How I Roll (NASCAR Style)

This morning I put on my Point B jersey and bibs, covered by feet with comfort from the Sock Guy, put on my LG shoes with Shimano cleats and clipped in to my ride.  My ride rolls on Continental Gator Hardshells provided by Sunday Cycles.  The Gators protect Bontrager tubes and my custom, hand built Bicycle Vibe Mavic Pro wheels.  These wheels along with my Vibe rear cassette and compact crank are attached to my Sunday Cycles Focus Cayo Team Replica full carbon road bike.  The bike and I become one when I sit on my Bicycle Vibe Brooks saddle.  Then we - my bike and my shops - rolll. 

Am I Ready?

During the last couple of weeks, more and more people are asking me, "Are you ready?"  Interesting question.  Should be simple to answer, right?  My options are "yes, bring it on" or "no, I don't think I am."  But, the answer is more difficult.  Am I ready....for what? 

Am I ready.....to ride?  Yes, I think so. 

Am I ready.....to meet a lot of new people and share about what we are doing and why?  Yes, definitely, without a doubt. 

Am I ready....for the disease to progress within my Dad?  No, but through this process I have met other PD patients which have made me realize how "lucky" he is.....we are.  His symptoms are mild compared to others I have met. 

Am I ready....to do my best?  Yes, what my best is; is unknown right now.

Am I ready....are you?

Are you ready....if something similar would happen to someone you love?

Are you ready....if something similar would happen to you?

Are you ready.....to make a difference?

Are you ready.....to join Team POP's and make a difference in the lives of those impacted by PD?

Are you ready.....to do more than just give a few dollars?

Well, are you?

March Update.....we have been busy.

I’ve been trying to find time to update everyone on the happenings but life just keeps coming and taking the minutes away.  So, right now I have some time and its better if no one knows where this time was found.

Ride Preparations

A lot has happened.  The ABA BMX has offered their RV to us at no charge.  Although it has less actual beds, the cost savings are significant.  We will gladly accept sleeping on an air mattress in order to pass more on funds on to the Foundations.  The ABA has also been great helping us with some of our equipment and ride needs.  Cool people – but we already knew that, as they too, understand the amazing power of the bicycle.

Our friend Brandee from the AZ MS Society has not only been planning the AZ MS150 for about 800 hundred of her friends but has also found some time to collect in-kind donations for us.  Thank You Brandee, you are incredible.  Sorry we won’t be able to make the 2011 Ride but we do plan on being at the 2012 party.

Rachel has been busy finding us places to lay our weary heads for 42 nights – this is not a small task!  She has found us a B&B in Louisiana, churches in Florida, Texas and New Mexico and even a couple of cabins.  Most of these places are right on our route or within a few miles.  She has had good days and bad days working on our lodging needs and overall has come in under budget while finding us some crazy places to stay and amazing people to meet and thank.  Rachel, we will appreciate your hard work every night when we have a hot shower and comfy bed!

Carl

Although I have only known Carl for about a month, I think I could already write a short story about him.  You see Carl has PD.  It has slowed him down but not stopped him.  Carl and his friend Casey are going to meet Shannon, Kyle and me at the New Mexico/Arizona state line.  They are then going to ride with us into Phoenix.  Carl is going to ride as much as he can.  Rumor has it he told Casey, “you need to cover all the miles I am not able to.”  Pretty obvious Casey respects Carl to agree to such a challenge.  The ride into Phoenix will not be flat. 

Carl is excited about riding and helping with POP’s Ride.  I am not sure he truly understands how excited POP’s Ride is to have Carl ride with us.  How cool is to cross the state line knowing we have friends there waiting for us.  We are riding to help the Carl’s and Dad’s and Pam’s and Jean’s and Mom’s of the world who live with PD or are caregivers to those with PD every day.  Yet, here comes Carl telling us how grateful he is that we let him ride with us.

Carl has a fundraising goal of $25,000.  The other day he received some good donations and I sent him and email stating, “Carl, You Rock.”  The next day he responded, “Shane, today I feel like a rock.”  If you know anything about PD, you know that means Carl was having a bad day and was probably having a difficult time moving. 

Me

The Ride is not about Me…..yet it is about Me.  I have been asked a lot lately if I am physically ready for The Ride.  My answer, “I don’t know.”  How can one truly know they are ready for a task like this, if they have never done anything even remotely close to a task like this? 

A task, yep, that is how I see The Ride.  Mr. Webster defines task as “a usually assigned piece of work often to be finished within a certain time; something hard or unpleasant that has to be done; duty.”  Hmmmm, guess I never understood the real meaning of a task!  I always thought it was a small activity that needed to be completed.  As opposed to a project which sounds ominous, ginormous and overwhelming.  I don’t see The Ride as something hard or unpleasant…..although it will be challenging and is something that “has to be done.”  The Ride will push me to my limits – physically, emotionally, spiritually. 

Duty – that is an interesting part of the definition.  I like that.  It means completing The Ride is my responsibility, my obligation, my assignment.  We all know what comes with Duty…..Honor…..’nuf said.

I still am in awe of all the help Shannon and I are receiving with “our little idea.”  One always dreams about doing something great that leaves a mark; yet, most of us know even “15 minutes of fame” is virtually unattainable.  We joke about POP’s Ride becoming the next Livestrong or 3-Day – but secretly, inside, to be involved with an organization which makes a significant and positive impact on the lives of those impacted by PD would be incredible and a job we would love to work at every day.  Maybe, just maybe, all of us can make it happen. 

Michael, Davis, Muhammad, Janet, Carl, Pam, Dad……you in?  We are – both feet and head first.  Look out World, here comes POP’s Ride!

Depressing or Motivating....your choice

Last week I was sent a link to a website (http://ridewithlarrymovie.com/) and video about a man from South Dakota named Larry.  Larry has PD.  Larry refuses to be a victim.  In fact, Larry issued the challenge if $50,000 was raised, he would ride his bike across the state of South Dakota.  Quite a daunting challenge if you know Larry.  Larry’s PD is not friendly.  It causes him to have a lot of involuntary movements. 

A couple of close friends watched the video of Larry and commented that it was depressing.  My Mom even called it depressing.  Since my Father has PD, seeing how the disease impacts others and could impact him can be depressing.  The question looms, will my Dad experience those uncontrollable movements?  This is not a pleasant thought and is one I prefer not to consider.

I have thought a lot about this notion of the video being depressing.  Larry doesn’t appear to be depressed, so why should we?  He has taken control of the situation and not let the disease control the situation.  The more I think about the video, the more I realize we should not view Larry’s situation as depressing but we should view it as motivating. 

Why should we be depressed, Larry doesn’t appear to be? 

We can be sad, maybe even angry but we must accept the situation and be motivated by the research showing how diet and exercise slow the progression of the disease.  We must take control.

The key to remember is not Larry, my Dad, my cousin Pam, my aunt Delores, or my co-workers father, Salvador, nor anyone else CHOSE this disease.  They did not live life in such a way as to contract this disease.  The disease chose them and now it is their turn to CHOOSE to fight.  They must be motivated to make each day a good day, a happy day, a day worth remembering.  WE must CHOOSE to motivate them, encourage them and push them forward.

Yes, they and we will have down moments but we must not have down days, weeks, months or years.

Shannon and I made a choice to do something.  You made a choice to join us on our journey.  Don’t ever forget to make the choice to be motivating.  You will make a difference in someone’s life; just make sure you CHOOSE to make a positive difference.

Florida, January 14 - 17, 2011

I went to St Augustine January 14 – 17 to learn about the town, find a place to start and relax.

We will start right on the beach, 95 Vilano Road, St. Augustine, FL.  We will stay at the Hampton Inn there the night before.  The beach is amazing – white sand and sea shells everywhere.  I wish Cole, Sienna and Sidney could be there because they would love it!  Although they cannot be there, Mom will be there and that is huge for Shannon and me. 

St A is a cool town.  Very historic and lots to see and do.  On Sunday I drove from St A to Gainesville following the route we will take on the bikes.  About 30 miles from the start, I saw another cyclist and stopped to talk to him.  He had just started and was taking the same route we are going to follow.  The major difference, he is doing it unsupported.  His plan is to ride 50 miles per day and take about 12 weeks.  He will be just about finishing when we start.  I wished him safe riding and continued driving to Gainesville.

On Monday, I drove back to Jacksonville, spent some time at the beach….in the rain (it was still nice) and visited several TV and radio stations.  Hopefully one of them will find our story interesting enough to make the one hour drive to St A and send us off. 

Background Part III

I told you I would forget some important events!

In early 2010, Sunday Cycles agreed to support Our Ride.  They have provided advice on bikes and have committed to help with some of our equipment needs.  www.sundayproshop.com

In later summer 2010, Dad stopped at Global Bikes in Chandler.  Shannon followed up to explain some of our equipment needs and he is still working with them on how they can help.  Global did provide a huge item for our participation in Tour de Tucson.  They lent Dad and Shannon a tandem road bike.  Dad and Shannon trained on this for about two months for the Tour and then road the 44 mile section of El Tour.  This was the most distance Dad had ridden.  They both did great and we are now plotting on how we can get Mom to ride in the 2011 El Tour on the Tandem.   www.globalbikesbikeshop.com

I also failed to note how Bodhi Body has helped with Our Ride.  www.bodhi-body.com  Bodhi is a naturopathic medical office.  They offer an alternative to what most view as "normal" medicine.  I encourage you to visit their website to learn more as I could never explain correctly the incredible treatments they offer.  Bodhi hosted an evening where one of their Doctors described PD, current "normal" medical treatments and how naturopathic medicine treats PD.  We cannot thank Joanna and her team enough for their support of Our Ride and patience in explaining the benefits of naturopathic medicine.

POP's Ride - The Background Part II

Part Two of how POP’s Ride came to be.

Now it is March and time for the Arizona MS150 Ride.  Kyle joins Shannon and me and we complete something like 160ish miles.  We hung our colors proudly in the main parking lot and wore our new training jerseys.  You may be asking how the MS Ride plays into POP’s Ride.  Well, for the past couple of years I was a volunteer on the organizing committee and met some great people.  A few of those people have volunteered to help us with Our Ride.  I ask myself why…..why would these people who barely know us volunteer their time and money to help make Our Ride happen.  It is very humbling.

About this time Mike Seeberger asked if he could ride along also.  You see, Mike and Kyle are married to sisters, Sarah and Becca.  Of course we said yes, come along.  And so, the Team of Four Friends was formed.

So we are now at Mayish, 2010 and we are assembling our planning team.  The Team includes:  Shannon, Shane, Kyle, Mike, Kerri Mahan, Kurt Stutzman, Sarah Worley, Becca Seeberger, Melody Schlosser, Melinda Schlosser, Rachel Baderman, Maureen Kempton, Mona Amaro, Jodi Thompson, Susan McEntyre and Brandee Wessel.  Their help and dedication has been incredible.  We cannot thank them enough.

Ok, now stuff really starts to happen.  I think these events are in the correct order but if I’m off a little cut me some slack, it’s been a busy year.

On April 17, 2010, I setup a Ride donation account with the Davis Phinney Foundation.  Davis is a retired professional road cyclist living with PD.  His foundation is focused on providing those living with PD a better life.  Visit www.davisphinneyfoundation.org to learn more about their Mission.

In May we held our first fundraiser, a garage sale of donated items.  We made almost $900!  A great start.

We also designed a t-shirt to sell and help raise money to offset some of The Ride costs.

In June we met with Spectrum Graphics.  Jared and Amber (brother and sister) own this company and are long time friends of Kyle, Shannon and I.  They agreed to help us with some graphics work for The Ride.

During the July 4^th Holiday, the whole family was in Nebraska.  This was the first time since Kurt moved to California we were all back at the same time.  Dad was stoked.  We spent the first few days at the Stutzman Reunion in Fremont.  This was a good time to see a lot of people we hadn’t seen in years.  The theme of the weekend was “A Heritage in Christ”. 

