Riding with the Pack

Sometimes in life you have an opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself, to use your gifts and talents to help others, to leave a positive mark on the people and community around us. I had that opportunity this past weekend and I want to share the feeling and invite others to be part of it!

The story starts more than a year ago when I met Ed and Tim Blach on the Elephant Rock ride in Castle Rock. As usual for these big group rides I was wearing my Team BEEF jersey to remind other riders that beef provides "fuel for the finish" (as I cruise past them on the last 20 miles of a century ride!). To make a long story short Ed and Tim's brother Randy works in the same building as I do and is a good friend in the beef community.

Nearly 50 cyclists rode in the 2012 Colorado Bike MS as part of Patty's Pack.

After we sang the chorus of "It's a Small World" (not literally) the brothers shared the story of Patty's Pack, a bike team formed in memory of their sister Patty Metzler, who died of complications from MS at age 55. I learned more about Patty after I decided to join the team and ride with Patty's Pack in the 2012 Colorado Bike MS ride.

In the words of Patty's daughter Hannah...

"As many of you know, my mom, Patty Metzler passed away due to complications with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2007. Throughout her life she enjoyed many activities including playing softball for Colorado State University in her college days, raising 5 children, and sharing a lust for life with everyone she knew. It was only when MS disrupted her day to day abilities that she had to give up some of her joys in order to focus on her health.

"Patty was 26 years old when she first remembers missing a step and falling outside of a department store. Next it was the numb limbs on her left side, or sometimes she just couldn't get her smile muscles to work on her face. One thing led to another and she was eventually confined to a wheelchair. Though you would have thought this would dampen Patty's spirit, the exact opposite happened. My mom gave others the courage to face their insurmountable daily challenges while saddled to her own every day. She never complained, and when people would ask her how she dealt with her MS so well, all Patty would say is, this is what God has blessed me with.

"For those of you that did not know my mom, she was a very kind, loving and compassionate person.  I miss her dearly, but this ride helps me to keep her memory alive, and hopefully in the future rid the world of MS."

I met Hannah on the Bike MS ride this past weekend and am happy to report that Patty lives on through her daughter's spirit and determination to eradicate the world of MS.

Patty's Pack started with six riders in 2007 and has grown to over 50 riders this year. The team has raised over $120,000 since 2007 and the goal is to raise $50,000 in 2012. To date we have raised just over $39,000. Even though we have finished the ride we will not stop until we reach that goal!

Five of the original six members of Patty's Pack. From left: Ed Blach (Patty's brother), Darci Jones Blach, Hannah Metzler Long (Patty's daughter), Kyle Blach, and Tim Blach (Patty's brother)

I rode in my first Bike MS ride in 2000 as part of a personal weight loss effort. I had no connection to MS. I was doing it the ride for myself and dreaded fundraising. I hate asking people for money! But after sending out an e-mail to some close friends and family I began to receive checks with notes of thanks and stories of loved ones living with MS or who's lives had been cut short by MS. They were thanking ME for the opportunity to participate!

In promoting my fundraising efforts for the Bike MS ride I learned that a high school classmate, Kathy Reagan Young, lives with MS. I dedicated my ride to Kathy, carrying her on my back as Patty's "wings" carried me through the two-day ride. Check out Kathy's FUMS blog for more of her story.

Over a period of five years I raised over $20,000 riding in the Kansas City and Topeka MS rides and met many people living with this insidious disease. After moving to Colorado I stopped fundraising for MS for several years...until that day a little over a year ago when I met Ed and Tim and heard the story of Patty's Pack. That's when I remembered what it felt like to be part of something bigger than myself, to use my gifts and talents to help others, and to leave a positive mark on the people and community around me.

I set a personal goal this year to raise $5,000. Going into the ride this past weekend I had raised just over half that. I could stop there and feel good about what I accomplished, after all that's a lot more than most people raise. But after meeting Hannah this weekend I am determined to reach my goal and help my new team reach ours.

I finished the 2012 Bike MS ride but have not yet reached my fundraising goal so the effort is not over!

Please visit my BEEFMAN fundraising page and join the effort. Contribute whatever you can afford: $10, $25, $50, $100 ... every dollar gets us closer to our goal. Experience the feeling of what it's like to be part of something bigger than yourself. Then next year join the team and ride with the Pack!

