On the road....

Written yesterday forgot to post:

We are now on our way to The Spring Ride. Matthew, Bob, and I are traveling in Bob's RV to Nashville. Bob has a nice rig, except traveling at 65 mph in a tall vehicle, with some wind, might just make me seasick. We will be staying with an army buddy of Bob's tonight, and then roll into Nashville in time to meet the other 25 riders tomorrow evening. I am excited to get back with nine of the riders I rode with on last summer's adventure. A great group!

A minor setback. I spent all day yesterday chasing after doctors when I should have been home packing. Seems I have a rather large kidney stone trying to interfere with my Spring Ride. I managed to talk the urologist into waiting until after the ride to remove it, but I had to cancel the bike riding back from Nashville to Denver that Bob and I were planning to do together, alternating between biking and driving. I also had to book a flight back, so now Bob will drive home by himself. I just need the stone to stay in place so I can enjoy this adventure.

I'm becoming famous...? I got an email from Joe Doolittle, a reporter with The Oxford Eagle in Oxford, MS, who interviewed me over the phone. It turns out he just graduated and this is his first professional assignment. He did a great job and I wish him well.

Here's a nice article written about this old geezer, posted on The Fuller web site:

http://www.fullercenter.org/news/VOLUNTEER-PROFILE-Tom-Weber-Geezerman

Peace....

Sparce Riding....

Training is going slowly...in more ways than one. I'm having trouble getting out, and when I do get out, I'm slow! Weather has been a problem and at this time of year the wind at over 30 mph is still my friend but  continues to be a challenge! Yesterday we had wind speeds of 52 mph and gusts up to 72 mph. I stayed inside. I did manage to get 104 miles in last week, so I am getting some training in, but way to little. At this rate I will not even have my butt saddle ready, let alone my legs and lungs. So it looks like I will be using the Spring Ride, and ride home, as a great start to training for both coasts.

Only a week until I leave for the Spring Break Fuller Center ride. I will be traveling in an RV with my friend Bob and my son Matthew http://hikerrev.blogspot.com/, who are both participating in the ride. After this one week ride I'll travel back home with Bob, and he and I will take turns riding our bike and driving the RV, so we'll each ride our bike half the distance back home or about 600 miles each. That will give us about 1,000 miles riding for March. Both coasts will total 3,600 miles, and I have a goal of about 8,000 miles for 2012. That may be a steep goal for me, but without getting hurt, reachable?

I must focus on raising money to help the families in need, and of course for me to be able to ride. I need to raise the $1.00 per mile to keep me on the road helping to raise awareness, helping with the builds that are scheduled, and meeting great people. I'll soon be sending out emails to all who helped me last year, and to anyone else I can think of. We have a sponsor for the spring ride, so every dollar raised for that ride goes directly to families in need of affordable housing. Remember, we help people, we do not give  handouts. They pay for all materiels, and supply their own labor for their home and so many hours helping others people with their homes.

Should you wish to help at this time my donate button is on the right, just below my picture with my bike, or just click here:
http://www.fullercenter.org/civicrm/contribute/pcp/info?reset=1&id=101.

Please help if you can, and believe in our mission. By donating you are not only helping me to be able to ride; the funds go to the people in need.

The Fuller Center has asked the spring riders to record a short video about riding with The Fuller Center; here is the link they posted of my video on Facebook:

Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure

Meet Tom! A veteran rider who's looking forward to an amazing summer! http://youtu.be/5Sp9-606uq0#bikeadventure #endpovertyhousing

Peace....

Let the training begin.......

finally!!! And just in time, as my tan lines need a lot of work!! Yeah, right, like an old geezer like me really cares a hoot about tan lines--I just care about being able to still ride and hopefully keep up.

It has been 70 days since I have been on my bike. I logged well over 5,000 miles in 2011, and I thought it was a good time to take a break from the bike and give my poor old body a chance to rebuild itself. Not an easy thing to do, the rebuilding. Maybe I should say to give the body a chance to just rest.

Only 17 miles, riding leisurely with friends, the first time out, and did it ever feel nice to be back in the saddle again. I had nice fresh legs, at least for a while, but the heart rate training needs lots of work. I have been doing some cross training, with weights, yoga, and jogging, but that is only a minor substitute for riding. Now I will have to get serious about the bike, as we have less than 7 weeks before the start of the Spring Ride. I'm looking forward to this ride, as I will get to ride with some FCBA riders from last summer again, meet some new bike riders, and ride with my son Matthew.

Of course then it is only 10 weeks till the start of the East Coast Ride, May 25. I have not spent much time on the East Coast, so that will be a nice experience.

I finally have my donation page up and running, and have even started it off with my own donation to get things rolling (so to say). If you're interested, and want to help people, here is the link to donate:

http://www.fullercenter.org/civicrm/contribute/pcp/info?reset=1&id=101

Peace,

Thank You....

As we end the year 2011, I want to extend a heartfelt Thank You to all those who have helped support The Fuller Center by contributing to my effort to ride across this great country. We stopped seven times along the way to help families in need of affordable housing, and they were all thankful for your generous support

Here are a few pictures of our 2011 bicycle trip.

This is what it is all about; here we are working on a rehab house.

The homeowner struggled to get out of bed to thank us; he now has a safe patio to enjoy.

It is only a ride of 20 miles each day. We just had to repeat the 20 miles 3 to 5 times each day.

The road can get lonely--you need to be good company to yourself.

Ahhhh....the beautiful cornfields.

