Let's Make a Change

First let me say thank you to all the donors that contributed $4,000 towards the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma.  Your support was phenomenal and I greatly appreciate it.  Now to work my way through the thank you notes... So the Death Ride happened on July 13th, just about a month ago.  But before I tell you about the Death Ride, let me tell you about another ride.  On September 17th 2011, I was leading my team of riders over hills on the Peninsula.  We had just finished climbing Old La Honda Road and had worked our way over to the descent down Kings Mountain Road.   We started down Kings Mountain, in one moment I could see our path down the tree lined road and in the next moment, I was in an ambulance and a paramedic was asking me if I knew where I was.  From the accounts of the riders I was with, I would guess that 20 minutes of my life were spent as someone else.  I was told that I crashed and that I was talking after I regained consc...

I realize the Higgs Boson discovery was some months ago, but I'm totally a science geek and really like that stuff.  Anyway, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last update.  You'd think I was on vacation... I wasn't.  Actually, I have some good news to share.  I am now re-employed.  Yes, I know many of you didn't know I was ever unemployed.  Seems the startup I was with last year would rather conserve cash than pay for marketing people.  I don't blame them, it's the reality of startups.  So I was on the dole for Christmas and New Years.   Not to fret though, I got a great job working for SAP.  I was contracting since the beginning of March and last week they decided to make me a full-time employee.  Sweet! In an odd twist of fate, SAP was one the marquee customers for my last company, Redwood Systems.  So every day, I see the Redwood's products right above my head.  But enough about that, let's get to the...

Hello Again, I'm back with a bit of an update and some cool news.  First, many thanks to all the fine folks who have donated to the fight against blood cancers.  Your generosity always continues to astound me.  If you want to see how much has been raised, I encourage you to  go to my fundraising page to check it out   While you're there, feel free to click the radio buttons and try entering some numbers.  It's very worthwhile. Speaking of numbers, so the here's an update on the suffering.  By the suffering, I mean the training. First, you have to understand, training for this event is hard.  Not hard like working with differential equations, hard like dragging a dead pig across a desert.  The reason I don't post any pictures of myself is because there are no happy shots - only grimacing shots.  If you've known me a long time, you've noticed that I haven't aged well.  That's okay. I'm fine with that; the grizzled appearance a...

Hello again,  I'm back to clutter your inbox with observations, solicitation and celebration.  If you read my last email/blog post you should have learned about Pork-a-Palooza - The Hamtastic Four and my ongoing efforts to raise funds to fight Leukemia and Lymphoma.  To recap, I am attempting to do my fifth Death Ride.  That's riding my bike 129 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing in one very long day.  That event happens in July.   I'm doing this to raise awareness and funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  You know, these diseases won't cure themselves.  So the LLS funds research and patient services.  Truly, it's a good cause and breakthroughs will help many victims. As if the virtuous benefit of donating to a good cause wasn't enough motivation for you, I am also hosting an annual event with my son, Rob.  Pork-a-Palooza is a fete replete with heaps of meat.  This year's Pork-a-Palooza continues to get better.  As ...

Welcome back, it's that time of year when I start popping up in your inbox with messages about fundraising and pork.  Yes, I am the email equivalent of the swallows returning to Capistrano only with less bird droppings.  I realize this may be confusing for new recipients of these emails, so let me explain: Since 2006 I have been raising money to help fight Leukemia and Lymphoma.  I support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through the Team in Training program.  I take on a physical challenge to raise awareness and funds for LLS.  In return for supporting my quest, my son and I throw a kick-ass party called Pork-a-Palooza.  More about this year's Pork-a-Palooza in a bit. First, let me tell you why I do this.  I know several people who died from leukemia and lymphoma.  In all cases they were taken from us too soon.  I have met many blood cancer survivors and I know that they would not be here today if not for advances in medicine and resear...

