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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
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    453

    Tour de Cure July 28, 2012

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    The annual Tour de Cure, the charity bike ride event that raises money for the American Diabetes Association, is scheduled for Saturday, July 28, 2012. The rides start and end at the Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon.

    A cyclist can register online at http://www.diabetes.org/portlandtourdecure.

    There are 5 routes: 5, 26, 45, 65 and 100 miles. The two shortest routes are mostly flat. The three longer routes have a few category 5 climbs, plus numerous rollers and small hills, thus more of a challenge. Each route has a different start time. There is a rest stop every 10-15 miles; a cyclist does not need to stop at each rest stop on the longer routes.

    Tour de Cure has training rides for all levels of cyclists starting on March 3, the first Saturday in March, and each Saturday up through the third Saturday in July, with the exception of any holiday weekend. A cyclist DOES NOT have to be registered with Tour de Cure for the event ride to join in and participate in the training rides. As the cycling season evolves, the rides will get longer with more hills to climb, and sometimes a few category climbs. On the weekends of the Cookie Monster Metric, the Ride Around Clark County, and the Pioneer Century, the TDC training group will honor the local cycling clubs and participate in their event rides instead of a TDC training ride.

    The TDC training group is now online at: http://www.meetup.com/Tourdecurepdxvan/ All of the training rides will be posted in advance of the day. Anyone can register and join in the training rides, and beginner cyclists are encouraged. There is a lot of volunteer support and SAG support when the routes increase in distance. The training groups are at individual paces, however for beginners there will always be a volunteer sweep there to provide assistance and for the more advanced riders there will always be someone faster to draft behind. A RSVP to the meetup posted training ride is appreciated.

    Cyclists who are registered for the event ride and who participate in the training group rides will receive a Team in Training long-sleeve t-shirt. A diabetic cyclist registered for the event and participating in the training rides will receive a Red Rider cycling jersey in their size after the first $25 donation.

    I hope to see you at a training ride! If so, please come up and introduce yourself. I am on the steering committee, the training group ride committee, a sometimes Ride Captain and a Co-Captain of Tommy's Team/Team Red. This is about health and fitness for everyone, including diabetics.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The first training ride on March 3 was a great success. Fifty-four cyclists showed up, and many cyclists were new to a bike. The more advanced cyclists did multiple loops of the route and focused on bike skills, like standing sprints, to keep up the heart rate. A few of the newer cyclists were able to ride more miles than they thought they were capable of, and were proud of their achievements. It was a good ride, no rain, and about 52 degrees on the bike. Food and water was provided before and after the ride, and between the laps if multiple laps were biked. The representative from Gleukos showed up and each rider was given a bottle of Gleukos, a type of drink designed to keep the blood sugars stable when cycling, and the bottle fits nicely into a bike's bottle cage.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The second training ride on March 10 was a lot of fun. It was an easy ride on Sauvie Island, which is flat terrain, and extremely scenic. 47 cyclists participated in the ride. Bike Gallery was there once again pre-ride to assist cyclists who had been letting their bikes collect dust for several years. It was a loop of 12.3 miles around the island, and many cyclists biked multiple loops. It didn't start raining until the first loop was almost completed. There was a strong headwind, but it made riding the side of the island with the tailwind extra fun because of the increased speeds.

    Next week the training ride is a short ride on a trail out to Wintler Park in Vancouver, however quite a few of the training group will be adding some unofficial TDC miles by biking out to Frenchman's Bar also, all along the scenic Columbia River, making the total ride about 30 miles.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The third training ride for the Tour de Cure training group was another good ride, about 42 degrees on the bike, and only a bit of rain for those who biked the extended miles. We had many new cyclists join the group, and some who participated after learning about it on Team Estrogen. Forty cyclists attended, all dressed in winter clothing for protection against the cold and rain. One regular is a unicylist riding with type 1 diabetes. There was an 8-mile trail and street ride along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, and after the ride a subgroup of 12 cyclists rode more miles through Vancouver and out to Frenchman's Bar, a sandbar along the river to the west of Vancouver.

