I am hoping we are in Twentynine Palms two weeks from now

Nick at the top of Longview Drive

Nick and I in our Team Wild Hare jerseys - top of Longview

As I write this post there's now less than two weeks till the start of the Furnace Creek 508!  And while finishing the 508 for a second time would be a welcome achievement, it just cannot compare to the thrill of reaching the top of Longview Drive in Pleasanton on Saturday with Nicholas. Longview Drive was actually relatively short in relation to our overall 16.3 mile ride (that we completed on Saturday) at just over 0.3 miles but that's only part of the story. Longview Drive hits grades of up to 28.4% (AVG Grade is 15.2%)! Nicholas and I set a goal just after we got the tandem (in May) of making it to the top of Longview Drive and we nailed it this past Saturday which was also the day we were celebrating his 11th birthday as he'll be at Outdoor Ed this this Wednesday during his actual birthday on the 28th. I was extremely nervous about doing this climb with Nicholas for a number of reasons but as we neared the top Nick dug deep and once we reached the top we stopped and after a round of High-Fives, we shot a couple of photos and then headed down the hill to complete our ride.

Anyone who has ridden a tandem knows that it takes two people working together as a team! And in many ways, this is similar to winning against diseases such as Primary Immunodeficiency. Last year, we worked together and raised more than $10,000 which was matched by the team at the Jeffrey Modell Foundation resulting in more than $20,000 going to the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

You have donated more than $4,000 to the one tough ride 2011 project and we're going to keep the fund-raising going through the end of October. THANK YOU to everyone that has supported the project and to those that still wish to make a donation, you can do that electronically by clicking on the JustGive button on this page or if you prefer to send a check or cash, those can be sent directly to:

Jeffrey Modell Foundation
780 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Attn: one tough ride project

I'll continue to update you as we prepare for the race and I'll also post various links for you to track Team Wild Hare as we compete against a field of 230 racers from 10 countries around the world in the 2011 Furnace Creek 508, "The Toughest 48 hours in Sport".

Best,

Steve

Just three weeks till I'll line up at the starting line in Santa Clarita

Team T-Shirt (back)

Wow, as I start to write this post from 30,000 ft (yes I am in a plane) there's only 3 weeks till we'll line up at the starting line in Santa Clarita, CA for the Furnace Creek 508. This race is unlike any other ultra-cycling event in that there is so much planning and preparation that has to be done with vehicle preparation, race nutrition planning, crew, accommodations, night lighting (vehicle and bikes) race provisions, etc. That said, I am sure it will all come together and one again be an awesome journey for the team and for me even more meaningful for the cause I am racing for.

Right now we are at close to $4K and we'll fund-raise up to and right through the race but if you make a donation prior by Monday I'll also make sure that your name is recognized on the back of the team t-shirts (like those on the left side under the "Thank You") that we'll wear at race check-in and during the pre-race meeting. I know it's a tough economy but any donation helps and is appreciated as "all" donations will be matched by the Jeffrey Modell Foundation. Donations can me made electronically by clicking on the "Just Give" badge on the upper right hand side of the blog. If you prefer to send cash, check, or a money order, please send those directly to the address noted below.

"Racing for 10 Million" bracelet

Jeffrey Modell Foundation
780 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Attn: one tough ride project

All donors will also receive a one tough ride silicon bracelet with "Racing For 10 Million" on one side and our blog URL on the other. We will take the remainder of the bracelets that are not given to donors and pass these out during the race to raise awareness for the cause and also hopefully capture additional donations.

I have been traveling on business this week but plan on more training this weekend with a double assault on Mt Diablo and a training ride with Nicholas on the tandem which will definitely be the best ride of the week!

Enjoy the ride...

Steve

Less than four weeks till the Furnace Creek 508

The infamous Stage 3, Furnace Creek 508

As the clock continues to tick down to the start of the 2011 Furnace Creek 508 (watch the countdown on this page) Team Wild Hare is finalizing logistics, race strategies, and training for the race that is now less than four weeks away. The Furnace Creek 508 is unlike any other ultra endurance cycling race I have participated in previously and while Team Wild Hare will be a 2-man squad as opposed to the 4-man team I raced on last year, the crew is equally important to a successful finish! We are fortunate to have two friends joining us that not only have a professional medical background but are also ultra cyclists themselves. The team and assigned stages are:

Amy Bode: Co-crew Captain

Peg Miller: Co-crew Captain

Steve Bursley: Stages 1, 3, 5, 7

Mike Melville: Stages 2, 4, 6, 8

We are at roughly $4,000 in donations for this season and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed and reach out to those that may still be waiting to consider hitting the link on the top right side of this page and show your support. While I am excited to participate in the Furnace Creek 508, my main goal is to raise awareness and MUCH NEEDED research dollars so that the great work that the Jeffrey Modell Foundation started more than 25 years ago can continue delivering breakthrough treatments for Primary Immunodeficiency (PI) and ultimately a cure. As I have shared before more than 10,000,000...yes TEN MILLION people around the world are living with this disease and due to the frequently overlooked common symptoms, often go undiagnosed for years. Once again, I have the personal commitment of Vicki and Fred Modell that all donations will be matched and directed to Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford which is under the direction of Dr. David Lewis who is a world renown Immunologist and also one of my son's doctors. Last year "WE" raised more than $10,000 which meant that more than $20,000 went locally to the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

As I shared at the start of this post, this race will take a team effort and "WE" can't finish strong without strong riders on the bike and a great crew supporting those riders. This will be a difficult race and at least twice a hard a last year but as I make the 13 mile 3,800 ft climb up Townes Pass (EL 4,956') in the dead of night as my second of four stages, I know I will have the inspiration of my son Nicholas and the 9,999,999 other children and adults around the world that deal battle the PI every day...for me, it's a choice to participate in this race but for someone with PI it was something they were born with.

I am also pleased to share that you will be able to track the team again this year on the web thanks to the generous support of our friends at SPOT. The following link was captured during the race last year and then photos uploaded and linked to the various locations/times during the race - 2010 FC508 Magical Liopleurodon. I will post a new link on this blog to access the web page that will enable you to follow us again this year with updates roughly every 10 minutes as we compete in this 508 mile non-stop ultra endurance bicycle race...this can only be done with a SPOT GPS MESSENGER that posts via a satellite uplink! We'll also post photos and updates during race check in and if possible during the race from the very rare locations that offer cell access. We'll also post to the one.tough.ride FB Fan page so if you have not LIKED US yet please check us out.

Last, we just received the new one tough ride "Racing for 10 Million" silicon bracelets that will be sent to everyone that makes a donation of $20.00 or more. They look great and are obviously for a great cause. Also, if you would like to make a donation but would prefer to send a check or cash, please send those to:

Jeffrey Modell Foundation
780 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Attn: one tough ride project

I will try to post once per week up till the team leaves for Southern California for the race and then will be posting to the blog and our FB page throughout the day during race check-in and up till the race start at 09:00 PT.

Best,

Steve

Just five weeks till the Furnace Creek 508!

2011 Furnace Creek 508 Team Race Jersey

With just five weeks till I'll be a the starting line of the Furnace Creek 508 (I'll be riding the odd stages 1, 3, 5, and 7 for a total of roughly 277 miles) I have been working on trying to get some longer training rides in. Since my last post, I have completed the Santa Cruz Mountain Challenge, numerous training rides, and also spent a fantastic week in Maui with my family where we enjoyed some down time exploring the island as a well as riding a Zip Line, enjoying the beach, attending a luau, swimming and watching some awesome sunsets! During that week I even managed to get a ride in attempting to summit Haleakala which rises from sea level to more than 10,000 ft. With an inversion layer at about 5,000 ft I climbed to an elevation of ~6,000 ft over 24 miles and then decided to turn around as I had forgotten to bring both a base layer and wind vest. I do plan on returning one day to summit and check this one off the list. At the end of the ride I had logged about 48 miles with an elevation gain of more than 7,000 ft.

My fund-raising for the one tough ride project will continue through the end of October and if you have not made a donation yet, we could really use your support. Please consider using the Donate Now button at the top right side of the page. Every dollar donated s actually doubled with the commitment from the Jeffrey Modell Foundation to match the total donations raised from this project.

Our race jersey designs have been completed and sent off to production (design above). This year I was fortunate to find a great company to work with here in Pleasanton (Jakroo) that does short run production (order min 1) for full custom designs. We'll also be making a version of the team jersey available for purchase with details to come.

I will provide more frequent posts as we get closer to the race and we are also trying to work with SPOT to allow one tough ride fans to be able to track the team with live web race location updates posted the web approximately every 10 minutes.

Enjoy the ride...

Steve