My goal: ambitious.
The distance: 3,700 miles.
The training: intense.
The opportunity: unrivaled.
August 23, 2015, a challenge of a lifetime. I am going to bicycle from Portland, OR, to Portland, ME, across the northern tier of this beautiful country to raise money for the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. On this trip I will pedal 3700 miles and climb more than 140,000 feet over the course of 40 riding days. My training for this big event starts February 1, 2015. Follow it here.
Join the fight against skin cancer by donating to the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. Fund public education and early detection programs, skin cancer screenings, and groundbreaking research.
Help me fight skin cancer. Go to the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation to make your donation today.
Top reasons to sponsor my Coast to Coast Bike for Skin Cancer:
1. You can sleep in late on August 23, 2015, while still funding cancer research, while I’m up at dawn to start my 3,700 mile trek across America.
2. I will drink 6,000 oz. of Gatorade, eat 100 LaraBars, burn 5,000 calories a day, and devour 2 bottles of Aleve, and all you need to do is send a check payable to the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation.
3. If you sponsor me, then I have no excuse to hop off my bicycle, to walk, or to crawl, and I will ride the entire 3,700 miles.
4. Twenty-three years ago, when I was 30 years old, my doctor told me to stop cycling (and running)(I didn’t) because, he said, “You have a bad back”. Help me prove him wrong.
5. You can transform my bicycle into a money machine as I try to raise $25/mile.
6. Your donation is tax deductible.
7. You can access my website (www.schimkephoto.com) where I will be blogging about my progress on the trek and providing stunning photos of the adventure!
8. The trend lines for cancer are going in the right direction, but skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. It accounts for nearly half of all cancers in the United States. Help me raise money to fight skin cancer!
Top of Mt. Eden, Flagstaff, AZ
February 8, 2015
Week 1 Training for C2C is complete. Twenty-eight more weeks to go!
February 15, 2015
Week 2 Training looked something like this:
Monday-50 minutes of stretching, Tuesday-run 5 miles, Wednesday-60 minutes on trainer-OVER GEAR - reps, Thursday-50 minutes of stretching, Friday-50 minutes trainer - 5x2 minutes@VO2 max x 4minutes recovery between each repeat, Saturday-32 miles with 3,000+ feet of climbing, Sunday-50 miles.
March 3, 2015
Start of week 5 of training. So far, so good !
Arizona winter training
March 16, 2015
Start of week 7 of training? Where has the time gone? I know I have 23 more weeks to prepare but will it be enough? I had a professional "bike fitting" the other day so that everything is aligned and my form and comfort on the bike are perfect. If I expect to be on my bike for 6 to 8 hours a day during the trek I need to be comfortable. One's body is always changing from its fitness, flexibility, weight, and strength so optimizing performance on the bike is critical. Enough of that. I'm starving!
March 17, 2015
St. Patrick's Day.
On the fundraising front, to date, just over $5,000 donated to the ASCF on behalf of my ride. I'm grateful for every penny, but my goal to reach $50,000 still stands. I need another zero on that $5,000! Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, afflicting more than two million Americans each year, a number that is rising rapidly. It is also the easiest to cure, if diagnosed and treated early. When allowed to progress, however, skin cancer can result in disfigurement and even death. That's where you come in. Your donation funds public education and early detection programs, skin cancer screenings, and groundbreaking research. If you haven't already, please donate today.
March 29, 2015
Week 8 of training complete. A VO2 max workout on Friday, 60 miles on fairly flat terrain on Saturday and 45 miles with 4,500 feet elevation gain on Sunday and that was just the weekend riding. There was plenty more earlier in the week but I'll spare you the details. Oh, and the fundraising total is over $7,000. Progress on both fronts.
April 14, 2015
I quit counting the number of weeks of training I've done. I rode the Tour de Mesa last Saturday, a 72 mile loop from downtown Mesa, out to Saguaro Lake, over Usery Pass and back to downtown Mesa. It was fantastic. I felt great and I know I could have gone farther and faster. You're probably asking yourself, "Isn't that what every cyclist thinks?" Maybe. So? Mission accomplished! Fundraising is approaching $9,000 and we are just now starting to pursue corporate donations. I can see $50,000 in the Foundation's future from this fundraising venture. Oh, and one last thing, I got a pro bike fit this afternoon. Three hours of fine tuning and adjustments to make sure I am super-comfortable on the bike. Eight hours on a bike for 40 days in a row? I better be comfortable.
May 8, 2015
Well, that was interesting. I started out for South Mountain at 7a.m. in what can only be described as a typical day in Ireland; there were dramatic, threatening clouds to the west and a fairly hefty wind slowing my forward progress. Because the forecast was sunny, warm, and no wind, I figured I was in no danger of a downpour. Four hours later, and after 6,000 feet of climbing and 53 miles on my odometer, I decided I'd had enough and started for home. That's when the rain hit. Not a heavy rain but a bit of a nuisance. I think it was the perfect setting for what is to come on my trek across the U.S. in August. On the fundraising front, we are fast approaching $20,000. I am still aiming for $50,000, so if you have not made your contribution yet, what are you waiting for? A cure for skin cancer?
May 13, 2015
Me after my solo 75 miler on Sunday
May 26, 2015
It's officially 90 days until I depart Astoria, Oregon, heading east, on my bicycle, for Portland, Maine. One half of my training is complete and the second half is underway. Of course, it's almost summer and in Phoenix, AZ, that means get out of town! I'll be heading up to Flagstaff, AZ, every weekend from now until August 21, when I depart for Portland, Oregon. Long training rides at 7,000+ elevation? Cool summer temperatures and fresh mountain air? Am I lucky, or what?
May 30, 2015
I will be doing the rest of my weekend training rides in Flagstaff. Phoenix is not the place to be in June, July nor August. This is a glimpse of the scenery I'll have to endure. (feeling fortunate)
Snowbowl Road, Flagstaff, AZ
June 30, 2015
Well, here it is, the last day of June. I have July and most of August to complete my training program and be ready to roll! Last Saturday, I rode in Flagstaff because it's like a sauna inside an oven in Phoenix. I was scheduled to ride 120 miles. I've never been on a bike for more than 100 miles and that was 10 years ago. For some reason it was not all that daunting. I thought I could do it with little or no trouble if I started early and finished early. You see, Flagstaff is having a bit of a heat wave. The forecast was sunny and high in the low 90's. That's hot for Flagstaff. Real hot. Anyway, up at 3:30 am, on my bike by 5:00 am and 7 hours 30 minutes later, j'ai fini. It was sunny, hot and humid until mile 118 when a monsoon rain fell on me. It cooled down 15 degrees just as I was finishing. Coup de veine!
July 27, 2015
July has come and is nearly gone. What started out as a horrible month has ended up being superb. I won't bore you with all the details but suffice it to say I thought I was going to have to give up the dream of cycling across the country due to illness! But, I survived a week of the flu and have come back stronger and more motivated. I rode 120 miles on Saturday and rode up Snowbowl Road on Sunday, we are close to $40,000 in donations, and the fundraising dinner at Dominick's Steakhouse on August 8, is reaching capacity. Everything is lining up just perfectly.
July 31, 2015
It is the last day of July. I got my kits from Borah Teamwear this week. This is what I'll be wearing across the U.S.
August 7, 2015
Tomorrow is the big event - Coast to Coast for Skin Cancer Fundraising Dinner at Dominick's Steakhouse. There are 110 guest expected as of this writing. We welcome any last minute attendees! Here's the information:
