A Little Inspiration.

"Swim 2.4 miles, Ride 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles, brag for the rest of your life."
- Creator of the Ironman

Riding my bike in my living room each day can get pretty monotonous, one of my favorite things to do to entertain myself is watch old NBC broadcasts of the Ironman Championships that take place each year in Kona, Hawaii. Becoming an Ironman is something that is on my bucketlist so these broadcasts are must-see tv every December.

Each year besides covering the race to the finish line by the professional triathletes NBC covers some human interest stories that continually amaze and inspire me. Some of my favorites include the father/son team the Hoyts , and the 75 year old nun Sister Madonna Buder. These stories bring me to tears every single time, luckily I'm on a stationary bike because it can be tough to navigate when you're crying. Today I was watching the 2005 Ironman where they feature Jon Blais, a young man dying from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and NBC got me once again. Take 10 minutes out of your day to watch the video below, if the part about his dad tying his shoes doesn't get you I dont know if we can be friends anymore. Hopefully it will be a little inspiration in your life as well, No Chain!

$18 Meatballs...

I listen to the Bob & Tom Show every day on my way to the hospital. It always puts a smile on face to the start the day and reminds me of working at Burnett-Theil Ford where they would have it on every morning in the shop. There was a comedian on today and he was telling everyone about his favorite little italian restaurant in Las Vegas and how each meatball there cost $18, he backed this up however by telling everyone that every time he eats one of them he thinks to himself "....I would pay way more than $18 for this". And that's how you know they're great.

As much as my best friend Mike Kelley wants this to be though, this is not a post completely about meatballs, its really about donating to Ride for World Health. I still have a long ways to go to reach my fundraising goal but the donations that have been coming in during these first couple of weeks have been unbelievable, I can't thank all of you enough! It's this response from family and friends that will turn this ride into a true success when we dip our tires in the Atlantic Ocean at the end of May. Much like the price of that meatball the fundraising minimum set by the Ride for World Health seems like a lot of money when you first look at it, but the statement by the comedian this morning got me thinking. For the opportunity to ride across the United States on a bike, while getting to promote something I truly believe in to thousands of people I thought to myself ".....I would pay more than $4500 for that". And that's how I know I'm getting the chance to be a part of something great.

Thank you all so much for your support! No Chain!

The "No Chain" Thing

I've been asked a couple of times now about the meaning of the name of my blog. It actually comes from Lance Armstrong's book "Every Second Counts".  It's a little saying that they used to use when they were feeling great on the bike during their training rides.

"Laughter took away from the suffering of training. Our jokes took were profane, silly and boyish, but within the team, among nine people who knew and loved and trusted each other, mouthing off was an important part of every day.
George had a saying, when he was feeling really good, "No Chain". The chain on the bike cranked the wheels and created the tension in your legs that drove the bike forward. But imagine if you didn't have a chain. You'd spin nothing, air, which would feel real easy. So George and I had this thing. "Man, can you check something for me?" he would say. "What?" "I don't feel a chain." he'd say. "Is there a chain on my bike?" It became shorthand. "No Chain" Id say, "Hey George, how you feeling today?" "No chain, no chain."

Its something that my friends and I have used for the past couple of years while were out riding/running and Im sure its something that Ill toss out more than once as we bike across the country. Just a little motivational motto, No Chain!

On Preparing

How do you prepare for a 3700 mile bike ride across the country? How do yo prepare for the mountains of New Mexico? The heat of Texas? And day 40 when you're in the middle of Tennessee and the last thing you want to do is get on your bike and ride another 80 miles.  The answer is I really don't know. So each and every night I get on the bike trainer in my living room and ride for a couple of hours, I go to the gym and lift my legs, I do  repeats on the closest thing we have to a steep climb in Columbus "the Grandview hill" . I sit there and spin and watch the news with Brian Williams, the latest episode of Jersey Shore, or whatever happens to be on HGTV night after night. Will it be enough when April 1st comes around?  I doubt it. I don't think there is anything that will properly prepare me but the sweat of training feels good and hopefully it will lessen the pain of those first couple weeks of riding. No Chain!