Three weeks away.  Three weeks from now I will be climbing Bear Mountain on a bike.  I am ewxtremely proud of what I have accomplished so far, but the ultimate source of pride will be crossing that finish line on May 21st.  Thank you to everyone who has donated to this page and supported me and provided much need funds to help the fight.  I CANT WAIT...only a few more training rides and then it is time to bring it on.  It wont be fast, or pretty, but it will be completed.  

I haven't had a chance to update the page lately, I've been pretty busy training, working, and volunteering.  What an amazing couple of weeks of training rides I have had.  I've been getting out early before work and hitting the hills on Route 20 and this past Sunday - Easter - I tackled the area between Cayuga and Owasco Lake.  I got out into some beautiful countryside and watched the sun rise over the fields and pasteurs that make the Finger Lakes region absolutley gorgeous.  In total last week I rode 155 miles and took on some pretty epic hills.  This whole experience has opened up my eyes to the fact that I am  better than I thinnk I am and can tackle any hill I have in my sight, no matter how steep.  I have come a long way since last year at this time and will continue to get better.  I am ready to take on this ride, so bring it on Bear Mountain!!!  

What an absolutely amazing week last week was.  On Tuesday I was able to celebrate a birthday, a whole 37 years man has the time flown by. Thank you to everyone who reached out on FaceBook and also donated here.  I was also able to assist 2 extremely worthy Cub Scouts cross-over into the Boy Scouts.  And, the weather finally cleared up long enough here in the frozen tundra that is Central New York.  Its about time, that little bit of almost spring allowed me to go outside and play catch with my son to get him ready for his upcoming Little League season and tackle some real hills on the bike. Let's hope this stays, although there is a chance of Snow on Friday and Saturday...BOO HISS!!!  

My training ride on Sunday took me out NY Route 34B South into the Town of Lansing along some amazing rolling hills, and through some beautiful, at time pungent, country.  The route went into a valley down, an extremely steep 1-1/2 mile descent, right into a 4 mile climb.  At mile 35, I turned around and went right back up that 1-1/2 mile climb.  I wish I new exactly what the grade of those climbs were, I'll tell you though it was definitely steep.  All things considered, and for my first time outside in over a month with a head wind most of the way and a cross wind the rest of the time, the ride felt great.  Although, I did slow down a bit towards the end.  In total the ride covered 70.63 miles in a little under 6 hours about a 12 mile/ hour pace (or 72.5 depending on if you use the Wahoo App or my AppleWatch) and faced a total elevation gain of 2,564 ft.  What a great way to get ready for May 21st, a little more than 6 weeks away.  Felt good to finally be outside and see what the indoor training has done. Also, to get out and see some of the beautiful countryside that I take for granted.  Looking forward to this weekend and the 75-80 miles.  I definitely got this.  GO TEAM!!!  

Had an awesome training ride yesterday morning. I managed to cover 65 miles on my trainer in just under 4.5 hours with the tension set pretty high, not great but getting better. Simulated some pretty steep climbs by pushing the tension and gear settings to the max and managed to get all caught up on The Walking Dead. Really can't wait for the weather to break so I can tackle some real hills and get out and see some sites.  I have a couple of great training routes planned for with some beautiful scenery and challenging climbs that will definitely be a lot nicer than staring at my TV in the living room.  

Here we are, eight weeks from the race and I am sorely behind in fundraising.  Training has been going really well though.  It is insanely hard to sit on a bike in your living room for five hours and just mindlessly pedal, but it will all be worth it when I cross that finish line in May. The hardest part of this journey so far has not been the training, it hasnt been finding the motivation, or time, to get on the bike every other day for a couple of hours, it hasnt even been the battle with the beautiful upstate New York winter weather, it has been the fundraising.  As a grant writer and president of a community theatre board I spend a lot of time asking people for money, but not for something as important as this.  This is important, this is an important cause to give to, but I just cant seem to fiind the right words to express that and that is what has been the hardest part about this journey.  So, please, please, please give to this important cause.  We have all been touched by cancer in some way shape or form, be it a family member, a close friend, an acquiantence, or even that celebrity that you enjoyed.  This disease has impacted all of our lives so please help.

-JOE