2011 Tour De Palm Springs

Several of our riders participated in this past weekend's 2011 Tour de Palm Springs on Saturday, February 12th in preparation for the upcoming RAAM event in June.  The Tour de Palm Springs hosted almost 10,000 riders and raised over $180,000 for local desert charities.  It consisted of a 10 mile, 50 mile, 65 mile and 104 mile routes.  Rick Nichols and his wife, Cheralyn rode the 65 mile ride while Tony Wilcox and his wife Celeste rode the 104 mile route.  Rick and Cheralyn completed the ride in about 3 1/2 hours while Tony and Celeste spent over 8 hours on the bikes to complete the Century course.

Weather was warm and sunny with a mild breeze all morning long which contributed to dehydration and sun/wind burn for the riders on the longer routes.  There were also multiple cyclist crashes; some minor, some not so minor requiring ambulance trips to the hospital.  Rider hazards included rough roads, pot holes, tangles with other riders, traffic and simple weariness.  With almost 10,000 riders, there are bound to be some accidents - hopefully no one was hurt seriously, although we did hear reports of several broken collar bones and stitches. 

 

 The 65 and 104 mile course routes converged for most of the tour, starting from downtown Palm Springs near the Spa Hotel and Casino and traveling north out towards the windmills along the 1-10, then back down most of the valley.  The 65 mile course veered off and returned towards Palm Springs somewhere out near Indio, while the 104 mile route continued on out to the city of Coachella, before turning around and heading back to the west.  Overall, a great day to be on a bike a certainly great training for the 2011 RAAM.

Training Ride with the "Ride Yourself Fit" Group - Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011

Team members Doug Richards, Rick Nichols and Tony Wilcox joined Dr. Steven Wilson and his "Ride Yourself Fit" group for a 20 mile training ride through the hills of Redlands on Saturday, Feb. 5.  Doug and Tony added some additional miles after the group ride concluded.  Dave Roadruck and a friend put in some heavy miles out to the Banning bench and back.  

 

Kick-off Dinner - Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011

 We had a fantastic evening at our Kick-off dinner on Sunday, January 30th in the old gym at ACA.  Dr. Doug Richards introduced the committed support team members after a wonderful homemade lasagna meal.  The 2011 Team Learning4Life members were also introduced and each was presented with new training jerseys by Dr. Richards.  ACA Development Director, Ron Cook, officiated the meeting and introduced the team's new website:  http://www.teamlearning4life.com/ , designed by Atomic Media Works.  He also announced the upcoming Fun Ride that is tentatively scheduled for May 16th to be held at ACA.  The event was attended by about 40 or so families and supporters.

Weekend Workouts 1/16 & 1/17, 2011

Rick Nichols joined the "Ride Yourself Fit" group for a 60 mile ride in Palm Springs this weekend.  Very windy and he said he started cramping up at mile 55 - tough ride in preparation for the Tour de Palm Springs in mid-Feb.

Tony Wilcox completed a 36 mile solo ride from Redlands to Calimesa and back.  Had the rear tire blow out at mile 21 and had to change a tube and limp back.

Training Ride - January 8, 2011

Had an EPIC training ride today - 60 miles round trip from Loma Linda to Cabazon and back.  Weather was cold, damp and windy.  Highlights:  Brad Mason breaks carbon fiber seat post OFF of his new bike, Carl Gregory has a double blowout and is forced to head home and we ran into a giant Vietnamese pot-bellied pig named "$#*+head" out in Cherry Valley.  No lie!

Check Out Team Learning4Life's New Website

We've launched our new website located at http://www.teamlearning4life.org/!  Thanks to Tony Wilcox and Atomic Media Works for the excellent new design and features.