30 percent there!

More donations in and hey hey, I'm 30 percent to my goal. I'm pumped! I was looking around the official booty Web site and saw the overall goal for this year's event is to raise $500,000. WOW! That's a lot. This event has been around since 2001 and started with one dude who raised $6,000. Fast forward to April of this year and that same dude gave the Lance Armstrong Foundation $1 million raised by the 24 Hours of Booty. It's amazing how you can do so much when every one helps out just a little.

Biketown Nickname Update

So I got three name suggestions for the biketown bike, The Cruiser, Pimptown Bike (only if I add a cup holder) and Flint Ride (but I'd have to hurry up and get it rusting). I've really enjoyed riding it the past couple days and I think I'm going to give it another week or two. I like that I can jump off curbs and hit bumpy light-rail tracks and not feel a thing. The bumps just aren't as smooth on my Specialized road bike. But it's always fun to ride the slow bike for a while and then switch back to the roadie and see how easy it is to go 10 mph faster. It almost makes riding feel too easy!

Yikes! Pardon me

Speaking of light rail, I nearly came to a bad end tonight. On my way home we pass two intersections near the tracks for the future light rail. They've been testing the cars a lot lately because each one needs something like 1,000 hours practice before they can be used by real customers when it opens in November. Anyway, the tracks are parallel to the road I take home. So me and 2 of my Ramblers are at a red light when one of these test cars starts coming down the tracks a ways ahead. Part of the warning system was a green light with an X through a left turn arrow. For some reason the combination of the green and the idea that I couldn't turn left because of the train made me think I must be able to go straight. Wrong answer. I started riding pretty lazily until I realized the main light was still red, I had just run it and was now in the middle of the intersection with cars approaching. They seemed to slow down, likely cursing me as one more cyclist who ignores the traffic laws.

I really felt bad. I try hard to give people a good example of how a cyclist should ride and act. I think a lot of drivers assume cyclists don't pay attention, or think they're above the rules and that cars have to watch out for us. The thing is, I know the exact opposite is true. When I ride to work, almost the only thing I'm thinking about is how to stay alive and not get hit. "Is that car going to pull out without looking? Will they turn right without noticing I'm on their left? Is cell phone lady going to tag me when I pass this bus? Will that car roll stop at the sign?" The last thing I want to do is add to the probability that I'm going to become a pavement stain. Because no matter whose fault a wreck is, I know little ol' me is not going to come out for the better against a two ton motor vehicle. Oh well, I'll try harder next time.

One fun part of cycling

When you start riding a ton you get to a point where you can almost eat anything you want and still can't equal the calories you burn. I don't usually ride that much, but I ride enough to work up a pretty good appetite. Some foods are better than others to help your body recover more quickly. At least that's what this article in Bicycling magazine told me.

So figuring I'm going to be riding a lot more I thought it was a good time to get out and buy some of the foods in those recipes. Unfortunately for me, Coke Zero was not listed as a recovery food. And of course spaghetti makes the list, yuck! Anyway, I'm excited to fire up the blender and make some smoothies, but I've got to make sure I fire up the bike first!

The last couple days I've been riding my biketown bike to work. It's a hybrid with a top speed probably around 18 mph. OK, I hope it's not that slow. What it lacks in speed and any inkling of coolness it makes up for in comfort. It sports some nice fat tires and an equally fat seat. It's been the perfect bike for the combination of pot holes, construction and thunderstorms I've been facing the past couple days. It's that time of year in Charlotte when every day is sticky and humid and there's a 40 to 60 percent chance of an evening storm.

Sometimes I fail to give that biketown bike the proper love. It's not great, but shoot, I got it for free! Unlike Mr. Fuji, my old bike, or Silver, my new road bike, I don't have a nickname for this one. I'll have to think on that one. Any suggestions?

Ramble!

24 Hours of Booty

I decided to keep a blog about my preparation to this year's booty ride and keep everyone updated on how much I've raised. You can donate here.

Last year I was able to raise $430 with the help of a lot of generous people. I really was blown away at how much every one helped out. Some people gave a lot, some people gave a little, but it all added up to more than I ever imagined. I set a low goal of $100 and achieved that with the first donation! I'd like to shoot for $450 this year. Already in the first day I've raised $85, so we're well on our way.

If you've never been out to the booty event you are missing out. There are so many cool people with cool stories. A lot of people are riding for people they know who had cancer and some are even cancer survivors themselves. And the thing gets bigger every year! It's great when we all go out and do that first lap. You've got families with little kids out, companies with serious teams and lots of people who just want to have fun.

I went for the first time last year and had a blast. I could only ride the first day and had to go to work the second day. My cycling goal was to complete a metric century, which is 100 kilometers or a bit more than 62 miles. I ended up doing 65 miles the first day. I'm still not sure what my goal should be this time around. I completed a 104 mile ride last month. That was awesome, but also a lot of work. I have to admit, I've been slacking on the bike since then. (My recent venture into the game of golf has been stealing lots of my free time) But I still have a month to go before the booty ride. Right now I'm thinking of doing 100 to 150 miles over the 24 hours. But I'd love to hear what you guys think I should shoot for.

Ramble!