Ride on,

Daren

Ride the Rockies Update: Ready to Rock!

Well, June 9 has arrived. Notice I didn't say "finally." In fact I'm shocked its already here. When I registered for Ride the Rockies back in January it was on the distant horizon. Even by March when I found out I made it in the lottery, summer seemed far off and there were many miles to ride before this day would come.

On March 3rd I set a goal to ride 1,500 miles before June 9. At the time it seemed like a reasonable goal, just a little over 100 miles per week over 14 weeks. But a slow start in March and April left me playing catch up in May. Fortunately good weather and a two-week break in my travel schedule allowed me to rack up 637 miles in May.

After this past Sunday's Elephant Rock century ride I stood at 1,394 miles going into the final week before the big ride. So did I reach my goal?

**drumroll**

No. Between business travel and crazy Colorado weather I was only able to get in one 10-mile ride on my indoor trainer this week. So my training total since March 3 is 1,404 miles in 51 rides totaling 86.3 hours in the saddle and burning 100,244 calories!

Team BEEF rocked the Elephant Rock Century!

The important thing is I feel like I am ready. I felt great during Elephant Rock, averaging 17 miles per hour with the help of fellow Team BEEF members Troy and Dale. My legs felt great, even after a four-hour flight on Monday. Setting the goal served its purpose, motivating me to push my training to the next level, especially over the past month. I am now ready to rock.

So now it's time to finish packing and head to Colorado Springs, where I will meet up with Woody, a fellow team Bar2Bar member, to drive down to Gunnison for the start of the ride tomorrow. I look forward to meeting up with some old friends, making some new ones and enjoying the beqautiful scenery of the Colorado Rockies!

Stay tuned to BEEFMAN for updates and pictures throughout the week...

Ride on!

Daren

An Ode to Wind

Spring is windy season in the Rocky Mountains. Strong, gusting, ever-shifting winds can present quite a challenge riding along the Front Range this time of year. Though they typically blow from the south. And this Memorial Day weekend they came in gusts up to 60 mph carrying smoke from wildfires in Arizona, New Mexico and Southern Colorado.

Yesterday's high winds blew smoke from fires in New Mexico

My normal riding routes take me south along the Front Range on Hwy 105 towards Palmer Lake, Colorado. Hwy 105 climbs steadily from around 6,000 ft to 7,300 ft. as you head south toward the Palmer Divide. I prefer to start my rides heading into the wind, or uphill, or both as is often the case riding south on 105.

The long, slow grind up to Palmer Lake into a stiff headwind offers plenty of time to let your mind wander and mine often turns to thoughts about how much I hate the wind! Actually, I have a love/hate relationship with wind.

When riding into the wind I feel like a weak, struggling, middle-aged man trying to stave off old age by dressing up in spandex and pretending to be Lance Armstrong. But when I reach the southernmost part of the ride, turn around, and start back downhill with a tailwind I am Lance Armstrong riding in the Tour de France cruising along at 30-40 mph without breaking a sweat.

While riding into the wind this morning I came up with an Ode to the Wind:

Wind, wind, miserable wind.
Like the breath of the devil you repel me.
I spit in your face and you blow it back in mine.
I despise you.

Wind, wind glorious wind.
Like wings of angels you lift me up.
I sing of your grace and your gentle push from behind.
I love you.

Wind, wind, fickle wind.
Like the mind of a woman you change without warning.
Once at my back now back in my face.
You torment me.

And there you have it. My Ode to the Wind.

May the wind be always at your back!

Ride on,

Daren

Ride the Rockies Training: Kicking It Into High Gear

On March 3 of this year I received notification that I had made it into the lottery for Ride the Rockies 2012. On that day, on this blog, I set a goal to ride 1,500 miles "in the next 14 weeks" so I could "be in the best cycling shape of my life by June 9" (the start of the ride).

Since that day I have ridden 37 times either on my trainer or on the road for a total of 993 miles. I started off strong, averaging 100 miles per week in the first two weeks of March. But then the wheels fell off. In the second two weeks I managed just two rides for a total of 56 miles. March came in like a lion but went out like a lamb and I was already 150 miles behind schedule with only 260 miles in four weeks.

