Use Your Strengths

This week has been a peculiar week for me. I feel very fortunate in my life to have 4 beautiful, healthy, thriving kids, a wonderful husband and positively super job and the list goes on and on. My life isn't perfect, by no sense of the imagination (I'd like to meet someone who does have the perfect life), but in reality I have it pretty darn good. I get the opportunity to meet new people everyday and on the best of days I get to spend at least a few minutes getting to know them a little better. As a matter of fact, you may be one of those people that I got to spend time with, on the bike or in the shop. Each person I meet leaves some sort of an impact on me, at times I have to sit back and really think or reflect about it.

Now, what makes this week different for me is that I came in contact with 3 people in 3 days who have been affected by breast cancer. For me that is an astounding number. The first is a friend, who lost one of her dear friends this week to breast cancer. This lady was a cyclist, a wife and most of all a mother of two young children. The next is an acquaintance from my kids' school, whose sister was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago and just started chemo this week. Again, she is a mother of young children. The last is a dear friend of mine who thankfully found out this morning that she did not have breast cancer, after a very long few days of waiting for test results to come back. Once again she is a mother of a young child and a fellow cyclist. So I have spent time each day reflecting on these people and what they have been through and what they will continue to endure in the future ahead. My heart and my prayers go out to each family as they deal with their own struggles. But what else can I do to help, I'm only one person? Ahhh, I'm one person with a voice who can beg and plead for everyone else to use their voice and their strength to help.

What I ask is that you use your strength as a cyclist to help a good cause, support a charity that speaks to your heart. I personally have two, Breast Cancer Awareness and Research and the MS Society. I can't do much, but I can sign up for that charity ride and pay my $35 entrance fee, I can ask a friend to join me on that ride, now that's $70 going toward a charity. I know that my $35 when combined with 500 more people paying $35, can and will make a difference. I sit here asking you to do the same, sign up to ride, pay your fee, maybe even do some fundraising and then go out and have fun on your ride. You may choose a ride to prevent child abuse, to help end hunger, to help fight cancer, whatever your cause, just sign up and ride.

See, I told you it was really simple, no complicated training formulas here. Just you and your bike making a difference, one pedal stroke at a time.

Here are a few websites with good info:

www.komen.org
www.nationalmssociety.org
www.bcrfcure.org
www.teamintraining.org

Come Out and Support the MS Society

Here is a great chance to have a good breakfast, support a good cause and have some wonderful fellowship with your friends, all before 10am! Get up and out to the Farmer's Family Restaurant for a MS Walk Fundraiser Breakfast on Saturday, April 11, 2009 and have breakfast with the MS Society and MS Walk participants, from 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Just $6.99 per person, all you can eat buffet, proceeds to benefit the Nashville MS Walk. Restaurant is located at 100 Suzanne Dr. in Dickson, TN. Call 615-446-7775 for further details.

Ask for Lisa Rose when you get there, Lisa lives with the effects of MS on a daily basis, is a super involved volunteer with Walk MS and Bike MS, she is a volunteer on both committee's, is completing another walk this year and although she has run SAG for the Jack and Back for years, has now signed up to ride in her FIRST Jack & Back this year. Shake her hand, congratulate her on her achievements and thank her for her tireless efforts!

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is officially here and not a day too soon! If you haven't started riding yet, get your bike out of winter storage and get moving. It is time to shake off those winter blahs and get in the sunshine once again.

With the beginning of our ride season starting again, let me remind everyone to ride SAFE, ride defensive, ride as though the driver coming up behind you , beside you, toward you does NOT see you. I've said it before and I'll say it again, most drivers are unaware of the 3ft law in TN or they don't care about it. While bike laws are up for discussion and debate all the time, I am reminded of one of the most important pieces of advice I have ever been given, "You can only control yourself". Put it on a post card and tape it to the top tube of your bike, plaster it to your helmet, whatever you need to do to remind yourself who is in control. No matter what laws are passed, what roads we are given the freedom to ride, you can not control the person in the car on the road with you. I encourage you to get involved on a local level or go even further with it, find out what you can do to make your area a safe place for cyclist to ride. As cyclist we are to follow the same laws as a vehicle, this includes stop lights and stop signs, yes you may have to unclip. Just consider it practice and a good time to stretch your legs.

Now that I have that out of my system, let me also encourage everyone to come out and join us for one of our group rides. Just check out our Event Calendar for ride specifics.

I also need to apologize, I had said I was going to get a women's team together for 3 State 3 Mountain this year and as luck would have it, my oldest niece is getting married that day. So I chose to see my beautiful niece marry the man of her deams on May 2nd instead of climbing miles of hills. Yes, I know, what was I thinking. :-)

I hope you ALL have a wonderful, challenging and rewarding ride season and I hope to see you on the road or in the store soon!

Spring will be here soon. Right?

Here we are almost the end of January and of what has been a terribly wet and cold winter. If you are like us at Trace Bikes, we are not-so-patiently waiting on Spring to arrive. So while we wait what can we do to prepare for the upcoming riding season? Believe it or not there are lots of things you can do to pass the next few weeks by.

(1) Check out some of the upcoming organized rides and begin to plan your ride calendar. Trace Bikes will be organizing training groups for a few different rides this year, like 3 State 3 Mountain, Jack & Back and more. For a new twist this year I'll be getting a group of women to train for 3 State 3 Mountain, they offer a metric course and a full century. Training for this ride will begin in March, check our website for more info in the upcoming weeks. Jack & Back training will start in early June, but don't wait until then to get on your bike.

(2) Now is the perfect time to get your bike tuned up without the long wait that comes with Spring. Bring your bike by and let one of our mechanics check it out, you'll be happy you did when the warmer days get here.

(3) Get in the gym for a spin class, hit the pavement for a walk/run or on your trainer and get started on your base/core training. Get those muscles moving and start shedding those extra winter pounds that can slow you down.

(4) Check out your riding gear, does anything need to be replaced? Now is a great time to find good deals on cycling apparel like jackets and jerseys.

Now, get up, get out and get riding!

Jack & Back Update

Yes, I'm VERY late in updating everyone on the Jack & Back. I can give all sorts of excuses, but I'll spare you and just try to update you now - 2 months later. Almost everyone I profiled for the Jack & Back was able to complete the ride. We had one unable to complete the ride due to a knee injury. It was a tough decision to make after training for months building up to the ride, but it was definitely the best decision. Bev, blew us all away! I knew she could complete the ride, but wow, she really put a lot into it. She rode her best average ever on day 2 of the ride! I wish I could put into words how exhilarating it is complete such a challenge, something you thought was so daunting in the beginning and then prove to yourself you CAN and DID do it (with flying colors)! You start with a hard 20 mile ride in the beginning, thinking you'll never be able to ride 150 miles, then you reach a point where you wouldn't think of riding anything under 20 miles. I mean, that becomes just warm up ride. You look forward to the days you have time to ride 30 - 40 - 50 miles. You look for days you can leave work a little early and get in a ride. You dread time change in the fall, because of the precious daylight you lose. The weather man becomes your best friend when he/she says it's going to be sunny and 60 degrees! You can now call yourself a true cyclist. No, we're not elite athletes, we're your neighbor, your aunt, your uncle, your mom, your dad, sister, brother, etc, etc.....we're cyclist and we love to ride.

Ride Safe

I have to say that we have been blessed, over the last 2+ years since Trace Bikes opened only three of our riders have been involved in a accident. Even more thankfully neither accident involved a car. A little scratched up and bruised, two cracked helmets, one cracked rib, one pair of bib shorts torn and one broken shifter, but everyone was able to walk away. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing for a gentleman I heard about riding in Leiper's Fork a few weeks ago. As I understand it, a truck turned into his path, the cyclist of course hitting the truck, but the worst was the truck did not stop, he actually drug this gentleman until someone in a car was able to catch up to him and make him stop. The driver of the truck was unaware of the cyclist, had no idea that he had just killed someone. My heart goes out to everyone involved, as I am sure the driver did not set out with those intentions when he left his house that morning. All of this to say, please, please, please be aware of your surroundings when you are out there on the road. Think of it as "defensive riding". We all know that by law motorist are supposed to give cyclist 3ft when passing, we all also know that as cyclist we have no control of the auto coming up behind us, passing us and sometimes giving us the universal "hello".

There a few things you can do to help protect yourself; (1) Be aware of the traffic around you. (2) Assume that the auto that just passed you, may not have seen you especially if you are approaching a turn or an intersection. (3) If you are riding side by side with someone, move to a single file line as soon as you hear a car. By law you don't have to do this, but "Bubba" and/or "Bubba's" girlfriend does not care what the law says. The speed limit may be 35, but the driver may be going 50 - 60. (4) If you are using a mirror to watch the traffic behind you, do not let that replace you physically turning to look before you move into the traffic lane. (5) Wear a helmet! I am always surprised at how many people who ask, "Do I have to wear a helmet?". No, you don't have to wear a helmet, but imagine your head is a watermelon, now imagine that watermelon hitting the asphalt with the force of a 150 - 200 lb vine driving it to the ground. I think you get my point. (6) If you do wreck, please replace your helmet before your next ride. You may not see the damage to your helmet, but the integrity of the material has been compromised and may not protect you the next time. (7) If you are passing a parked car, beware of the door opening. Again the person in the car may not know you are there. (8) As a cyclist you are bound to the same rules of the road as a motorist, this means stop signs, traffic lights, etc. If the light is red, you need to stop too. I know this interrupts the ride, but I'd rather be a little slower getting home, than not getting home at all.

Now, go ride, be defensive and ride safe, there are more rides ahead of you, don't let a careless mistake take that way from you, your family or your riding buddies!

Jack & Back Progress

I can not tell you how impressed I am at every one's progress during their training for the Jack & Back! I have seen an impressive amount of miles and dedication come from each of the women I have been riding with. At this point I think I will be the one at the back of the pack, they have been riding much more than me. :-) I will try to get an update of their averages, etc., I hope they are as proud of their accomplishment as we are. We only have a few more weeks to go before the big ride, some of the women have a couple of big rides planned before then, the HOW100 and the Sunrise Century.