Author: gearman0326

Listen to the sounds… of silence

Posted on by gearman0326

Buenos Nachos, sports fans!

Well, it took a while of looking and chasing, but the guy who decided to make today a 95 mile day has found his way here- smiling the whole way to the finish line. All riders are in, most are mid-stream in the replacement of the thousands of calories burned on today’s adventure- and believe it or not, I have a moment alone. Shortly after dinner, we’ll gather to have a raffle, some live music, some games and fun… who knows. 

Just know that everyone is in and safe, and the fun hasn’t stopped. More later. 

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you 

GearMan

If you build it, they will come

Posted on by gearman0326

Good evening everyone!
It’s around that time, time to get some shut-eye before tomorrow morning’s start. Many have arrived, others are still in transit from what I hear was an absolutely atrocious day to be driving anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard. We had a nice group of 20 join us at On the Border, and had the chance to make some new friends before tomorrow, when we get to… Make some new friends!
In less than nine hours, we, your volunteer staff, will take up our positions so that when you take to the starting line- everything will be ready for you as you take part in this unique Tour de Cure event, and embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
Two, or Seven days.
Three, or Four states.
One Hundred and Fifty, or Five Hundred and Fifty miles.
You’ll be amazed at how fast it goes by, and sad that it has to end- but it never really does… New accomplishments, personal records, new friends, and memories that will bring a smile to your face for years to come.
It’s what happens.
And it’s happening soon.

Drive safe.

Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you,
GearMan

Shorts! I have to go! Where are my shorts?!?! No, the ones with the Chamois- this is going to hurt…

Posted on by gearman0326

Relax. 

I know you’re excited, anxious, pumped, and maybe even a little bit nervous… I’ve been there, I know. 

Take a deep breath. Pack your cycling gear. Pack some shorts and flip flops. Leave the parka at home. Maybe bring a long sleeved shirt in case it’s cool at night. Grab some sunblock and bug spray. Toss them in your bag.  Oh, and don’t forget your toiletries. 

Relax. You’re on vacation. We’ve got this. Forgot something? Let us know- we’ll get it for you. 

Just ride. Be free. Enjoy. Let us do the rest. That’s what we’re here for. 

See ya soon. 

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you-

GearMan

Ten… Ground Control to Major Tom… Nine… Commencing countdown, spandex on… Eight…

Posted on by gearman0326

Check your left cleat, and may tail-winds be with you….
WAIT! WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE! Did you just say “EIGHT”?!?!?

Why yes, I did… Time to start training, yes?

So, new and veteran riders alike, you’re no doubt pretty excited by now, right? I know I am!

What’s going on?
For the volunteers and committee, this is the busiest time of the year- Marking the route, coordinating supplies, vehicles, staffing, logistics, changing everything on the fly… It’s SO much crazier than actually executing the plan we’ve been working on for 51 weeks. While it’s already started, the complete ride-out and marking of the route has to be completed in the next few days so that GPS files can be edited, approved and uploaded, Cue Sheets sent off for printing, and routes downloaded by the riders to their devices.
AS SOON AS THE GPS FILES ARE COMPLETED, POSTINGS WILL BE MADE, EMAILS WILL BE SENT, FRIENDS WILL CALL FRIENDS.
Honest.
Promise.
It’s going to be hard for you to NOT know about it. You won’t need to ask.

Staying at the Red Roof Inn in Woburn Friday night?
Meet us NEXT DOOR at On the Border for some Mexican food and camaraderie after early registration closes at the starting line- roughly 7:00. They unfortunately can’t take reservations for our group during one of their busiest nights, so wear a cycling themed shirt, and look for others doing the same…. Don’t be shy, cyclists are cool even if they’re not with us. Don’t worry, it won’t be a late night, we all have plans in the morning.

Oh, and in typical, sporadic, unreliable form, I’ll be blogging the weeks adventure right here, for your friends, family and sponsors to follow along. I don’t get paid for doing this, make money off of “Clicks” or “Views”, or sell traffic, visitor reports or data- I do it to make it a little easier for your friends and loved ones to follow along in your adventure… Hey, maybe one of them would like to join you next year.

STAY TUNED!!!

Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you,
GearMan

Off on Your Way, Hit the Open Road

Posted on by gearman0326

Greetings one last time this year,

Hi everyone!
Another year has come and gone- A year of planning, organizing, recruiting, training fundraising, packing, anticipation; Completion, satisfaction, accomplishment, pride, courage, confidence, effort…
And it always ends us up back here, always back home with the ones we love- the ones who covered for us while we were gone, in some cases with the kids, in others with work, still others with care of a loved one- Maybe even a loved one with diabetes. And we went out there, nervous, wondrous,  maybe even a little frightened… And took those people with us in our hearts, for support. For those long climbs, those rough days,  the exhausting heat, the times where maybe, just for a second, quitting seemed like a good idea, they were there with us. We can’t quit, because they can’t either.
We had an absolutely wonderful year, and I can’t believe it’s already over… These fly by faster as the years add up. Our last day was an absolutely beautiful route from Keene over into Jaffrey, down into Townsend, through the State Park, Littleton, Over 495, and back to Woburn and our gracious Start and Finish line hosts, Parker Chomerics.
This years finish line had the usual cheering supporters of other riders, nice enough to extend applause and congratulations to an unknown rider on their accomplishment, and the cheering masses of volunteers who either cycle through and out at the end of their seven day stint, or rotate in, to relieve the weary workers of their posts as things are broken down, secured, stashed and stored for another year. I can honestly tell you that Jeff and the crew who showed up to help empty out and return the Gear Truck had their work CUT OUT for them after the “Truck Detour” I got lost- Erm, I mean “Sent down”. The back of the truck looked like a tossed salad afterwards, and I don’t think I ever got it back to anywhere close to right before the end of the week.
The finish line is always bitter-sweet, which is why we do our Final Ceremonies on Thursday night- So many people travel to this event and want to get back to their families, so they might not get to see a new friend or riding partner at the finish before they head on their way home. It’s a sense of accomplishment coupled with a sense of loss- knowing it’s over, and that you’ll have to wait another 51 weeks to start it again. It’s about knowing that it will be there again, next year. It’s about knowing that your new found family members will be there too- And about the realization that you’re one of the family now. Two or seven day rider, local or from abroad, weekend warrior or wannabe crit racer, you’re one of us now… A member of the Caravan… Bring friends, tell them we have cookies… But don’t mention the lemon-lime Gatorade.

