Category: iRide News


World Prematurity Day

Filed under: Home, iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
August 13, 2012

As we get closer to the big ride at Hotter n’ Hell, we get closer to pivoting and gearing up for World Prematurity Day, which is on November 17.  If you haven’t heard about this day and this campaign, it’s a great opportunity to connect globally and heighten the awareness that there are families who mourn the loss of a child.  Born too soon, gone too soon is my theme for that day.

Special activities will take place worldwide on that day and I’m working to put my 2 cents in the fray.  I’m working to coordinate a 17 mile “bike ride of silence” to give a voice to the invisible tears and silent joy experienced by parents, friends, family members who move forward without their loved ones.  As I’ve always said, cycling gives a complete perspective of moving forward, staying present, and overcoming challenges, which is what we do to honor our loved ones.

I’m so appreciative of all the many folks who have donated money and pledged miles; the shared stories and experiences have all been heartwarming, as well as the encouraging voices.  I’m truly humbled by the outpouring of support.  But we aren’t done and I know you will join me on this important and exciting new venture for World Prematurity Day 2012.  We have another opportunity to ride!

Please check back for more information, or leave your email address and I’ll forward the location, roll-out time, etc.  This is going to be BIG, and I invite you to jump on your bike and rollout with me.

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Training Ride: top 10

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
July 13, 2012

It’s been awhile since I did a training ride post.  The good thing is the more I ride, the less I write…I’m a strange fella in that regard.  Instead of boring the masses retreading the numerous stories gathered while riding.  I thought I’d offer a list of the top things I’ve seen while on the road.  Here we go!

10.  A dad, mom, and 3 kids out riding bikes at 7 in the morning;  The littlest one looked to be about 5 or 6 and was gunning in his effort to drop everybody, future KOM.

9.  A baby duck sleeping on the back of momma while floating in a pond;

8.  Somebody’s granddad sitting on the back porch smoking some Bob Marley;

7.  A stud farm with a lot of action;

6.  Some kind of exotic animal farm (I think I saw a Lion);

5.  Topless lawn mowing;

4.  Convenience store charging $1 for ice;

3. Kid outside his house mooning cars as they drove by;

2.  Someone driving, texting, smoking, and drinking beer;

1.  A bunch of cyclists out enjoying the day;

You never know what you’re going to see, but as long as it gets my mind off of the pain, I’m good…

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Cowcreek Madness

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — Leave a comment
June 26, 2012

Saturday  was another bad day for me on the bike.  The day blasted off without a hitch and I have to say, it was a great start.  I rolled out the bed at 4 a.m. with no problem what so ever, however my rumblings in the kitchen woke up the baby who wanted to hang out.  So it was me and baby girl at 4:30 in the morning eating breakfast and watching Bubble Guppies.  I got out of the house on time and began my pre-ride icing routine.

It was sooo cold in the truck I started shivering…I’m thinking “imma ride the rubber off my bike today”.  Made it to the event and because I’d pre-registered, I sat back and chilled, literally.  For about 30 minutes I sat with ice on my back, neck, and torso ate some snacks and relaxed.  I rolled up to the start line with about 10 minutes to go.  I’m enjoying the moment thinking I’ve gotta use today as a max training ride because I’ve been so sick and haven’t been able to ride, I’m behind schedule.  I was feeling good, so good I was chatting it up with folks around me , which I never do before I ride an event.  Big shout out to Cindy, the triathlete who was using the event as training for an upcoming race.  We rolled the first 10 miles or so, then I got busy.

My HHH goal calls for me to average 20 mph for 100 miles factoring in two stops.  The warm-up has to be 30 minutes and I have to be anaerobic at the 25 minute mark.  The break-down is basically 10 miles every 30 minutes (warm-up not withstanding because I’m rolling 15-17 mph for 20 min or so).  Everything was going as planned.  The wind was behaving; it was about 82 degrees at 8 a.m.  The plan was to do 55 miles and be eating by 10:30.  Everything was going as planned with my 1st stop coming at the 20 mile mark.  I came across a couple of the fellas I rode with a few weeks ago on a Saturday morning training ride and we rolled together for a while.   That was good and bad.  It was nice to have some company, but I lost a little of my intensity because they were rolling a little bit off of my pace.

We arrived at the 1st aide station and low and behold…NO WATER!  How can you not have water at an outdoor event and then offer folks watered down Gatorade.  No worries, I’m good with my bottle until the next stop, or I thought.  The pitch of the climbs started to get steeper, and the heat started to pick-up.  I kid you not, within 45 minutes the temperature hit 92 and soon after 95 with a heat index of 102.  I started worrying about blowing up and decided I needed to slow the pace a little.  My two buds rode ahead and then disaster struck for me.  I think it was at mile 40 or 42 but my back started tightening up from the climbing, then my left leg started hurting, it wasn’t cramps, but a dull ache.  Next thing I know I have a blistering headache.  I stop at an aide station for some ice and pickle juice…NO PICKLE JUICE! Wow, I re-up my bottles and roll only to start seeing spots.  I turned around and headed back to the aide station to try and figure out what was up with me.