Then we stop and talk, trying to raise more money for affordable housing

Some days were tougher than others.

Ray and Lady O like each other but are really just trying to stay warm long enough to get the picture taken.

We ran into a few unexpected stops without the sag wagon to snack from.

Not all the action was on bikes.

Before long, we were eating and drinking anything that didn't run away.

After each ride we worked on our bikes.....

or watched a movie.

Jonas, on tall bike, always got second and third looks.

We had photo ops at almost all 14 states plus D.C.

     

And then it was over....the joy and the tears.

'Mother Krystal' reading a children's story our last night together......

which put our warriors to sleep.

Sign language for "I Love You'....thanks for supporting The Fuller Center

Please consider joining or supporting us in 2012

 Peace

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....

As the year winds down, I find myself putting the weight back on from all the holiday eating, which would not be a problem if I were at least bicycling occasionally. The last time I was on my bike was November 18. Normally I am able to ride more often than that in Colorado, but we have had more snow this year combined with colder temperatures, so the snow is hanging around, and I don't like riding unless the temperature gets up to 39 F. We have had a few days that I should have been riding, but other things, like medical appointments, raptor care and feeding days, shopping days, arthritis days---you know, ordinary life has gotten in the way of those few days I could have ridden. So I am now up to, and a little over, 200#  again.

So.......New Year's resolutions come to mind at this time of year. I don't normally actually write down any resolutions, I just put them in my mind to do them. Of course, then if I ever even start them, I never seem to follow thru. However, when I decided to run a marathon (26.2 miles), I researched, and laid out a complete training schedule to accomplish the goal of running that marathon. Deciding to run a marathon is an excellent time to learn goal setting! My goal was to complete a marathon in under 4 hours. I got a calendar and marked down my training schedule for the next 4 months. I missed very few training days preparing for the 10th Annual Dallas White Rock Marathon in 1979. 2,608 runners started, 2,144 finished, and I was the 1,983rd person to finish, which reminded me of my standing in my high school graduating class. Granted, I was not competing with anybody but myself, but I missed my goal, completing my first marathon in about 4 hours 50 minutes and 32.6 seconds...way too far over my 4 hour goal.

My second attempt fell short because of a lingering illness, and I was not able to complete the run in 1980. So, on to the Houston Tenneco Marathon in 1981. This course is a big circle needing two laps to complete. I stopped as I circled around to start my second loop to watch Billy Rodgers win this race in 2:12:19, after stopping at least once with stomach cramps. He was flying, and hardly looked like he was working hard. I was feeling very good for this run, and finished in 3 hours 51 minutes and 19 seconds. I reached my goal, my weight was around 175 lbs, and I was 38 years old. I finished 196th in my age group out of 424. Over 2,400 entered and 1,527 finished.

That was my last marathon. In between bouts with back trouble, I also completed a number of short triathlons. I ended my running "career" with lower back surgery in 1983.

So back to resolutions, which, remember, I do not make. However, I have started working with a yoga instructor, and I am about to interview a couple of trainers to find one to work with to help me get motivated. I have an appointment with a physical therapist to help establish exactly what I can do with this old body to cross train for the upcoming biking season. Of course my summer of 2012 is dedicated to The Fuller Center for Affordable Housing, with the Natchez Trace Spring Ride, the East Coast ride, and finally the West Coast ride.

If you're not bored now, just stay tuned as the new year gets started...it can only get worse.

As always,

Peace

March Spring Break Ride....

I have been negligent in posting the 'spring break ride' with The Fuller Center. So, here is the link to all three rides next year: http://www.fullercenter.org/bikeadventure

The spring break ride is from March 10-17. This week-long, 400-mile ride down the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway will allow riders the opportunity to enjoy what ESPN rated as one of America's ten best biking roads while contributing to the eradication of poverty housing. As an added bonus, riders can indulge in a brief hiatus from homework and busy lifestyles as they leisurely wind through the picturesque countryside of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

So, check your calender and get signed up soon. And if for some silly reason you can't ride, we need a volunteer to drive the van with trailer (for the spring break ride, and both coast rides).

Peace

The Fuller Ride for 2012 .....

Registration is open. You can register now at: www.fullercenter.org/bikeadventure.

Next summer the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure (FCBA) will celebrate its fifth year of involving cyclists from all over the world to help provide families with energy-efficient and affordable homes. We’ll continue to build upon the work we’ve done over the past four years, which includes cycling more than 10,800 miles through 30 states, working on 41 homes, and raising over $500,000 for families in need around the world! We give a hand up, not a hand out.

This summer I rode over 2400 miles for The Fuller Center to help people with their housing. I'm extremely excited about the two routes planned for 2012, which will cover more than 3,600 miles and take riders down the historic East Coast, and then move to the scenic West Coast. The East Coast ride starts in Saco, ME May 25 and ends in Key West, FL, July 1. The West Coast ride starts in Seattle, WA July 13 and ends in San Diego, CA Aug 12.

Will you join me? You can choose to ride either the East Coast or West Coast or if you’re up for a truly epic adventure, you can ride both! You can also join for a day or one of the segments, or be a virtual rider. You can also participate by donating towards our $200,000 goal we set for next summer which will bring our total raised by FCBA to $700,000!

All cyclists will be serving as Fuller Center ambassadors as we build and renovate Fuller Center homes and speak to church groups, the media and civic organizations. It is an adventure of service and prayer, of creating relationships and raising money, and of building a better world.

Hurry, if you do not sign up, I will be asking you to donate to help me reach my donation goal.