April started slow with just two indoor trainer rides totaling 30 miles in the first week. Between my travel schedule and weather I was struggling to find a way to get any meaningful miles in the saddle. So I decided it was time to start riding to work even though it was barely light enough and still rather chilly at 6:00 a.m.! The miles add up quickly when start logging 25 miles per day during the week plus longer distances on the weekend. I racked up 350 miles over the next three weeks, maintaining schedule but not gaining back those "lost" miles from March.

But then I ran into another speedbump. Between my brother's birthday trip to Amsterdam and business trips to Oklahoma and Texas, I squeezed in three rides for a total of 72 miles in the first two weeks of May. Not good. By Sunday, May 12, I was running approximately 300 miles behind schedule.

Time to kick it into high gear! In the past 10 days I have ridden 280 miles. I'm on pace to ride over 200 miles this week and still have the Elephant Rock century ride (100 miles) on June 3. So my goal is still in reach but I also want to make sure I taper off the week before the ride and store up some energy for the big event -- 442 miles in six days!

Speaking of storing up energy. I feel like I'm eating all the time these days just to maintain my weight. According to MapMyRun I've burned 97,919 calories since January 1 between running and riding. That's almost 50 days or 150 meals (or 1,030 Michelob Ultras) worth of calories based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet!

Coming up next week, I will preview the route based on my recollections from previous rides and whatever info I can dig up on the sections I've never ridden. Stay tuned...

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2012 Training -- Week One

It's been just over a week since we learned we were selected in the lottery for Ride the Rockies 2012. In those nine days I have ridden a total of 135 miles, 125 of those on the road! That has been an unexpected treat as we have been enjoying spring-like weather in Castle Rock a little earlier than normal. Typically, March is Denver's snowiest month, averaging 11.7 inches of snow.

My goal is to ride 100 miles per week in March, either on the road or my Cyclops Fluid2 trainer. Its a lot easier to get the miles in on the road and, as my buddy Troy observed on our ride today, "There's nothing like riding on the road to train for riding on the road." I totally agree but indoor training is a must during the winter in Colorado. And the Fluid2 helps me practice on spinning a perfect circle, which is probably the number one thing I need to work on to improve endurance and get faster.

But there is nothing like riding on the road and climbing the hills around my home in Castle Rock for pure pain and enjoyment! Those 125 miles on the road consisted of three rides: 42 on Sunday the 4th, 48 yesterday and 35 today (Sunday the 11th). The total elevation gain: 5,699 feet; Calories burned: 8,076 (according to my Garmin Edge cycling computer).

I have the good fortune of living along Hwy 105 which runs for 33 miles along the front range of the Rockies between Sedalia and the Black Forest. The views are amazing and their are plenty of good climbs to simulate the grueling mountain passes we will tackle in June. The roads around my these are range from 6,000-8,000 ft. above sea level.

I now live at 6,400 ft. However, the first two years I trained for Ride the Rockies (2005-06) I was living in Kansas City at 1,000 ft above sea level. So how did I simulate the hills? Well, first of all Eastern Kansas is NOT flat. We may not have the sustained climbs of a mountain pass but we have hills, lots of them. Second, I really think the key to finishing every mile of Ride the Rockies is to get in as good shape as you can, not matter where you live, and stay hydrate during the ride (more on that later).

The other key is to fuel your body properly. As you may have guessed, my fuel of choice is beef. Of course, man cannot live on beef alone (although I come pretty close). They key is to enjoy a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body needs to sustain and recover from long workouts. Lean beef provides the power athletes need with nutrients like protein to build muscle, iron for healthy red blood cells (which transport oxygen from your lungs to your vital organs and muscles, pretty important at the summit of Independence Pass!), and B vitamins for energy.

Threw these ribeyes on the grill last night to fuel my ride today (no, I didn't eat BOTH of them!)

Of course, one of the reasons I do things like Ride the Rockies is so I can enjoy the foods I love, like ribeye steak, red wine and chocolate! It just doesn't get any better than that after a long ride and a nap on the couch, which I am fixin' to do right now!

Ride on!