    The fourth training ride is out of Hillsboro on the farm roads, with a few small hills, and of course extended miles for the cyclists who need to bike more miles.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The fourth training ride was a lot of fun, 42 cyclists pedaling, plus volunteers in SAG vehicles and one volunteer on a motorcycle. There was a short route and a longer route to accommodate the different levels of cyclists. This was the first time on a road for many of the new cyclists, and their first time biking up and down moderate rollers. Many of the volunteers were kept busy in the back half assisting new cyclists.

    The Tour de Cure is more than just about raising money for the American Diabetes Association via the charity bike ride event, it is about getting people onto bikes to promote and encouage increased fitness and health, and to hopefully help diabetics control blood sugars and to prevent others from getting diabetes. Exercise is part of the equation to obtaining improved health, and cycling is a way to exercise while having a lot of fun.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The ride on Saturday, March 31, was in a downpour of rain, but 23 hardy cyclists attended. The routes were borrowed from the Vancouver Bicycle Club, went along Salmon Creek and over quite a few rollers. Everyone had a lot of fun.

    The weather for April 7 will be warmer and no rain. The routes will be around Hagg Lake, which is near Gaston, with a short route out of the park to accommodate newer cyclists who can't go up and down the hills yet. There is a route option that gives stronger cyclists a category 5 climb, along with more up and down terrain around the lake. Quite a few cyclists are responding with RSVPs, and the estimate for attendance is that there will be over 50 cyclists again.

    For all of the volunteers who work so hard to put together these rides, it is real heartwarming to see people come out on their bikes for the first time, realizing that cycling will help them gain improved fitness and health, and to help themselves and others to find a way to cope with their diabetes. My team, Team Red Portland/Tommy's Team, is the team to which many of the Red Riders belong, cyclists who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and this year our Team Red jersey reads on the back, "I Ride to Stop Diabetes."

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    Amazing ride today, all sunshine, with various route options. Fifty-four cyclists signed in, but a head count indicates that the actual number of cyclists in attendance was around 65. The ride today was at Hagg Lake near Gaston in Oregon. The route around the lake in either direction is hilly, but two choices of direction. We had a flatter route that went out of the Hagg Lake Park out to Patton Valley, then back again, with one steep climb to get back into the park. Most cyclists did multiple loops of the lake, or a combination of the flatter route plus a loop or two around the lake. The scenery is gorgeous, lots of cyclists out today, not just Tour de Cure.

    Our ride numbers are growing because we are trying to reach people who are diagnosed with diabetes and pre-diabetes, get them on a bike, and have them join the training group so that they can discover that cycling indeed brings down their HA1C and helps them control their blood sugars, to the delight of their doctors, and all while they are having fun cycling!
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    Saturday, April 14, was another great ride. Fifty-one cyclists rode with two different routes, a shorter route of 16 miles and a longer route of 38 miles. Volunteers acted as Ride Leaders and Ride Assists, making sure cyclists made the correct turns. There were two volunteer motorcylists and a SAG vehicle for the longer route. The ride was out of Champoeg State Park in the beautiful Willamette Valley, undulating terrain, and balmy sunshine with scattered clouds. The scenery was gorgeous. Everybody had a great time. It was great to make new friends and ride with old friends.

    On April 21 the training ride is east of Portland, up the Historic Columbia River Hwy to Crown Point State Park, which includes one categroy-4 climb and one category-5 climb.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Buffalo, NY
    Posts
    193
    Your training rides sound fun. I signed up for the Tour De Cure here in NY but there are no training rides. You are lucky.
    Savra

    2006 Specialized Dolce Elite/Specialized Stock Saddle
    2011 Surly LHT/Brooks S Flyer

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    Quote Originally Posted by Savra View Post
    Your training rides sound fun. I signed up for the Tour De Cure here in NY but there are no training rides. You are lucky.
    Savra, I wish you could participate in training rides in your area. It takes a lot of volunteer effort. On your Tour de Cure event page, there should be a contact, someone like the Event Director, and you might email and ask why there are no regularly scheduled group training rides. Perhaps there are rides, and you are not getting notified, or maybe your TDC plans on starting training rides soon.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The training ride on April 21 was up the Historic Columbia River Highway, which entailed continuous miles of climbing, including one Category 4 climb and one Category 5 climb. This highway is a recreational road, winding into the heart of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. At the top, the views were spectacular. The descent was exhilerating. All levels of cyclists participated, and the beginner cyclists rode as far as they could, then turned around.

