rideforworldhealth.org

It is now already April 16th. My commitment to family and friends to blog daily is in serious trouble. So let’s begin at the beginning. April 31st I made some notes at the airport on my way to San Diego. Many times the anticipation of a trip outshines the event it’s self. This is not the case here. I did not sleep particularly well the night before leaving. It will not matter because of the excitement of the trip. I was up at 6 am and went for a run. The morning was spent giving last minute instructions to mom, Keith and Alison. We are on the road by 11:30am after an emotional good-by. I will not see my family again until May 25th. I love, love love my family for supporting me while I have this adventure.

When I landed in Houston I received a phone call from Dave Holder (logistics guy on the leadership team) he says they will be at the airport to pick me up. The team has been driving from Columbus OH and have just arrived in SD. I am sitting at my gate in Houston and I look up and see the flight departing from the opposite gate is going to Washington DC. How ironic is that?

The time in SD was busy with getting organized, receiving instructions from the leadership team on how things will work once we are on the road. We are getting to know each other and getting used to sleeping on the floor. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center is a bright busy center with all types of programs. They have made us feel very welcome.The training rides are difficult for me “we are not in Florida any more Toto”. The California coast is breathtaking. I am enjoying getting to know my teammates.After a few days of riding up and down the Pacific Coast Highway we are treated to a serious climb up Mt. Solodad, an 800 ft climb over less than a mile, this means it is very steep. the strong riders get to the top pretty quickly. Several of us continue to climb slowly but steadily stopping along the way to catch our breath. I stopped about 1/4 of a mile from the top very shaky contemplated going back down. I could not get started again on the hill so I walked about 100′ until I could get back on my bike to finish the climb. It was worth it for so many reasons, the view, overcoming my fears, a great bonding experience with the group.

April 6th ready or not here we go! After a beautiful week in SD we are on our way. Tire dip in the Pacific ocean, 85 miles from SD to Huntington Beach via the Camp Pendleton Marine Base. After some time at the beach and sight seeing we load up in the vans to our accommodations for the night. We will be staying in various private homes for two nights very comfey.

April 7th event day at USC. We found the best breakfast burritos in the world just a few blocks from the university. We are hungry all the time. The event goes well. The vans are packed up. We spend the afternoon exploring the campus of Cal Tech ( Seth’s almamata), then back to our home stays for our last night in a bed until we get to Las Vegas.

So every fifth day we are on “Support”. We take a break from riding and drive the cars and set up rest stops and make lunch and dinner and videotape the riders climbing mountains and doing silly things.  We also fill up eachother’s waterbottles, encourage sunscreen-lathering, and give the occasional much-needed shoulder massage.  We cheer out of the car “You are doing great!! Keep it up!”  We spray paint little encouraging and fun notes to the riders about where to go and how far they’ve ridden and cool sights to not miss.  Support days are lots of work.  Giving giving giving to take care of the riders. 

And it feels great.  I love that we all take a turn at supporting eachother so that we can also all ride.  Having  a support team gives us a family feel.  Built into the structure of the ride is the recognition that we can’t all be riding in the glory seat all the time– we have to take our turns in order to make such an adventure sustainable. 

A couple of days ago as we began crossing the Mojave Desert I was on Support.  I was shuttling water to riders between rest stops and cheering people on.  As I gave one rider an estimate of how much longer until the finish– thinking it was a good thing to share, she broke down and declared herself done.  She was totally depleted.  So I packed her bike up and she got in the car and we drove to the finish together.  The moment she broke down and I was there to pick her up was beautiful.  That she could ask for help and I could give it was this sort of transcendent thing.  I am learning that there is only one way to cross a desert, and that is with a caravan of people working together.  Feels like pretty much anything can be done when we work together like this.  And we are. And it feels meaningful and good. 

but we can’t help it!  We’ve been on the road for 10 days now, most of which have been in the empty desert lands of western California and Nevada.  Riding through these parts has reminded me (a city dweller) just how empty a lot of this country is.  We visited a real ghost town last week, but it seems that some of the towns we’ve ridden through lately are even emptier than that, with populations as few as 100 people.  We have been able to see some great sights (Death Valley, Mohave Desert, Vegas) and have been received so warmly by all the people we’ve met and stayed with along the way.  As for the riding, we were all feeling the effects of 400 miles on Saturday and the day off in Vegas was a great relief.  Saddle sores have begun to be an issue, but I think we are getting conditioned to daily 70+ mile riding.  Wind makes a HUGE difference on how a ride goes.  This morning we had a great tail wind behind us pushing us up a 6,000+ foot summit, but got blown around on the way down which was kind of scary.  But we all got here safe and sound and are ready to head out for pizza.  More to come later!  

San Diego unfurls

her luscious sunny scents

as we roll into day one.

46 legs pedal

!onward!

Yesterday we had an awesome ride! We woke up early in Tecopa, California to begin a tough day of riding. Camping has been a lot of fun. I must say that we have been very resourceful in creating filling meals in the middle of the desert. I was on support the day before and between our start and final destinations the only shopping we were able to do was at a gas station. We were pretty creative, and with help from Marianne and Carissa we had a very tasty dinner of eggs, mashed potatoes, beans, tuna sandwiches, and whatever else we could find. After dinner some of us took a dip in the Hot Springs at the camp site- loved it! I wish I was courageous enough to sleep under the stars like some people did. I was too afraid of anything that might make its way into my sleeping bag.

Yesterday’s ride was from Tecopa to Vegas! We started the day with about a two hour ride to the base of what would be a very long, tough climb. The climb took me about a hour and a half with a head wind the whole way. Luckily, Van was riding with me so I had some company and we were able to block the wind for one another (or we tried anyways). After the climb he informed me that whenever he’d try to say something to me from behind, I thought he was asking to switch places so I’d fall back and let him take the lead. Oops!

The best part of the day was the long descent after lunch. As we headed downhill you could see Red Rock Canyon and Las Vegas in the distance. We all rode to Red Rock Canyon, but five us decided to take the 13 mile optional loop once we got there.

It was a challenging extra 13 miles, but a great end to our day. Ashley’s family hooked us up with condo’s near the strip in Vegas- very much appreciated! I think we were all more than ready for a shower, laundry, bathrooms, beds, and internet access. Today is our day off so I even got off my legs this morning and layed out at the pool.

75 miles to Alamo!

It’s 1:40 AM on the morning of our first ride (4/6) and I CAN’T SLEEP. Too many thoughts going through my head. I’ve been excited about participating in R4WH since the first time I heard of it more than two years ago. I had the fortune of participating in the ’07 ride for a week and it was even better than I had anticipated. I think the ’08 ride will provide the same sentiments. I am so impressed with all the work the executive committee has done leading up to this ride. Kudos to them. In addition, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to the ’06 and ’07 teams for making their rides such a success. Obviously we wouldn’t be able to do the ’08 ride if it weren’t for their hard work and diligence.

There are so many reasons to be excited. A ride across the country by itself will be an exhilarating adventure. What a great opportunity to explore the U.S. – its land, its culture and its people. Meanwhile, might it be possible that we can contribute towards solutions to the many health challenges facing the U.S. and the world at large? It’s awe-inspiring to think that we have this opportunity.

Over the past few days we’ve been practicing our lecture series. It has raised as many questions for us as I hope the lectures answer for our audiences. We struggle to identify the key messages and “action-items” we want to pass along to those we meet. How exactly do we improve health care access? What is our role in addressing the health challenges of developing countries when we know so little about the associated cultures? I suppose that is why the challenges and disparities exist – there are no easy solutions. But, just as Kel suggested that we should all stop at the side of the ride if we saw a bicyclist in trouble, so too should we do our best to address the lofty health challenges facing the U.S. and the world.

The beauty of all this is that the ride has already been a success on so many levels. I’ve really enjoyed meeting our team of unique, motivated, good-natured folk. As noted above, we have already engaged in interesting discussions amongst ourselves as we try to comprehend the issues we strive to address. No doubt I’ll learn a lot from everyone. And of course we’re not lacking of fun adventure and new stories to share.

Speaking of stories to share: I take credit for fall #1 and #2 of the ride. The first occurred in a PARKING LOT (after I accidentally let out a bit of gas and tried to turn around to see if I had inadvertently blasted anyone with my foulness). Second fall was just TWENTY MINUTES later – the fall cracked my bike pump, but luckily none of my bones. Thank you, bike pump, for taking the hit for me.

Our accommodation has been fantastic. We’re in the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla and the hospitality has been amazing. I thought I’d lose some weight on this trip, but thanks to the free Chinese food, pasta, burritos, desserts and smoothies I reckon I’ve already put on five pounds. Meanwhile, Anuj’s aunt threw a grand party complete with live music, more food and even a bicycle parade.

Okay, it’s 2 AM and I really ought to get some sleep. Before signing off, though, I wanted to thank everyone who has sponsored one of us. It really means so much to know that there are so many that support our mission and desire to positively influence health care.

I’m on support tomorrow – I’m trying to promote a “Let’s go to Mexico” movement. Heck if we go coast to coast – why not hit Mexico and Canada? (Just Kidding)

I LOVE SAN DIEGO! Maybe it has something to do with the 12 hours of rain during our drive here, the 1 AM hail storm, or the snow/rain that I left behind in Michigan. Regardless, the past week has been amazing- and we haven’t even started the ride yet!

This week has been our R4WH Retreat. We have been reviewing lectures, preparing for our upcoming journey, getting to know one another, and training, of course. We’ve spent a lot of time riding along the Pacific Coast Highway. We are all very appreciative of the bike lanes that San Diego offers! I can’t get enough of the sunshine and ocean-side riding!