Daren

On New Year's Resolutions: Setting Fitness Goals for 2012

I'm not big on making New Year's Resolutions. As I wrote on New Year's Day last year, "I'm just not big on once-a-year promises that will likely be broken before the end of January." I prefer to set goals rather than make promises. For me, when it comes to staying in shape, that means actually signing up for events. If I know I have a half marathon, century bike ride or triathlon to train for -- especially one I have paid to register for -- I will get up to swim, bike and run on these cold winter mornings when the bedcovers feel like those lead blankets you wear when getting x-rayed, snuggly trapping me in bed!


I was really struggling as I crossed the finish line at the Boise Ironman 70.3 triathlon in June, prompting me to think about whether I want to tackle this distance ever again!

I've been thinking lately about what events I want to tackle in 2012. Should I go for another Ironman 70.3 triathlon? After last year's painful experience in Boise, I'm thinking not. How about Ride the Rockies? I've taken two years off after riding it five straight years. It's always an epic adventure and I would love to see some of my RTR friends again. Should I shoot for my first marathon or stick to halfs and try to break my personal record (1:46)? Lot's of questions but no decisions, until today.


I parked my road bike in favor of my mountain bike this past summer. I love both but want to get back out on the road more in 2012.

This morning I received an e-mail from my riding buddy Troy prompting me take a look at my calendar for 2012 and make some decisions. Troy had three local rides on his list and I decided to join him for all three: Elephant Rock in June, Colorado MS150 in July and the Buffalo Classic in September. Making those decisions helped me focus on what I really want to do this summer: get my Cannondale back out on the road (after essentially parking it this past summer in favor of riding my Specialized Stumpjumper on the Ridgeline Open Space Trail) and ride with good friends.

I love riding on Hwy 105 along the Front Range of the Rockies, past ranches and amazing scenery like Coyote Ridge (in the background).

I also decided to enter the lottery for Ride the Rockies 2012. This year's route will be announced at the first annual Ride the Rockies Route Announcement Party on Saturday, February 4. Tickets are $30 in advance and all proceeds will benefit The Denver Post Community Foundation. Attire is "cycling formal" (favorite RTR jersey and finest jacket/jewelry). Sounds like a fun event for a good cause.

That pretty much locks down the schedule for bike rides but I plan to mix in a few good runs, beginning with the Cherry Creak Sneak 10-miler (a new distance this year!) on April 29. That makes a good early season goal to keep me motivated (and I already paid the registration fee so its official!). My plan is to wrap up the season by shooting for a new personal record in the half marathon sometime in the Fall, maybe back in KC where I set my PR in October 2010.

So today was a day of setting some goals in place that will help me achieve most people's #1 resolution: to lose weight and/or get in shape. Only in my case it's really a matter of maintaining the weight and shape I have worked hard to achieve over the past 17 years!

Ride on!

Daren

New Year, New Challenges, a New Post!

Let me start 2009 with an apology to my faithful readers. Sorry Mom...Denise...Leslie. I haven't been very diligent in my blogging of late. For some reason I just haven't been very motivated to write. Maybe it's because I haven't had any grand adventures to write about.

Sure, I've been to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Lansing, Michigan, but the weather was so cold I never left the hotel. And the holidays have been pretty quite. The furthest we traveled for Thanksgiving or Christmas was 30 miles down I-25 to Colorado Springs! I'm not complaining...really. I've enjoyed the break from hotels, rental cars and airports.

But I'm back on the road this week. Ames, Iowa, to be exact. Might as well be the North Pole. Everything is covered in a sheet of ice. Temps in the single digits. It wouldn't be so bad except that I'm a little spoiled after we had temps in the 60s this past week in Denver. A brief glimpse of spring in the middle of winter.

I was able to get my bike out on the road (twice) after many hours on the indoor trainer. I know the trainer is good cardio, but it's no substitute for getting out on the road, which is why I ride. Of course when you ride on the road you have to share the road with cars.

In fact, there are signs up and down the road reminding cyclists to "Share the Road" with our four-wheeled friends. It's a good reminder for me, especially, after I was accused by Officer Friendly of the Castle Rock Police Department of failing to yield the right of way to the car that turned right in front of me (fortunately for me, Officer Friendly misinterpreted Colorado Law...turns out that the law requires cars to make sure they can safely negotiate a right turn without hitting pedestrians or cyclists).