My mom is individually driving a fundraiser Golf Tournament on Sept. 8th. It raises money for Alzheimers and Cooley's Anemia. They have 30 sponsors, so there are lots of prizes to be won plenty of schwag and some nice contests. There's a $10,000 hole-in-one contest. She NEEDS PLAYERS NOW to sign up! Let me know if you're interested or share this message and tell them to contact me. it is a scramble (best-ball) tournament at Empire Ranch Golf Course in Folsom. Entry fee is $125. Sign in at 11:00. Let me know and I'll send you the entry form

Welcome back. It seems like there are a lot of people that are intrigued by the concept of Pork-a-Palooza, my fundraising event.  Let me give you the background.  My son, Rob, and I struck upon the idea a couple years ago when I discovered a recipe for Bacon Explosions.  You see, we were trying to determine the merits of Ham Smash-em-ups when we discovered a recipe for Bacon Explosions and decided, that we found a new culinary treat we had to try.  We did a test run and the results were nothing short of astounding.  With our new found gastronomic discovery we decided we needed to share this with as many people as we could.  Thus Pork-a-Palooza was born. For those that haven’t had a bacon explosion, let me explain what it is.  It is awesomeness, surrounded by greatness, wrapped with awesomeness.  I start with a weave of high-quality, dry-cured bacon arranged in a square, add a layer of ground sausage, and fill the middle with crispy fried ba...

Last week Tuesday, my good friend Scott and I had arranged to meet and review our goals for 2012.  It's a practice we do each year and we do it to keep ourselves honest and, frankly, if you tell someone what you intend to do, there's a higher likelihood you'll actually do it.  It's a good and effective practice. I came with my list of goals and was prepared to start, when Scott told me that his friend Drew would be joining us for dinner.  I didn't expect what he said next.  He said, "When Drew arrives, don't say 'Hey, how's it going because he's likely to tell you.'"  We talked about it further and I said I would come up with another greeting. Drew arrived and I greeted him with, "Hey, I'm glad to see you." Beer arrived.  We talked about cycling and how riding up Mt. Diablo just kicks our overweight butts.  We talked about MMA bouts and how they are kind of homo-erotic.  We talked about work.  Everything was pretty c...

Happy New Year Everyone! By everyone, I mean all you friends and acquaintances that are receiving this blog posting.  So let's get right to it, my holidays were, like pretty much everyone's, pleasant but over too soon.  I got many warm wishes and generous gifts.  I want to highlight one gift in particular. My dear friend Lori gave me a rather unique and unexpected gift.  She enrolled me in the Bacon of the Month Club!  Once a month for the next three months I will receive 1 pound of the world's best bacon.  The first pound arrived a couple days ago and I must say, if you're a vegetarian - this might just get you to switch.  Man oh man, is it tasty. But why am I talking about bacon when what this blog is really about is bike riding and fundraising to fight blood cancers.  Okay, I'm getting to that.  The bacon, like most good bacons, got me to thinking.  In my last message about a month ago, I mentioned that we would do something spe...

Wow, that's been a long time.  My updates for the past 18 months have pretty much centered on one topic, and I think it's time to change topics.  Let's dust the cobwebs off this blog and get back to addressing the issues at hand.  Namely, let's talk about bike riding adventures and leading the fight against blood cancers. So before I get back into bike riding tales, let me tell you about the immediate priority, that is I'm once again taking up the fight against blood cancers.  I've know too many people who've battled leukemia and lymphoma and frankly, I'm fed up.  It's a cruel twist of the human condition that some unlucky folks are stricken with these tragic diseases.  Well, I'm taking up the fight by fundraising again.  And as always, I'm asking you to help. In the past, when I've asked for your donations, I've offered various incentives - such as riding a mile for every dollar raised or putting your name on my bike or clothing....

