Hero Blog

By Joel Phillips

Hero…quite a magnificent four-letter word isn’t it?  The very mention of the word evokes feelings of inspiration, and who doesn’t like a story about a hero.  Growing up in Cheyenne (Wyoming), one of the many places I would ride my bike was City News, a local mom & pop business that specialized in newspapers, magazines and comic books.  I was always eager to read about the heroics of Superman (my personal favorite Superhero) Batman, the Flash and the rest of the gang.  On my way back home I would stop by the downtown fire station, if they were there the captain would politely listen and respond to me, as I would ask question after question after question about what happened at the last call, it was my chance to talk to a real live hero.

During my teen years it seemed my heroes were athletes.  I marveled at their accomplishments because I had a good understanding of the hard work and dedication that goes into being a champion.  I’ve always viewed first responders as heroes along with those who put themselves in harm’s way when asked.  In reality there are heroes all around us, look in the mirror, I’d wager YOU are a hero to someone, you just may not get the same press as Superman.

On Saturday, May 4, I became very present with the reality I live with a hero.  Her name is Tara and she is my wife.

Tara graduated Regis University (Denver, CO) Summa Cum Laude (4.0 GPA) with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.  Right…lot’s of people graduate with a 4.0 every year and there doesn’t seem to be a bunch of hero parades.

Maybe not in public, but each and every graduate is a hero in their own right.  I am particularly proud of my wife because her efforts inspired me to be who I am today.  For eight years Tara took a couple of classes each semester, worked full-time, having to change jobs twice, endured the loss of close family members and the pain of a ruptured disc in her lower back.  While I was in the hospital with what turned out to be a gallbladder going septic, she maintained vigil by my side, putting her entire life on hold.  All the while, she never once complained.  Emotion got the better of me as I cried tears of elation when she walked across the stage and received her diploma.  That evening, after her party when we finally got the chance to sit down and reflect on the day and her accomplishment, she turned to me and said, “baby, now I’ll have more time to ride with you”.  I can’t express how much this woman means to me and how fortunate I am she chose me to share her life with.

It’s easy to conquer when you have super powers, but to endure and persevere with all life throws at us is truly heroic.  Look around you and see how many heroes there might be…single parents, recovering addicts, teachers, a loving family maybe even a co-worker.  It’s crazy to me how the media seems to go out of their way to focus on tragedy, when there are soooo many more stories of inspiration.  What about you…who are your heroes?

7 amateur cyclists are taking part in a mammoth challenge for one special little girl with cerebral palsy

Today marks day 2 of a charity cycle ride from Edinburgh in Scotland to Dover in the south east of England - around 500 miles of riding in just 5 days! The ride is to raise funds for Lola Stockdale was born cord prolapsed and was starved of oxygen for 50 minutes.

This resulted in her having cerebral vision, cerebral palsy and developmental issues, and her family is now trying to raise enough money – approximately £100,000 – for her to have stem cell therapy to help improve her quality of living.

Police Officer Warren Beadle of Kent Police is a close friend of Lola’s family after serving in the Army with her father, Noel, 14 years ago. He was so touched by the little girl’s bravery he decided to organise an epic 500-mile cycle ride to help raise the cash for her therapy. 

PC Beadle said: “When I met Lola I was overwhelmed by what a sweet young girl she is and how the whole family pull together to care for her. Noel works long hours for a multinational building company and Lola’s mother, Kelly, works tirelessly to look after Lola and their two other children. The way they carry on regardless of the hardships and always seem to have a smile on their faces, is inspirational. They are an optimistic and hardworking family who deserve all the support we can give them.”

This is a great cause and I was originally supposed to be on this ride with the rest of the guys but unfortunately had to pull out some time ago. I’m sure you all know people who are as tough and deserving as Lola and her family, but if you would like to donate, you can find the details here on the Lola’s Journey website. You can also follow their progress on their Facebook page here.

GOOD LUCK GUYS!

Many readers will already be using Strava… but it just got better! 