To remind Colorado drivers of the law, Bicycle Colorado designed a new "Share the Road" cycling jersey that offers some great tips for cars, reminding them to "Pass With Care," with three yellow bars indicating that Colorado State law requires drivers to keep at least three feet between their multi-ton hunk of metal and my 18 pound carbon bicycle. And reflective piping helps cars see me on the road (as if I could hide my 6'4" frame sitting atop my XL Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 bike).

I got my new "Share the Road" jersey for Christmas and wore it on my two rides this past week. It's my new favorite jersey (thanks, Denise!) .

I'm getting anxious for the upcoming "season" -- Elephant Rock, Ride the Rockies, and, hopefully, another Ironman 70.3 triathlon. After taking last season off from triathlons following my encounter with a car in September 2007 and ensuing surgery on my collarbone in March 2008, I am ready to tackle a new challenge in 2009.

I'm not ready to try a full Ironman yet. Actually, Leslie has politely requested (for those of you who know Leslie, you know what that means) that I wait a few years -- until the girls are both off to college -- before I commit the time it takes to train for a full Ironman. That's 2014. For those of you who are counting, I'll be fifty years old by then!

What the heck. Doing a full Ironman the year I turn 50 sounds like a good goal. Besides, I've never even run a full marathon (which is the final leg of a full Ironman), so I suppose I'd better find out if I can do that first. First up is the Denver Marathon in October '09 with brother Evan and Williams cousins Brian and Nathan.

But first I need to pick out an Ironman 70.3 for this summer. I could do the Vineman again. It would be interesting to compete against my time in 2007 (6:27:43) and try to break six hours. But I might want to try a new venue. I may join a group of other "powered by beef" athletes at the Boise 70.3. Only problem is that it will be held June 13 -- the same day they kick of Ride the Rockies. I really want to do RTR again this year, to make it five in a row. And then there's the fact that I haven't swam seriously since the Vineman!

Forget New Year's resolutions...I prefer New Year's challenges!

Ride on...

Daren

Where in the World is Elephant Rock?

I woke this morning feeling very stiff after yesterday's 65-mile Elephant Rock Ride from Castle Rock to the northern edge of Colorado Springs and back (At left: at the rest stop in Palmer Lake). It was a great ride, despite the stiff headwind that beat us back for the first half of the ride. Otherwise the weather was perfect: sunny and cool for most of the morning and the tailwind was great when we turned back north for the home stretch back to Castle Rock.

The Elephant Rock ride begins and ends in Castle Rock, Colorado but is named for an Elephant-shaped rock supposedly somewhere near Palmer Lake, Colorado (one of the stops along the ride). I kept looking but never saw the elusive Elephant Rock. And I asked a number of other 7,000 riders and nobody seemed to know which rock was THE rock.

I searched Google and found an Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri, a picture of Elephant-shaped rock, Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, Elephant Rock Nature Park in Oklahoma and even le Rocher aux Elephants (the Elephant Rock) in the Republic of Chad in central Africa...but no Elephant Rock in Colorado (like most people, I only checked the top 10 listings in Google -- who has time to sort through the other 391,990 hits for "Elephant Rock"?).

Back to the ride...according to my Garmin Edge 705, I completed the 65.62-mile route in 4:39:45 -- an average of 14.1 miles per hour. Not particularly fast, but I was happy with the time given the 5,426 feet of elevation gain (most of which was into the wind headed south). And I was just happy to be back on my bike with thousands of other crazy cyclists.

I wasn't happy about all of the riders who insisted on riding 3, 4, and 5 abreast on Hwy 83 as we headed south out of Castle Rock. Hwy 83 is a state highway with a fair amount of traffic. State Troopers traveling the route for our safety had to constantly remind riders to move right and let traffic pass. It's no wonder some drivers hate cyclists and there have been several attempts to ban or limit large rides in Colorado.

After the ride I hosted a BBQ at my house for my friends from Team DFL (my Ride the Rockies team). After burning 3,069 calories on the ride I was ready to refuel. When I got home I pulled the brisket off the smoker, where it had been slowly cooking since midnight the night before (for my instructions for smoking a brisket, check out Life is Good, Part II).