The Black and Tan promptly arrived at the table along with the chocolate milkshake that Rob ordered. We've been to Fenton's many times over the years and while I've enjoyed their Banana Specials and Saddleback Brownie sundaes, for me, the Black and Tan was always the best. I looked at the sundae and remembered. Rob and I had made it a regular routine to have dinner once a week. Usually we were at the Hopyard for Pint Night, but not this night. I had suggested we go to Fenton's when I got home from work. I didn't have to explain it or convince him; he knew why I had chosen this place. As soon as we arrived, the memories of countless visits started coming to mind. I introduced Sherri to Fenton's before we were married, 30 years ago. Rob mentioned that his first memory of Fenton's was his third birthday party and he remembered the train cake that mom had made for him.  I remembered how Sherri would always order a sidecar of hot fudge with her sundae because...

Well, let me just start by saying the obvious: this was not a good year.  Okay, you knew that.  I don't want to belabor the tragedy of this year and wear the cloak of grief again.  I've worn that enough.  I've worn it out.  I hate that cloak.  A new friend of mine told me that too often we try to rush through grief.  I don't think I rushed through anything.  My son and I can attest that there have been far too many difficult periods. Rather, I want to dedicate this Christmas letter to thank the people that reached out and helped Rob and me this year.  From the very moment that tragedy struck and Sherri was taken from us, friends, family and long lost acquaintances reached out to help.  The outpouring has been and still is astounding. To my parents, brother and sisters, nephews and nieces.  You dropped everything and you came to sit through the vigil as we waited to hear about Sherri.  I will never forget the compassion you ...

I've seen post traumatic stress syndrome.  He sits across from me at the Hopyard Ale House in San Ramon at least once a week for the past 4 months.  He makes very funny observations and he has very funny tales.  I think most of the time he just laughs at my embarrassing behavior as I constantly misunderstand what the server is saying to me.   He's engaging and very interesting to be with.   But he also doesn't sleep and he has other serious manifestations of stress.  I can't imagine the utter shock and convulsive agony it was to find her.  I wished so much that it hadn't ever happened and I wish even more it hadn't happened to him. We talk.  We talk about plans.  We come up with party ideas.  We talk about his friends and his school plans.  We talk about girls he likes.  We talk about girls he should like.  We talk about his writing; he is an excellent writer.  We talk about current events and films we've seen. We...

You know, my last blog post was a very heartfelt, emotional catharsis and I expected my next post to get back to the observational absurdities that typically fill these updates.  I'm not quite there yet.  I literally cried every day for 6 weeks after Sherri passed away.  Now I cry randomly.  They say crying is good for the spirit because it helps you release the emotions   They say you feel better.  I'm not so sure.  I do know that it's not every day, so I guess that's a sign that things are trending in the right direction. I'm in Stockholm.  That's Stockholm, as in capital of Sweden, not Stockton, as in the arm pit of California.  Minor apologies to anyone from Stockton.  It was sunny today, which is totally appropriate for a Sunday, and every Stockholmeo was outside taking in the sunshine like worms coming out after the rain.  I had flown in this morning and after I checked into the hotel, I decided to take a walk around th...

They say that life happens while you're making other plans.  In my last update, I wrote about Bob and the letter his wife Leah had written.  At the time it broke my heart to read her words about Bob's terminal cancer.  I couldn't imagine the pain she was enduring.  I still can't imagine her pain but on April 6th I got my own dose of life's fateful twists.  I apologize to those of you who are learning about this just now.  On April 6th my wife Sherri passed away from a unpredicted brain aneurysm.  And just like that, a beautiful life has left us and the world changed.  The memorial service was beautiful as it was traumatic.  Our children, Emily and Rob, delivered incredibly heartfelt eulogies for their mother and I couldn't be prouder of them.  We each wrote letters to Sherri and included them in the service program.  Mine is posted on my blog .  Every day since has been a fog of tears, confusion, anxiety, lack of concentratio...