If you have not experienced the wonders of Strava then I urge you to stop what you are doing… yes that means everything… go away and sign up and then come back as your riding experience has just got better. Whenever I try to describe Strava to someone who is not in the know I usually start by saying, “It’s like Facebook but for cyclists… and its better”. It’s a place for riders (and runners) to come together, share rides, routes, pain and glory all packaged in a user-friendly site. Strava increases its user friendliness by incorporating ‘plug and play’ style connectivity for a range of bike computers as well as having superb smartphone apps meaning everyone can be part of the action.

The bike-mad Mark Beaconsfield (@Lycra_Loony) came up with the idea of having LovingTheBike and #bikeschool Strava Clubs for riders everywhere to join and share in the glory of keeping the rubber side down. In my eyes this idea steps Mark up from bona fide cycle nut to gold standard nogging-box genius and will rightly so be entered into the LTB hall of fame!

Although part of the fun of Strava is competing against friends on local routes and roads with the leader boards and ‘segments’ it’s a great tool to measure you performance against others but above all share what you are doing and get some props for the hard work you put in!

With #30daysofbiking just around the corner and people signing up everyday to compete as part of Team #LovingTheBike there is no better time to join us on Strava to keep yourself motivated and put into perspective the amount of riding you can achieve in a month. It’s going to be a hard month and from experience, any way of staying motivated during #30daysofbiking is a bonus as it really is a commitment to your bike, your health and generally having fun.

So whether you are going to be part of Team #LovingTheBike or you just want to connect with bike riders from all over the world, join us on Strava and be part of LovingTheBike and #bikeschool.

Stevie

]]> http://lovingthebike.com/motivation/team-strava/feed 4 http://lovingthebike.com/motivation/no-limits http://lovingthebike.com/motivation/no-limits#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:05:39 +0000 Darryl http://lovingthebike.com/?p=12655 Share/Bookmark

It doesn’t matter who you are, or what kind of cyclist you aspire to be….there are no limits in getting you to where you want to go.

As with all our Make it Happen Monday posts here at Loving the Bike, this one is intended to motivate and push you to do great things….on and off the bike.  Having No Limits, is definitely a great way to get you where you want.

The number of great stories out there about people going beyond their limits to do amazing things are endless.  But today I share with you the incredible “no limits” attitude of a dog, a cyclist, and a man with no arms or legs.

No Limits Dog

My Wife is a dog loving maniac….actually the rest of my Family is as well.  They’ll do anything they can to help out an animal (or person).  A couple weeks ago, they started fostering a puppy from the GSPCA (Grenada Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).  But Sammi is not your typical homeless dog.

Sammi has absolutely no feeling in her back end, so that means she can’t use her hind legs or control anything else back there.  But this totally hasn’t stopped her from being one super happy dog that will go anywhere and attempt to climb anything.  Having the use of only two legs has not stopped her at all.

Have a look at this amazing No Limits puppy:

No Limits Cyclist

Us cyclists are a pretty amazing people, if I do say so myself.  But there are several cyclists who do extraordinary things.  Okay, so riding in the Tour de France is extraordinary in its own right….but there are every day cyclists who have done some pretty incredible things on a bike.  There are my friends, the Vogels, who together as a Family rode from Alaska to Argentina.  Or Robert Marchand, a 100-year-old man who recently set a 100 km cycling record.

But today, I’m going to pick out Tom Bruce who cycled around the world in 2011.  His No Limits attitude helped get him through this amazing journey and in this story over at Beyond Limits Magazine, he talks about Riding Through the Desert.

No Limits Amazing

Just last week, my Wife introduced me to a man she found online called Nick Vujicic.  Maybe you’ve heard of him….but if you haven’t, you just have to see more about what this man can do even though he has no arms and no legs.  Yeah, you heard me right.

Not only does Nick have a No Limits attitude, he also has the most amazing outlook on life and biggest passion for living that you’ll ever see.

Just making his way through a day is enough for him to be featured in a No Limits post, but this dude takes it to the max.  There is nothing he won’t try….golfing, swimming, football, and more.  If he hasn’t tried it already, I’m sure we’ll see him riding a bike one of these days as well.