I want to share my most memorable riding thus far. Thursday, after our group ride along the Pacific Coast Highway, a group of us decided to do an extra climb to Mount Soledad. Dave had informed everyone that this would be a short, steep, optional climb. Up for the challenge, I decided to join the group and see what this Mount Soledad was all about. I knew it was going to be a tough climb when I tried to shift to an easier gear only to find that I was already there. Not standing on the pedals was not an option- if I was climbing any slower I would have been moving backwards. Thankfully, I had Bobby ahead of me which inspired me to make it up without stopping. Thanks Bobby!! Eight of us met up at the top for a panoramic view of San Diego- totally worth it! Way to go team! It turns out this was a 800-foot climb, 1.5 miles. I wouldn’t exactly call it a short climb, Dave.

Even more impressive, the following day we decided to tackle Mount Soledad again, but this time with the whole group. Everyone made it to the top!

Tomorrow we begin our cross country ride- only 3,700 miles to go!

Because so many people have fed us such wonderful food over the past week in San Diego, we have decided to start a cross-country culinary contest named after me. As everyone who knows me will tell you, I love food, especially dessert.

To be honest it all started last night when Anuj’s aunt, Lara, asked me to judge their block party’s dessert contest. While I’m always thrilled to eat as many desserts as socially acceptable, last night I was even more excited because we had rode to the top of Mt. Soledad that day. This ride is an 800 foot climb to overlook the city of San Diego. Although it was exhausting, it will hopefully make every climb over the next 7 weeks seem minute.

I, along with friends Bobby and Chris, decided the Angel Pie, Chocolate Chocolate Brownies, and the Blueberry Pie were the winners. We do have hopes though of tasting many wonderful foods over the next 7 weeks and have therefore created a rating system for each item. A rating of 5 bikes is fantastic while a rating of 1 bike can only be eaten after biking 80 miles. Each of these three desserts receives a ‘four bikes’ rating.

This evening, Lori, our wonderful host at the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla and her friend, Lynette, brought us this wonderful meatball and pasta dish that also received a rating of ‘four bikes’.

We look forward to tasting foods as we cross the country and will award an ‘Orange Ribbon’ to the winner at the end of our event on May 27th.

Wednesday, April 2, was our first event with just about the whole team here. Most of us had arrived the day before, so the morning was quite overwhelming learning about the ride, meeting each other and then cycling over as a group to the Solana Beach Senior Center for our first lecture. Some people had literally arrived at our home base 30 minutes before we left for the event! Despite the general air of confusion, we all managed to don our new bright orange jerseys and headed off down the Pacific Coast Highway on our recently reassembled bikes.

Having trained in Boston through the winter, this first ride was such an amazing treat. I actually got to ride outside in shorts and didn’t have to wear multiple layers, winter gloves, hats and shoe covers. We arrived at the center after a beautiful ride along the coast through several lovely little beach towns. My only concern was the monster hill descent in Torrey Pines State Park that we would surely have to cycle back up on the way back.

I should preface my description of the event by letting you know that the center hosts a lunch every week on different educational topics ranging from health talks to travel events to cultural opportunities. The center also hosts a variety of trips for seniors to various places in the area that they might not be able to see otherwise.

Joe, Katie and Anuj gave a short presentation on what Ride for World Health is about. Then, we all got on stage and gave a little info about where we’re from and why we’re doing the ride. It was a great moment for me learning about the wildly different experiences and motivators of all the people in our group.

After our talk we split up into groups of 2-3 at each table of seniors. I happened to pick quite an extraordinary table of ladies. The youngest was 78, and two were months away from celebrating their 90th birthdays, but all were very interested in our ride and full of wonderful stories to tell us. Between all of them they had been around the globe several times, worked as nurses and civil servants and raised and moved families across the U.S. While they had many questions for us, their main concern was that we couldn’t possibly manage to eat enough food if we were cycling 80 miles a day. Because of this they made sure that we had extra helpings of dessert, which is always ok with me

Unfortunately, lunch came too quickly to an end, and it was time to get back on our bikes with our bellies way too full of delicious food. Thank you so much for a lovely afternoon and such warm hospitality Solana Beach Senior Center! We hope we encounter such wonderful hospitality everywhere we ride!

In my cultures, food is a physical form of love. Whether I’m going to my Japanese or Chinese grandmother’s place, the first question out of their mouth is, “Hi. Have you eaten yet?”

Wow, have we been eating!! Many of our meals are provided by the generous donations of some wonderful Californians. For example, Lori, our amazing contact at the Jewish Community Center where we are staying in La Jolla, has kept our tummies fed with Papa John’s, smoothies, burritos, Dorito salads, and plenty more.

Also, last night Anuj’s aunt Laura and uncle Rob threw a block party for R4WH where the menu included Irish beef stew, spaghetti, quiches, and baked potatoes.

Our dessert included tasty selections such as homemade brownies, angel pie, blueberry pie, and apple cobbler, which was enjoyed while listening to the neighborhood band, Pork.

Prior to the ride, I was a little afraid that our meals would solely consist of gatorade, powerbar, and powerbar goo. I’m happy to report to Grandma Seiki and Grandma Yee that, YES, I am eating VERY well!