Dear Sherri, "Well done, good and faithful servant" That's what the card said on the flowers that arrived for you. As soon as I read it, I was overwhelmed by a deluge of tears and sobs. As soon as I read it, I knew it fit you perfectly. Of course you would have recognized immediately where the verse originated; I had to look it up. Sherri, you are a woman of uncommon generosity, boundless love and unwavering faith. The stories people recounted over the past few days confirm that statement. People that know you are amazed at your kindness and all of them miss you dearly. We met under the most awkward of circumstances on Halloween night 31 years ago; I thoroughly embarrassed myself at Ken and Liz's Halloween party by hovering over you and trying to get you to remove that full length green sweater to reveal the risque "I Dream of Genie" costume underneath. You would not relent even though I tried every trick in the book to get you to take it off. After ...

"We have to stand up for each other" Not the typical opening for my blog updates but I thought it was so poignant, I had to use it. My friend Kaval wrote that to me after I sent my last update about Bob's fight against non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It couldn't be more true. I was talking with my friend Sven about life, the universe and relationships. Sven was talking about how the movie Up in the Air really hit the nail on the head with its theme that life is richer with friendships. It may seem obvious, but all of us get caught up in the chaos of everyday life and we may lose sight of the temporal nature of friendships. What Sven and Kaval so simply illustrated is that you have to treat friendships like treasures and part of that obligation is, as Kaval put it, "you have to stand up for each other." Which leads me to fighting cancer. We all know someone that has fought cancer. Not necessarily a blood cancer, but we have friends and loved ones that have fought...

Here We Go Again My alarm went off Saturday morning, February 27th at 5:15am. I could hear the wind blowing the rain against the window screens. I saw by the thermometer on the window, it was 48 degrees outside, definitely hypothermia conditions. I wasn't supposed to be doing this. I had started a new job two weeks ago; the economy is dismal; I wasn't planning to participate in Team in Training this year. I just didn't have the time or energy to do this. As with many plans, life seems to get in the way. Earlier this month, I learned that my friend, former co-worker, and fantasy football league compadre, Bob Norling had a recurrence of the non-Hodgkins lymphoma he had been treated for last year. Similar to leukemia, lymphoma is a blood cancer. Bob has two early teenage kids and has been married for 15 years. Bob is an excellent systems engineer, he races motorcycles, he isn't too good at fantasy football (at least not in the DLFC league), and everyone that knows...

Finally, an Update Whatever happened to Steve Asche? We used to get these regular updates about Team in Training and his trip across France. Then he dropped off the blogosphere. Did he ever make it across France without more uncom fortable moments with Roy? Did America's Most Beautiful Bike Team ever complete their century ride? What about the sponsorships with all the names on the bike? Well it's about time I got around to this. To say a lot has happened since June would be an understatement, I'll provide those details in future updates. Let's get to the most important question - Did America's Most Beautiful Bike Team make their 100 ride around Lake Tahoe? Of course they did! And they did it in epic fashion. Team Shake 'n Bake would have flown around Lake Tahoe if they could - that and if they had wings and sufficient thrust and all the other physical requirements. The team did fantastically well despite some very, very cold and wet conditions the day ...

That Day I know it hasn’t been that long since the last update but I wanted to get another update in before the donation deadline. This update is a little longer than usual, but it is one of my more memorable days on a bike. So if you haven’t read the previous post s you may need to catch up. I’m still selling sponsorships too. If you made a donation and haven't picked a spot, I may assign one to you or you can let me know. So get your donation in to get a spot on me or my bik e. France – The Hard Way I woke on day 4 feeling pretty good. Not just-won-the-lottery good, more like slept-through-the-night-without-worrying-about-getting-spooned-by-Roy good. I attribute the better sleep to the glasses of local wine I shared with my new drinking buddy, Brigitte, wife of the non-drinking Rutiger. Trying to exhibit good-ole American hospitality, I couldn’t let her drink wine alone. So we made it a point to sample the local wine at each town we stayed. There’s definitely something ...