See for yourself.  Here’s a quick look at Nick’s No Limits attitude:

I know you have a No Limits attitude inside of you as well.  It’s Monday and “today is a new life to a wise man”.  Get out there and make it happen.

Enjoy Your Ride.

If you’ve read my ramblings for any length of time you’ll know I like a damn good flogging on the turbo trainer from time to time and 2013 is set to be no different.  This month we see the creation of the newest early season tour  - the Tour of Sufferlandria

Straight from the evil mind that brought you such monumentally difficult indoor training videos such as ‘The Hunted’ and ‘The Long Scream’ comes an early season race to rival the humdrum routine of the Tour of Qatar and the Tour Down Under. “Slotting in nicely to the UCI calender of early season races, the Tour of Sufferlandria was created to bring back the drama, agony and misery that the early season peloton deserves. Starting on January 26th, the 9 day event promises to turn even the softest rider into a true Sufferlandrian by the end, on Feb 3rd.”

The Tour of Sufferlandria has been designed by race director Grunter von Agony to be a serious test for those riders who have already been putting in the hard work over the winter and are looking to flourish in the first few months of the new year.

“The course is carefully balanced between agony, misery and despair. So, yes, the Tour of Sufferlandria is a worthwhile target for anybody looking for an early season goal. You really ought to have some solid training behind you before you start it, and you’ll surely go through a roasting in hell during the race. When you come out the other side? With a solid 9 days of effort behind you, you will be able to take an ox, tie him to your bike, drag him up and over Mt. Sufferlandria while he tries to run the other way, and drink a flagon of ale made from the bikes of all those you crushed on your way to a glorious victory. Or the Minions will eat you for lunch. But, whatever.”

- Grunter von Agony

Comprising of 9 stages, starting on January 26th, competitors will take on a different Sufferfest training video each day. And for those thinking that this sounds like a recovery week in the world of The Sufferfest, three of the days cover such a large amount of terrain that you will be required to complete 2 videos! 

Full Schedule:

• Saturday, Jan 26th: Hell Hath No Fury
• Sunday, Jan 27th: The Hunted
• Monday, Jan 28th: Extra Shot + Fight Club
• Tuesday, Jan 29th: A Very Dark Place
• Wednesday, Jan 30th: Angels
• Thursday, Jan 31st: The Wretched + The Long Scream
• Friday, Feb 1st: The Downward Spiral
• Saturday, Feb 2nd: There is No Try + Revolver
• Sunday, Feb 3rd: Local Hero

If you head over to The Sufferfest blog you will find a run down of each individual stage before you slog your way through it, some advice from athletes who have completed previous editions of the race and also some FAQ’s.

As an added incentive, if you sign up to TrainerRoad.com and log your stage numbers via their site you enter yourself into a competition with an absolutely outstanding prize pack…

For those who finish each day: we have three sets of Sufferfest decals to give away every day, as well as a free month of TrainerRoad.

For those who finish the entire Tour on TrainerRoad.com: we will put you into a pool and draw names to win the following prizes…

• The choice of a 32GB iPod Touch or 16 GB iPad mini (provided by the kind gents at TrainerRoad)
• 1 PowerBar Sufferlandrian PowerPack
• 2 sets of Sufferlandrian National Kit (Jersey + Bibs)
• 1 Sufferlandrian National Jersey
• 1 year of free TrainerRoad
• 1 Sufferlandrian Windvest
• 3 flags
• 3 Tour of Sufferlandria posters
• 1 full refund of all 12 videos
• 1 free entry into the TransRockies Challenge Mountain Bike Race in BC, Canada
• 1 x Cyclepassion Calendar 2013
• 1 x Cyclefilm’s “The Italian Job – Gran Fondo Recon” – 6 DVD Set
• 1 x Cyclefilm’s “Roads to Glory – Alpine Training” – Free download
• 1 x Cyclefilm’s “Roads to Glory – Pyrenean Training” – Free download
• 5x Athlete Audio’s App (Mental Training)

If you can’t sign up on TrainerRoad (I won’t be as my rollers do not plug into my ‘puter) you can join the Facebook group and we can revel in joint misery! Hopefully I’ll make it to the other side and I’ll see you at the finish line!

