Sunday, June 13, 2010

Brad's 100 mile Tour de Cure ride

This past Saturday we had the opportunity of going to Brigham City for Brad to participate in the Tour de Cure bike ride which is set up by the American Diabetes Association. Each participant was asked to raise money on behalf of the ADA that would be used to help treat & prevent diabetes. Thanks to wonderful family, friends, & coworkers Brad was able to raise $250 in donations.

A 25, 65, & 100 mile route were offered & the participants were able to register for the ride of their choice. Brad, being as ambitious & dedicated as he is, choose the 100 miler. I'm pretty sure even the 25 mile ride would have killed me...so needless to say I was impressed to begin with, let alone when accompanied by the fact that the weather was horrible this weekend. The temp was in the 50's along with rain & incredibly strong winds--of which I'm told they were riding INTO for the majority of the route. As you can imagine that makes riding a bike, especially for that distance, an even greater challenge.Brad finished the ride under 7 hrs & still managed to say he had fun. I'm still struggling with comprehending that fact that he had "fun"---I don't like riding a bike for 30 mins, let alone for 7 hrs, in the rain & wind, and in 50 degree temps. (I spent the day visiting almost every store imaginable in Brigham City trying to kill the time til he was done, which made me feel a little guilty that he was out in the bad weather and working his butt off).

He is such a trooper. Had I woken up the morning of the race, (5:30am. On a Saturday) and saw the weather outside and the 100 miles of sweat, pedaling, (and for me, the risk of a heart attack) awaiting, I probably would've crawled back into the hotel bed & said "forget it". He is extremely dedicated & when he puts his mind to something he follows through. I really admire those qualities about him & wish I could be more like that. He's the bomb and I'm proud of him! Awesome job, hun!

Gearing up for the ride, bright and early:


Brad & Other Brad. "Other Brad" is a guy Brad worked with & has been riding with in preparation of this Tour de Cure ride. "Other Brad" has diabetes & also did the 100 mile ride--hence his red jersey. All diabetic ride participants were given red jerseys to distinguish themselves from the others. I thought that was pretty cool.
Brad's bike odometer. Proof he really did ride 100 miles!