm not religious, but I find myself I praying he'll pull through.

The ride is approaching fast, and I'd like to ask for your support. I'm about 40% towards my fundraising goal. If you can help support blood cancer research, I -- and Charlie -- would be extremely grateful.

Please use this page to make a donation. It's easy, secure and all the money goes towards research or treatment.

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Why I'm Raising Money For Blood Cancer Research: To Help Kids Like 5-Year-Old Charlie

This is Charlie, a 5-year-old kid from Melbourne who is undergoing leukemia treatment. Last Saturday we rode the beautiful Mine Road in honor of Charlie -- 92 miles and 10,00 feet of climbing though the gorgeous backroads of Livermore to Mount Hamilton.

Charlie's mom wrote a tough note about Charlie, which was shared with the team. It was very, very hard to read about this sick kid, and the guy riding in front of me had a picture of Charlie attached to his bike. So I spent a lot of the ride thinking about the brave little kid. And it made me very grateful that I am fundraising for this charity. I joined TNT to get fit and lose weight, but I'm part of something bigger, something important. I'm very grateful to have discovered that.

So, if you have a few dollars to spare, can I please ask you to sponsor me and make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society?

Please use the widget to the right to make a donation. It's easy, secure and all the money goes towards research or treatment.

Here's the note from Charlie's Mother, describing the challenges the family is now dealing with:

"We are completely exhausted which probably means Charlie feels twice as tired and over it as we are! We have been home 1 and a half weeks but have spent two days at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and two nights in Geelong Emergency with side effects to chemo' drugs being investigated. We have also driven into Geelong for several blood tests which all end in tears (me and Charlie).

On the up side, Charlie has got very good at swallowing heaps of tablets at a time in a spoonful of yoghurt. I am constantly amazed at what he is able to tolerate - he is very much tougher than I ever thought pre-this illness.

His bone marrow biopsies show an early and rapid response to treatment and his B cell ALL is categorized as a 'standard risk' so our Consultant is very positive about Charlie's prognosis.

It is incredible how fast your child's health deteriorates as a result of the treatment. He is almost unrecognizable as the child we took to emergency 4 weeks ago. It is definitely a case of getting sick to get better. He has put on a lot of weight (steroids) and his abdomen is very distended due to an enlarged liver (steroids again). He is very cranky (lovely steroids)!

My Mum has stayed with us throughout and has taken over the laundry, kitchen and house work and has been absolutely fantastic. Friends and family have also been great and we have been overwhelmed with well wishes and presents and offers of help.

We are going back to the Childrens tomorrow for the final bone marrow biopsy of this first 'Induction' block of treatment. The result tomorrow gives us Charlie's 'road map' for treatment over the next 6 months which they call 'consolidation'. I am hoping it will not be too heavy duty drug wise but have been told it is still pretty full on.

I think Charlie is doing ok emotionally. He knows he is sick and he is often frightened (mostly of needles) but we are careful to stay by his side and do all the rough bits with him. We tell him everything that is going to happen within reason. He is talking about the future and what he will do when he gets better. It is often really hard to be patient and kind to each other when we are so stressed (especially Greg and I) but we are trying our very best to love our way through this all together as a family.

Once again, thanks so much. I am so grateful to you for dedicating your ride to raising money for cancer research. Without it we would not have so much hope right now!

Love, Lib, Greg and Charlie"

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Leander is riding for TNT to raise money for blood cancer research

For the first time since I was a kid, I am raising funds for a good cause: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a participant in their Team In Training program. This July, we're going to ride our bikes 130 miles through the High Sierras and over five giant mountain passes (15,000 feet of climbing). It's called The Death Ride. Why? Because it is a grueling sufferfest -- a day of never-ending pain. But training for it is a great way to get in shape.

The pain of the the ride is nothing compared to the pain suffered by victims of blood cancer. That's why I'm trying to raise money for the Leukemia Society.

Can I ask you to help this year?

Please use this link to my Fundraising Page (http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/TourAlps10/lkahney) to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation.

You can also send an old-fashioned check made out to the Leukemia Society, directly to me. Remember, all donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are 100% tax deductible!

If you need any help, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll walk you through it. I'll even take your credit card number over the phone and enter it into the LLS system (no trips to Cabo, I promise).

Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support.

On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.

Thank you, Leander.

You can follow my progress on my Death Ride Blog (http://leanderkahney.wordpress.com/. I'll be posting regular updates about my training for this challenging event.

P.S. I would appreciate it if you would forward this to as many people as you can to encourage them to donate as well. Thanks again.