Stevie

Happy New Year to everyone from all of the Loving The Bike crew.

Thank you to all of our sponsors and the many contributors from around the world.

We look forward to a successful 2013 and hope you can join us throughout the year where ever you are.

We have some exciting things going on this year, stick around and join the party!

Last night saw Bradley Wiggins crowned ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012′ despite an extended field of competitors. Great Britain has experienced a stellar year of sport which included the London 2012 Olympic Games and of course, a historic win by Wiggins and Team Sky at Le Tour de France.

The annual event has a range of awards from ‘Unsung Hero’ usually given to non sports stars who help members of their community to achieve their potential, to ‘International Personality of the Year’ which was taken home by Usain Bolt this year. Due to London 2012 being such a success for Team GB the normal shortlist for the main award was extended from 10 to 12. Some felt there should have been a separate title for Olympic competitors but this had the potential to water down the main award and I’m glad they chose the format they did. Contenders for this years main event included sailing legend Ben Ainslie, heptathlete and all round babe Jessica Ennis, the sensational Mo Farah, golf supremo Rory McIlory and track king Sir Chris Hoy.

The shortlist is compiled by a panel of male and female sports editors and journalists but the final vote goes to the public and is always hotly contested. Although not greatly appreciated outside the UK, for British sports stars the award is a big deal. London’s Excel Centre hosted the awards dinner last night and it looked immense! I have never seen a bigger sports awards ceremony and it did justice to the fantastic year of sport we have witnessed in 2012. And who better to award Wiggo the main prize but Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge or Kate Middleton to those not eligible for a stay in The Tower.

This award has been scooped by 3 cyclists in the last 5 years (Sir Chris Hoy 2008, Mark Cavendish 2011, Bradley Wiggins 2012) and goes some way to illustrate the upsurge in popularity of cycling in Britain. The only question now is if Wiggins does defend his Yellow Jersey in July despite initially stating he would focus on the Giro, can he make 2013 even more epic and take the top public voted sports award for a record second year in a row!?

UPDATE

Below is a link to a video that emerged on the BBC website of Wiggo jammin’ at the after show party! Such a dude!

On Monday 3rd December, a very competent and competitive local cyclist , Christian Hill from Adalta Cycling Club, was hit by a taxi whilst cycling. He has suffered horrifying injuries due to the incident and is currently laying in a hospital bed looking at a long recovery period.

Christian is a very keen cyclist and has also done extremely well in duathlons, most recently finishing 1st in his category at the London Duathlon this September. But just over a week ago he was  cycling along a fairly innocuous shopping street in a coastal town of Kent when he was struck by a taxi emerging from a side road. Fortunately, Christian was wearing a helmet but very unfortunately x-rays, CT and MRI scans showed that the impact of the crash broke his back and his pelvis.

In the days that followed medical professionals were able to give Christian two routes of treatment for his injuries, one being spinal surgery which would mean he would never be able to ride or run competitively again, the other… he must lay flat on his back in a hospital bed for 6 weeks and then will need to be in a back brace for the following 3 months. Christian opted for the long haul so his body can heal naturally and he can eventually get back on the bike.

Friends of Christian from all of the local cycling clubs are joining together to raise money to make his stay in hospital just a little bit more bearable. The target of an iPad has been put forward and a donation site has been set up that we are contributing to. We all know how hard it is staying off the bike for a few days, never mind 5 months so anything we can do to help the time pass will be welcomed I’m sure.

As common as accidents like this are it’s even more terrible when it’s someone you know and can relate to the accident they had. I hope Christian makes a fast recovery and gets back to his winning ways. Competitive souls have a tendency to smash the competition when coming back from serious injury and I’m sure Christian will be no different. If you feel you want to contribute to the fund for an iPad to help Christian on his road to recovery then follow the link below (that’ll be there shortly!) and donate what ever you can. Until the link is active, if you wish to contribute to the fund, get in touch with myself or Darryl and we’ll assist. I hope this post and the Facebook appeals that have gone out from many in the local cycling community reach enough people so that just $1/£1 from everyone who reads this will get us to our goal.

