Why?

My beautiful daughter died from CF in March 2010 and I am riding in GearUp4CF this year in her memory.

Eva was a fighter and inspiration to all that knew her. In 2008 I rode in GearUp4CF to celebrate her successful recovery from a double lung transplant that allowed Eva to once again live her life to the fullest. Only months after the surgery, she joined the team in Invermere, painting our faces and cheering us on with her pom-poms in her self-appointed role as chief cheerleader.

This year I will be 65 years old on the ride. That is why I am calling this ride 65 for65Roses; partly because of my age, partly because 65 Roses is a malapropism of Cystic Fibrosis, partly because my daughter’s blog was called 65 RedRoses, and also because I hope to reach the very lofty goal of raising $65,000.

Training to ride for 1200 km over multiple mountain passes to Banff will be very difficult; raising these funds will be just as much of a challenge. Here is where I need your help. Please donate to my ride and help contribute to Eva’s legacy to raise critical funds for CF research and awareness.

Monday 24 February 2014

Fitness Evaluation

Last week I underwent a fitness evaluation at the Peak Fitness Centre on Hastings Street in Burnaby. It is something I had heard about from friends for years but making the decision to ride on the CF ride was the motivation to finally get tested. My training up to now was pretty  much home schooled, that is get in a lot of rides as and ride as fast as you can and read a few articles from time to time.

I won't go into the details, you can read it all on their web site, but basically they hook you up to a trainer on your own bike and after some warm up time, they gradually increase the power in three minute segments while they take blood samples every few minutes to measure your lactic acid buildup. It seems easy at first but within ten minutes the effort becomes very intense. Oh yes, they also hook you up to a breathing apparatus so they can measure your oxygen/carbon dioxide input/output. Georgie, the trainer,  led me through the paces and kept encouraging me to keep the the cadence up. Eventually the lactic acid buildup causes burnout and that is the end of the measurements. I will say my heart rate was at 185 beats per minute when I hit my failure point.

Last Saturday I went back for an evaluation where they make sense out of all the numbers in the report that they had sent a few days earlier. It is all about zones to stay in and others (so called junk zones) that you stay out of. Also how much carbohydrate replacement is required based on your activity level and body mass. Very scientific and a bit bewildering at first. I will make the effort and will probably get retested in April to see if the training effect worked.So if I start muttering about getting into my junk zone 3, you will to give me some slack.

In my evaluation it was mentioned that my numbers showed I was "trained" but not "well trained".

Oh..also there is no fitness discount given for age,

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Beginnings.


Now that Annie, my daughter, has created this stunning blog page it is my job to populate it with my 65for65Roses journey. I last rode the GearUp4CF ride six years ago in 2008. Although I have done some one day and two day rides I have always shied away from repeating the ride. Partly because it is so rigorous and demands so much training but even more so, to be quite honest, because it requires extensive fund raising. Fund raising is hard and I do not much enjoy asking my friends to donate their hard earned money. But it is funding that drives the advances made in CF research which in turn extends lives and brings hope for an ultimate cure. So yes, I will be asking you to donate. I have set a very high goal and I need your help. I'll post from time to time over the next 5 months to let you know how the training and fundraising efforts are going. Stay tuned.




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