Given how this Ride is coming together, I’m confident our Heritage is a significant factor in what is happening.  First of all, we have amazing extended families on both sides.  Their support, in every way, has been incredible.  They have bought t-shirts, made donations, volunteered to drive and organized a Harley Poker Run.

After the Stutzman Reunion, we then went to the Schweitzer Family Gathering.   Again, our crazy dream was well received and supported.   Today (1/2/11) I received an email from my cousin’s wife to let us know their family was sending a donation.  She said they pick a charity each year rather than swapping gifts.  WOW.  I am convinced we will all successfully make this journey and our goals not because of who we are or what we do; but because of Our Families – both biological and our Family in Christ.

While we were in Nebraska, I got a call from the Arizona Republic.  They needed some information for an article they were working on.  Cool.

On July 5^th, the Arizona Republic ran an article about Our Ride.  Annie and Jody from Community Public Relations were key to getting this article published.  As a result of this article, we were visited by a reporter from Channel 15 and on July 6^th, I received a letter from TGen, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, located in downtown Phoenix.  TGen invited us to a tour of their facility so Dad and I went for a visit on August 6.  We learned a lot about PD and how they are researching for a cure.

On August 16, Denise from TGen sent a follow-up letter asking for a follow-up meeting with Shannon and me.  On September 16, Shannon and I met with Denise and Erin from TGen and agreed TGen would join Our Ride.

Dad had been trying to get us a contact with the Muhammad Ali Center for several weeks and he was finally successful.  In early August, I sent an email to Margaret Anne Coles at the Center.   She forwarded the email to Patty Hatton and Patty called me on August 26^th, very excited about what we were doing.  She said Margaret Anne was out of the office but the whole office was very excited about Our Ride and eager to be involved.  Our first meeting with the Ali group wasn’t until October because several of them were attending an international Parkinson’s convention in Europe.

We opened the POP’s Ride checking account at Compass Bank on 75^th and Thunderbird.  Why Compass?  It is less than a mile from my house since I banked at Chase it would help to keep the money separate.  One day while making a deposit, Ricky Castro, an employee of the bank, asked if I knew Rachel.  I said yes.  He explained a program Compass had where POP’s Ride would earn referral fees for each new account we referred.  We signed up for the program and have received several hundred dollars as a result.  You may say this is just a random coincidence…. I disagree. 

On August 13^th, Shannon, Kyle, Mike and I headed to Folsom, CA to participate in A Ride for A Reason.  Folsom is 13 driving hours from Phoenix.  Road trips are fun right?  Especially when you drive for 13 hours, ride for 3 hours, then turn around the next day and head home.  Yeah, I know, you are thinking, “Those guys are out of it.”  But you don’t yet have the whole story.  You see, this was the nearest Davis Phinney ride to Phoenix.  We had to go.  We wanted to meet Cindy Miller, our contact at DPF.  We almost won the prize for traveling the greatest distance – we missed it by less than two miles.  Guess I should have registered from Mom and Dad’s house in Chandler…that would have added 45 miles!  We made some great friends in Folsom – Brie Lindsey and Sue (Sacramento) Fry.  This was a very cool event and I am hoping we can go again in 2011.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to ride in 2010 because of a sore back…so I really want to go back and have fun with the games.

On August 29^th, we hosted Pig’n Out for Parkinson’s at Tom’s BBQ in Chandler.   We had a great time and met Jean Burns.  An amazing lady with PD.  Jean and POP’s Ride will cross paths many times over the next few months.  You can learn more about Jean and her friend Sheryl visit their site www.pdplan4life.com.

On September 11, we hosted a golf tournament and had about 40 friends, family, co-workers and guests come play.  We had a great time and raised more than we dreamed.

On September 20, we were the special guests of Point B, a consulting firm with an office here in Phoenix.  The story behind this is another one of those crazy ones.  I was sitting at the annual Arizona Multiple Sclerosis banquet and was talking with a couple of the gentlemen at my table.  One of these was Tony Peck from Point B.  We talked about Our Ride and contacted me later and asked if we could meet so he could learn more about POP’s Ride.  After this meeting, he contacted me and said POP’s Ride would the charity of the quarter for their Q3 meeting.  We were invited to provide some information about Our Ride and they presented us with jerseys and some equipment.  Very cool.

Now it is September 29.  My roommate Will told us about a new bike shop in north Phoenix called the Bicycle Vibe.  Shannon and I stopped by and quickly learned this would be our home shop.  Amber, Kevin, Will and Bob made us feel welcomed.  On the 29^th, Jason Tullous from Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) drove from Tucson to give us our training plan and give a presentation to Vibe customers on ride nutrition.  More on why Jason created us a training plan later.

Once Amber learned about what we were doing and has been supportive of our plans.  During their Grand Opening, they had a raffle and the proceeds went to two organizations and POP’s Ride was one of them.  They have been helping us with supplier contacts and Kevin worked with us on our bike fittings.  Again, Our Ride is not about the four of us guys riding a few miles each day.  Our Ride is about all of the people who have joined together to make The Ride a success.  I just hope I can be successful so WE are all successful.

Tour de Scottsdale happened on October 3.  This is a 70ish mile ride around the McDowell Mountains here in Arizona.  We had a booth at the festival and again spread the word about Our Ride.

The crew headed to Flagstaff on October 9 for Go Big for Parkinson’s to participate in a 5k run and a 2k walk.  By the crew I mean, Shane and Shannon on the run and Dad, Mom, Kerri, Cole, Melody, Melinda, Mike, Becca and Gideon on the walk.  Fun times.

Now, more on why Jason from CTS would write us a training plan.  Back in March when we were raising money for the MS150, we submitted money we raised at our annual BBQ during Team Week on the day where we could win a weekend training camp at CTS in Tucson.  Well, Kyle and Shannon won the training.  As CTS was planning this weekend, Shannon started contacting Jason and asked if CTS would help us with a training plan.  Jason agreed and that is how POP’s Ride received training direction from the same organization who trains Lance Armstrong.

Kyle and Shannon went to Tucson on October 22 and 23 for their training by the pro’s and learned some sick bike skills and continued their ability to leave Shane in the dust.

While they were playing on their bikes, I was busy working with my co-workers at a Community Picnic on the 23^rd.  This crew from Safeway sold over 100 meal tickets and raised more than $1,600.  Great times.   Thanks to everyone who organized the event and thanks to all who bought meal and raffle tickets.

Parktoberfest on October 30.  Through another series of events, we were introduced to Joey and Jayson.  These two guys put on Parktoberfest each year and invited us to come to the event.  Another great event to support the APDA and help those with PD live a more productive life.

November 7, Shannon represents POP’s Ride at the 4^th Annual Knock Out Parkinson’s Jazz Festival supporting the Muhammad Ali Center.

Wait a minute, how did I get to November 7 and not mention more on our partnership with the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center (MAPC).  On October 7, Dad, Mom, Kerri, Shannon and I met with the staff at MAPC.  At some point during that meeting, everyone agreed we would partner together. 

Wait a minute, how did Shannon and I go from partnering with one well known PD foundation to four BIG NAME foundations?  I’m not sure but I have to believe there is a greater reason.  I have to believe POP’s Ride will have a positive impact on those living with PD and those caring for people with PD.  We can never forget the caregivers.  They are an incredible group of dedicated individuals.  They must have incredible drive, love, stamina and patience.  They deserve our respect and our appreciation.  Thanks Mom, we love you.

The MAPC published an article about POP’s ride in their Q4 newsletter and a second article in their Q1, 2011 newsletter.

Ok, I think everyone is caught up on what has happened during the last year or so.  If I missed something, please let me know and rest assured it was not intentional.  Like I said, a lot has happened and if I was on my game in September 2009 this would have been a lot easier.

Stay tuned as I know the Lord is still working on providing us with what we need to make Our Ride a success.  Remember, OUR includes you!