Get well soon Christian from all at LovingTheBike.com

Stevie

I receive a lot of e-mails and comments from people telling me how much they love the Make it Happen Monday posts that we put up each week here on Loving the Bike.  The intention is for us to kick off each week with some motivation that will hopefully help our readers get things rocking, and move everyone forwards in reaching their goals.  But more than anything else, they serve as a reminder for me.

The Rays of Wisdom

Long before Loving the Bike ever existed, I wrote weekly articles for something that I called “The Rays of Wisdom”.  Instead of posting to a blog or website, the inspirational messages were sent out to an e-mail list of people who were interested in receiving them.  Over the nine years that the Rays of Wisdom was around, I wrote hundreds of articles and was sort of locally known as Mr. Positivity.

Oh, if people only knew what was really going on in the background right?

Here I was looking like the guy who had it all together and wanted to share my wisdom with others….when in reality I was in need of these positive messages more than anyone else.  In fact, the reason I wrote those articles back then and now over here each Monday at Loving the Bike is for therapy.  Personal therapy and constant reminders that I so desperately need.

In all this time, the messages I’m preaching still haven’t personally sunk in.  It’ like I write it down and can feel it inside, but moments later they have left my body…..only to surface again when I re-read an old one or pop up a new one.  They have served as great reminders, but for some reason they just aren’t sticking.

I take pride in all aspects of Loving the Bike, but when I hear back from people telling me how I’ve inspired them to do something really cool….it’s worth more than everything else combined.  I honestly do hope that through our Make it Happen Monday series of posts that we can help you achieve great things….on and off the bike.

Now, if I can just find a way for some of this wisdom to soak in a little better for myself…..any suggestions?

December is definitely here and I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s bloomin’ cold over her in the good old U of K. When I checked out LovingTheBike.com yesterday morning (as I do every day, like a good ‘employee’) I was filled with a sense of wonder tinged with a massive amount of jealousy!

I’m sure you have noticed that Darryl has made the family move of a lifetime and set up camp on the wonderful island of Grenada, and posted this about an idyllic morning ride.  Well ‘D Dawg’ you might have the glorious beaches and crystal blue waters, but I have wet roads and bitter winds…the making of a strong spring rider.

Winter is a hard time to get on the bike and get the legs rolling. You may have chosen to have a little time off the bike as I did and have to get back into the routine, but winter is a great time to ride.  You’ll feel super strong in the spring after putting in the hard miles and those fresh, sunny roads in a few months time seem to just roll so much smoother than those presently.

Winter also gives you the added enjoyment of getting all of that expensive, lovely winter kit out of the cupboard and strutting your stuff.  I have a real thing for kits, as many of you do too I’m sure, and there is nothing finer than showing off your style with a matching winter kit right from the cap down to the pedals.  The cold weather just means there is more lovely kit to wear!  In the summer we can select the Euro-cool white kits but for now, it’s understated and hard working clothing which takes centre stage.

There is also a real sense of camaraderie built up through the winter within the various chain gangs.  It can be a hard time to ride through harsh weather and sometimes the only thing that gets you through is wanting to not lose face in front of your riding pals. But when those sunny months come around and you look around the bunch you’ll know the faces that struggled through the winter with you and seek those wheels over others.

Those are the riders you follow because the trust has been built up through the wet months and there is an unspoken pact between you. The ones that have put in the effort and dedication to mean that when the weather is fine and you can sit outside the mid ride cafe, you can be proud you put in the tough miles and enjoy smashing all of your lazy friends for the whole summer!

Get out there and ride this winter. Don’t let weather stop you, there is kit, tyres and equipment to make it all possible.  Make December the month to change, and don’t wait for those useless New Year’s resolutions.  Do it now.  Get wet and wild!

Stevie