One (Month) Down.... Three and a Half to Go!!!

Hello followers of Life Ride 2012. Thanks for checking in again on this last day of January.

Today was my last training ride of January; a quick 27 mile ride up and down the Anaheim Hills area near where I work. I was very happy with this ride since I shaved 7 minutes from my previous best on this course. The 10% climbs hurt a little bit but I'm getting stronger and the recovery is faster. These hills are great for training because there are many different routes to take, all with some significant climbing and good views. Hope this all pays off when we climb up to Flagstaff AZ in just a few short months!

My goal for January was to log about 300 miles but the weather here in So Cal was very cooperative and I was able to get in 508 miles with over 25,000 feet of vertical climbing in those miles. Here is the plot of my planned vs. actual training miles leading up to the beginning of the tour.

 

Total miles isn't the only indication of good training but I'm trying to include some good climbing in each ride or at least some fast interval and speed work if it is a flatter course.

Anyway, I hope your new year is going well with all your resolutions still on track.

Keep praying for our little ones.

Blessings

Life Rider Tom

Final Clearance Granted!!!!

First a little bit of history about Life Ride 2012.

Late last summer, I finally surfaced enough courage to mention to my wife Michele that I was thinking of a cross country bicycle trip in 2012. I wanted her reaction and opinion. Well, I received both with great clarity. At first there was the expected stare of disbelief (with jaw dropped and mouth slightly open) as she silently considered if I was joking or serious or just plain insane! Thankfully she didn't weigh in with a comment on the third of these three options.

I continued to explain that I felt God's call to attempt this as a way to support His lost children. Over the course of the next few weeks, and certainly after much angst and prayerful reflection she finally realized that this Life Ride idea had some merit.

BUT, all support from a caring wife comes with certain conditions: I could attempt the Life Ride if I received 5 clearances: Family Dr, Dermatologist, Cardiologist, God and Michele.

Here are the results:
 1) From my family physician after a complete physical and blood workup etc etc.  AOK Received Jan 3, 2012. Thank you Dr F !

2) From my dermatologist. I've had a couple of skin spots removed from my cute mug in the past and the Life Ride would required many many days training and riding in the outdoor sun. AOK Received Dec 15, 2011
Thank you Dr S. !

3) From a cardiologist. A complete cardio eval including a stress echo cardiogram (more on that later). AOK  Received Jan 16, 2012   Thank you Dr L. !

4) God. Well since this whole idea was His to start with, I guess He granted His clearance last year.
Thank you God!!

5) Michele was now facing insurmountable odds; 3 doctors and our Creator had given a thumbs up. With the usual love I've enjoyed for 35+ years of marriage, Michele also added her blessing. Having her support was an incredible relief and very energizing. Thank you Michele!!

Just a final comment on the echo stress test. This is a procedure that uses a high resolution ultra sound to produce very high quality images of the working heart both before and just after vigorous exercise. As I watched the nurse collecting these images I was amazed to be able to see my heart beating including the two valves and the various chambers.
It dawned on me that it is this same ultrasound machine that is proving such a valuable tool for the Pro-Life cause. At Birth Choice Health Clinics, it has been found that if a woman carrying a child sees the beating heart of her unborn child on the ultra sound, then approximately 3 out of 4 women will choose life for their baby.

Relating the ultrasound image of my beating heart and the ultrasound image of the heartbeat of the unborn was a powerful communication from our Lord. Save My innocent unborn. LifeRide2012!!!

Example of a Echo Cardiogram of the Adult Heart

Ultra Sound of an Unborn Human Child
(Heartbeat is Clearly Visible at 8 weeks old)

On-Line Donations Now Available

Well, it took a little time but we finally worked out the logistics to enable online credit card donations directly to Birth Choice Health Clinics.

Life Ride 2012 has three principal goals relating to the Right to Life for the unborn. First, to increase AWARENESS of the totally unacceptable number of abortions in the country: 4000 per day! Second, to energize our most powerful weapon against these atrocities and that is daily PRAYER for the unborn. And third, of course, any organization such as Birth Choice requires funds to keep the doors open.

Hopefully the addition of on-line donations will make our fundraising efforts more simple and effective.

The online option can be accessed by clicking the red donate button on the lower-left side of the home page or by entering the 'Donate to Birth Choice' page on the pages banner.

In any event, thanks for your continued support of Life Ride 2012. I will soon be adding a 'Training' page where I'll be posting some statistics on how the training rides are going. So far this year I have logged a little over 200 miles that includes thousands of feet of climbing in the hills of southern California.  Those days in May climbing up to Flagstaff Arizona out of the Colorado River basin will be very tough but I'm determined to be ready.

Blessings

Tom