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Date: July, 24, 2007

Subject: 270 Miles and still going strong

Hi everyone!

I hope you all are doing well!  I had a wonderful weekend!  Riding 270 miles to help find a cure for ALS was truly inspiring.  I felt great all three days.  All of your support kept me going!  Thanks again so much!

I arrived in Boston last Thursday.  I rented a mini-van to drive my bike up to Boston from Harrisburg, PA.  I dropped off my bike and gear at the Sheraton in Newton early in the afternoon and then returned the car to Logan Airport.  I managed to get myself back to the Sheraton via the subway and a couple of busses (not bad for a country boy).  I also had the opportunity to visit the house my mom grew up in, as it was only about a mile from the Sheraton.   Thursday night we were treated to a nice carb dinner followed by some emotional speeches by some ALS patients, their families, and the head of scientific research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute.  We were pumped and ready to go!

Friday morning at 6:15am, we rolled out in the pouring rain.  In the picture of me in front of the Sheraton (see the link below), you can see puddles from the rain overnight, but it wasn't raining at that point.  The minute we started, however, it started to pour.  I was thinking - 270 miles of this???  Thankfully, though, it only rained for about the first 15 miles of the ride.  Then the skies cleared, and by 8am or so, you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.  It turned out that the weather couldn't have been more perfect the rest of the trip - sunny and in the 70s.

http://faculty.msmary.edu/einolf/TriStateTrek2007

We rode 100 miles the first day from Boston to the University of Connecticut, and all of the pictures of me with my Penn State cycling jersey are from Day 1.  I went to this ride not knowing anyone else that was doing it, and riding that distance alone would have been quite a drag.  (Literally - as riding behind someone else and drafting, you exert only about 70% of the effort as you do when you are fighting the wind on your own.)  I was fortunate to make two friends fairly quickly: Jay Johnson (a collegiate runner and physical therapist who only started riding about six months ago but was really strong) and Elissa Murphy (a triathlete and MIT lab technician who completed the Lake Placid Ironman competition last year).  We made a great team, and we ended riding together all three days.

The course was incredibly well-marked and supported.  There were rest stops every 15-20 miles and a lunch stop every day.  The organizer of the event, Mat Mendel from ALSTDI, is an amazing leader.  His crew team (including rest stop organizers, bike mechanics, motorcycles to patrol the course, volunteers to ring cowbells to cheer on the riders, medical staff, massage therapists, etc) was phenomenal.  His family was there to help and he managed the entire event with skill and grace. 

We camped at the University of Connecticut Friday night.  Dinner was great!  We even had a beer tent (all donated by a local micro brewery) - although I could only mange to drink about a half of one as I was so tired.  One thing for the Mount St. Mary's readers here - I noticed that UConn's signs around campus (navy blue with black frames) all look identical to the new signs around the Mount St. Mary's campus.  Probably no coincidence as the Mount's current President is a former professor and Dean from UConn!

On Saturday we rode 92 miles from UConn to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut.  After about 30 miles, we took a ferry ride across the Connecticut River.  It actually wasn't as long of a rest as we were hoping for as it took only about ten minutes to get across the river.  But the ferry ride was quite fun, and a chance to get the camera out of the saddle bag.  That night we were treated to another wonderful dinner and a chance to talk to many new friends.

Sunday morning, I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to.  Some riders actually left before first light (5am) to get to White Plains, New York, in time for our 2:30pm victory lap around the city.  I was really amazed all weekend by the number of novice riders that had decided to do this ride in support of (or sadly in memory of) someone with ALS.  These riders were really suffering, but they made it - really inspiring!  Sunday was the toughest day of the three.  Only (!) 80 miles, but some of the hills were extremely challenging.  One was an almost 2 mile climb at a 7% grade.  Another was a short half mile climb at mile 70 that had sections steeper than a 10% grade.  But all day - it just seemed like we were going up...  My group left at 7:30 that morning, and we cheered on a number of riders that were hurting up these hills.  Although on the last hill, we were happy ourselves to have a crowd cheering us on.  It was pretty tough.

At the finish line I was met by my wife, Maria, my sons, Nicholas and Thomas, my mother-in-law, my niece, my parents, and my sister.  It was wonderful to have all of their support, and we all celebrated with a great barbeque dinner! 

I am especially grateful for Maria's support as she has managed most of the household affairs while I have been on my bike training over the last couple of months.  Thanks, Maria!

ALS is such an awful disease, and the scientific community is really working hard to end it.  The Tri State Trek raised $210,000 so far this year and hopes to have over $300,000 by the time all of the pledges are in.  You all gave over $3,000 of this money.  I cannot thank you enough!  The folks at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (http://www.als.net) are very grateful for your support.  They have always said that anyone is welcome to come in to their facility (215 First Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts) to see how a donation is put to use.  Please do it if you are in Boston!

If you or anyone you know wants to do this ride with me next year, please let me know.  It was a great experience!  It would be great to form a team! 

Again, I thank you for your support!

Best regards,

Karl