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you
GearMan

Sometimes you’re the windshield, Sometimes you’re the bug.

Posted on by gearman0326

Buenos Nachos from Chez Gear-Lu!
I would be remiss if I didn’t start with an apology- Being alone, trying to find time to finish what needed to be done on a daily basis as people were asking me things they needed to know about things that were going on… I got overwhelmed at times, and as a result, a bit cranky. This isn’t the first time that’s happened but this year it seemed that I was cranky more often than usual. The glaring, obvious truth is that I’m a lot older and fatter than I was when I first did the Gear Truck solo… Eleventy Gajillion years ago. There’s three things I need to change before next year: 1) I need to get younger. 2) I need to get rid of all this weight I gained when I quit smoking a couple years ago. and 3) I need a high school or college age student to help me out for the full seven days.
So, since it seems I can’t do anything about #1, and can only beg, plead and cajole to remedy #3, I guess my focus will have to be #2- Which, probably means something foolish and rash, like getting back on my bicycle… or *Gasp* Joining a gym.
WHICH…
Brings us back to option #3… PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!! I’M BEGGIN’ YA!!! I’M TOO OLD FOR THIS CRAP!!! I’M DYING OVER HERE!!!

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you
GearMan

Please Sir, I want some more…

Posted on by gearman0326

Howdy friends!

Another 364 days have cycled through the hourglass, and we return here, exactly where we were last year- the final night. 

It was a cloudy and sultry day as we screamed down from the midway point of the Killington access road, down past Okemo, into the Connecticut River Valley and back into NH. One “Proper” climb, and we were to our final overnight location in Keene. The threatened and forecast rain stayed far east, hitting the South Shore of MA for several hours before an evening band swung through from NY after all were safely in and made it even more humid. 

Our annual Awards ceremony took place after dinner, recognizing those who rode in multiple Tour de Cure events, fastest youngest rider, the rider who drove the furthest, and lots of other fun stuff. I awarded my rock to the rider with the heaviest luggage, and the 2016 Rock will be headed “Across the Pond” with one of our friends from Team Blood Glucose. After the prizes and Thank You’s, we had our last raffle of the year- many jerseys, vests, socks and even a cooler. All going to new homes tomorrow.
One last night and we’ll be home, which is great but that means that this great event, this wonderful week will be over for another year. 

For now, we have one more day to look forward to, so that’s what I’ll do. 

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you.

GearMan

 

Day 4 and Day 5, All Mashed into one Tasty Morsel, at no additional cost to You, the reader.

Posted on by gearman0326

Hiya everyone!
Tuesday saw us leaving Attitash bright and early to get out ahead of the heat on our longest day, 109miles- through Crawford’s Notch, the White and Green Mountains and into the State Capitol of Vermont, Montpelier. Because Vermont ain’t flat, the route in from Rest Stop 3 had a lot of climbing, the last 15 miles being the most difficult in the heat of the day as temperatures hovered in the mid-eighties. The day complete, we all went to dinner at Applebee’s and replenished essential nutrients burned off during the day. After dinner, there was a subtle exodus as people retreated to their rooms to get some well earned rest.

Wednesday started with a visit from WCAX TV in Burlington who came by to find out a little about our event, talk to a few riders and do a short TV piece on the 6:00 news tonight. 8:00 and we hit the road for our shortest day at 70 miles- now some might think (Rightly) that that’s still a helluva long ride- but after the last couple days, it seems like a walk in the park. Before Rest Stop 1, there was a bridge that was closed for repair by the VTDOT and a detour was established over a covered bridge- a 9’6″ covered bridge that my 13’1″ truck was MUCH too tall to fit under without ample space for a running start. A separate, truck detour route had been established, and that was to be my route. I’m not sure if the wind blew a sign over, or if some teenager has a new decoration for his tree-fort, or what… But I never saw a sign telling me to turn off the road I was detoured onto. As I went up a narrow mountain road. Towards Mad River Glen. Reading signs saying “This road not recommended for winter use by trucks and buses”. 15 MPH hairpin turns, 15% grades, switchbacks, narrow, winding road… Downhill speeds that would have easily exceeded 65MPH without brakes… The smell of hot brake pads…
FINALLY, I made it back into civilization, well, farmland. A stop at a local gas station confirmed what I already knew, my GPS telling me to go back the way I had come would send me right back to the closed bridge- so now, on the wrong side of the mountains, I had to blaze my own trail- Southward to Rutland, and finally on to Killington. 40-50 miles out of the way, two hours behind schedule, and swearing like a sailor who had just dropped a battleship anchor on his pinky toe.

Dinner, Trivia night, Cornhole games, lounging poolside and more are in order and in progress- me, I’m wiped out and going to bed at 8:00. Remember when your parents made you go to bed early for being naughty? Well, I’ve been naughty and I’m punishing myself.

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you,
GearMan