    This Saturday the training group participates in the Salem Bicycle Club's first metric century of the year, though newer cyclists might opt to ride only half of the metric. Most of the members will be wearing a Tour de Cure jersey while riding. The cyclists with diabetes will be wearing either a Red Rider jersey or a team jersey. The non-diabetics will be wearing either a Tour de Cure jersey or a team jersey. If anyone sees a Team Red jersey on Saturday, that is my team!
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The Tour de Cure resumed Saturday training rides after two Saturdays of biking in the local bike club event rides. Today 55 cyclists joined together to ride in Vancouver, Washington. The longer route biked quite a few hills, and the shorter route was an out-and-back along the Padden Bikeway. After the rides there was a congregation of most cyclists at the Event Director's house for a backyard picnic. I wasn't able to attend because a rail on my Brooks saddle snapped, I had to take a SAG ride back to the start, and I drove off to get to my LBS for a fix so I can ride again tomorrow. :-(
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    Over 60 cyclists showed up to ride the two routes on Saturday. This time we didn't have enough volunteers. Our Ride Director and Event Director were at the first Tour de Cure in Spokane, Washington, and some of the ride assists were missing. I volunteered to be the Ride Leader for the short ride of 14 miles. However on the 34-mile route there were not enough Ride Assists in the middle of the pack to stop and direct cyclists at the correct turns, and two packs of cyclists took wrong turns and ended up having some extra miles. The Ride Director will proably write an email memo on how to read cue sheets. :-)

    It was a great day, in the low 60s on the bike, all sunshine, and no wind.

    Next week is Memorial Day Weekend, so there isn't a training ride scheduled, and the following week is the Portland Century, and members of the training group have the option to ride one of the routes. There will be members who will put together rides though, and anyone can join, there just won't be any SAG or volunteer help.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Top of Parrett Mountain, Oregon
    Posts
    453
    The Tour de Cure training rides continue. There was a hiatus over Memorial Day Weekend of official TDC rides, but several individuals lead separate group rides with great success. On June 2, Tour de Cure members joined the Pioneer Century, a club event hosted by the Portland Wheelmen, with routes of varying distance and elevation gain. On June 9, the official training rides resumed, and 28 cyclists biked 25 miles of steep rollers in rural Yamhill County. On June 16, 55 group members biked the Banks-Vernonia Trail.

    This coming Saturday the group training rides are out of Hillsboro. The 43-mile route goes into the Helvetia Hills and has two Category 5 climbs. The shorter 26-mile route provides cyclists an opportunity to focus on speed or slow down to enjoy the scenery, rather than exert themselves on the steep grades of the Helvetia Hills.

    Here is a photo of one of our members at the start of the ride on June 16. He is a Red Rider on Team Red, meaning he rides with diabetes, posing with his new bike, a Trek road bike. A few weeks earlier he was out on a solo ride, a car hit him, and his prior bike was snapped in half. As you can see, he made a full recovery, and on Saturday he biked 44 miles with the Tour de Cure.
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    around Seattle, WA
    Posts
    3,238
    Quote Originally Posted by DarcyInOregon View Post
    Here is a photo of one of our members at the start of the ride on June 16. He is a Red Rider on Team Red, meaning he rides with diabetes, posing with his new bike, a Trek road bike. A few weeks earlier he was out on a solo ride, a car hit him, and his prior bike was snapped in half. As you can see, he made a full recovery, and on Saturday he biked 44 miles with the Tour de Cure.
    Wow! Glad he wasn't hurt bad. Hope said driver paid for the new bike.

    You go Darcy!! Have fun on the ride.
    Beth

 

 

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