Team DFL members Kris (our fearless, earless, rearless leader), Patty (faithful domestique) and Amy (team doctor) joined us after the ride. Kent (official Serotta test rider) called to report that he was on his couch with an icepack on his knee and was not getting up.

Unfortunately Kris and Patty weren't able to ride E-Rock. Kris has been suffering from an "equilibrium" problem and can't ride (I didn't say she was dizzy...she did!). And Patty had a run-in with the pavement on Saturday that left her sporting 11 stitches in her chin...ouch! At least there were no broken bones, so she'll still be able to do Ride the Rockies. Kris, on the other hand, thinks she's going to have to sit out this year. It just won't be the same without her!

So, we're looking to change our name from Team DFL to Team Accident Prone. First, Amy went down while training in April '07 and broke her wrist, causing her to pull out of RTR. Later, Canada Jane withdrew with a nagging injury. Then Kent did a sommersault over a car that decided to turn in front of him as he hurtled down Rabbit Ears Pass on day one of last year's ride, dislocating his shoulder and tearing up his knee. Next, I pulled a Kent and broke my collarbone on that fateful day last September. Now Kris is out of commission and Patty has some funky new hairs on her chinny chin chin.

Nitin/Jay, please be careful out there!

Daren

Wild Ride on the Cherry Creek Trail

After a great trip to Mad City it was good to be back in Denver today and to get back on my bike for the 50-mile round trip commute to my office. As strange as it may sound, I really look forward to riding to work...it's the trip home I dread (in addition to being tired at the end of the day, I have a net altitude gain of 1,476 ft. on the ride home)!

Mornings on the Front Range are almost always sunny and cool. And as the sun rises in the east and hits the mountains to the west, the views are breathtaking. Riding to work this morning was especially nice because I had a gentle tailwind blowing from the south. And my legs felt good after taking a few days off from riding while on the road (and despite the pain I felt yesterday after my 6.2 mile run in Madison).

According to my new Garmin Edge 705, I averaged 16 mph (my best to date on the ride to work) and burned 1166 calories. Not a bad way to start the day!

But the highlight of my ride to work was encountering several deer out for a morning stroll along Cherry Creek. So I stopped and asked an innocent bystander to capture the moment (I carry a camera on rides ever since I missed the opportunity to photograph an entire herd of elk running along the road beside me!). That's me in my Beef jersey, the deer are in the distance over my left shoulder (click on pic to view fullsize).

After a long day at the office, including a 3 hour spokesperson training this afternoon for the Young Cattlemen's Conference, I climbed back into the saddle for my ride home. The typical Colorado afternoon clouds had rolled in and the wind had picked up, so I was concerned I'd have an unpleasant commute home. But as I set out I could tell my legs still felt strong (a sign they are getting back into cycling shape after my seven month hiatus) and the wind was blowing from the northeast, giving me a crosswind for the first six miles but a good tailwind when I turned south.

Once again the Cherry Creek Trail offered up an unusual site. This time I nearly ran over a young Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Circling back to confirm, I captured this picture as it scurried towards cover. If you look closely (click on the pic to view fullsize), you can see the beginnings of a rattle forming at the end of the tail.

Much to my surprise I finished my ride home in 1:42:03, by far my fastest ride home from work, averaging 14.52 miles per hour (previous best was 13.56). And I burned another 1277 calories. That's 2443 for the day (not a bad day's work!).

As I rolled into Castle Rock and looked south at the view of The Rock (on the left) and Pikes Peak (in the distance to the right), I was struck by how blessed I am to live in the beautiful part of the country and to once again be able to ride my bike.

Since May 1, I have logged over 300 miles on my indoor trainer and 300 on the open road. After a 35-mile ride tomorrow and Elephant Rock (65) on Sunday, I'll be over 700 total.

My plan next week is to drive to work Monday a.m and home Friday night. If successful, I'll log 200 miles riding the rest of the "legs." That will leave 100 miles to reach my goal of 1,000 before Ride the Rockies. I should be able to knock that out with a 50-mile ride that weekend and one day's commute. And as a result, I should be better prepared for RTR than in any of the previous three years.

I am Ready To Rock!

Daren