I didn’t look good and didn’t feel good and eventually had to SAG in.  I made it back to my truck loaded up and thought everything was good, but almost blew through an intersection because of blurred vision.  I don’t quite remember how I made it to the first aide trailer, but next thing I know I’m hooked up to an IV.  The last thing I wanted to do was tell Viv that I was getting an IV since she was worried about me and my health for the past couple of weeks.  Well, I made it back to the hacienda and didn’t catch too much flak, but I did promise to go back to the Dr. this week.  We’ll see what happens.

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Close Call

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
June 6, 2012

One of my harebrain goals this year is to go from a bicycle rider to a cyclist.  Sounds odd, but it took me a while to kind of figure out the difference between the two.  Now, what’s less extreme, but significantly more difficult is the difference between being a recreational cyclist and competitive cyclist, but I’ll leave that madness for another day.  It’s through this transformation that I discovered that riding with a group is a very safe way to get back to your loved ones.  It’s hard to find the right group, but when it comes to getting home in one piece, there’s safety in numbers.

 This fact was hammered home this past weekend.  I joined the fellas and headed out to ride 50 miles of hills last Saturday.  The weather was great…the start time sucked, but the gentle breeze, clear skies, and quietness in the air was magical.  Well, we started out and after cussing all the way up the first hill, we settled into a nice little pace.  2 of the guys I’d never ridden with before and wondered early on if they were from the egotistical cycling DNA or the righteous cool cycling DNA.  You see, cyclists are a breed all to their own, there are the hipsters, the trendsetters, the classic rider, superficial, egotistical masher, and of course my bike cost more than yours group.  Again, another topic that needs it’s own headline.  I’m happy to report that they were very cool, easy to chat with, but also interested in riding hard.

 So, we did the 1st half of the ride with no problem.  Stopped at a gas station to refuel and then hit the road again.  Less than 2 miles after the stop, 1 of the regular riders has a flat, which normally is not a big thing.  But you’d rather have a front flat instead of rear and of course this was a rear tire.  6 grown men, a collection of at least $10,000.00 in bicycles and gear, and it takes 30 minutes to change the tire, somewhere, Hank Hill was laughing at us. 

Now we are rolling coming back and we run into some local, locals on bikes…they were giving us the 1..2.. about ways to get back faster, which roads loop versus the ones that are a dead-end, etc, etc.  Ok, this is the meat of the post so it’s time to pay attention.  We stop at a T intersection…we have the stop sign and traffic flows free left to right.  Our 6 riders, plus the 2 local, locals and we have a nice size group, a group that can easily be seen one would think. 

 Now picture this.  A large blue monster truck at least 20 ft high, laying rubber down on the road.  He’s making a right turn, exactly where we are stopped.  I’m on the outside with one rider to my right, 2 riders behind me with everyone else ahead of me.  The 2 local, locals see the monster truck is turning and they make a right hand turn waving good by; 1 of our guys then pedals to make a left turn assuming the MFMT will slow down….but NOOOOO! The idiot in the truck doesn’t and comes within inches of taking off my left leg.  No, I’m not embellishing here.  I literally had to lean 6″ to the right to get out of the way…I couldn’t move my bike because of the bikes next to me and ANY rational goat sniffer would recognize they needed to slow down.  I’m not one to get startled or panic and the fellas gave me a little grief about my leaning right move, but they all recognized that the dear hunter failed to drive with caution.  Me personally, I really think dude was trying to get as close to me as he could to send some dumb, stupid message that cyclist aren’t welcomed on the back roads of Maypearl Texas.  I’m happy I was riding in a group, otherwise, there might’ve been a hit and run!

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Stop, start, finish

Filed under: iRide News, Uncategorized by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
May 17, 2012

Wonderful outcomes are as likely as tragic ones.  So why not escape over thinking and mental paralysis by living what is instead of with should.

Me & the Mrs. took part in the Head for the Hills bike rally this past weekend.  It felt great to wake-up and drive 10 mins to roll-out.  This by far has always been one of the best rides in N Texas, although someone was asleep at the wheel this year.  There was a downpour the night before the ride and Viv was like “hell no” I’m not riding if it’s raining.

Short version: it did not rain at the start, sour note: it rained in the middle, funny moment: Viv on a bike soaking wet.  The rain was insane, but not the “damn, james” moment of the day.  We basically ate up 8 miles and 20 min when the volunteers pointed the lead group in the wrong direction…the entire peloton got screwed and the confusion that ensued was like a scene out of a movie…hundreds of people stopped pulling out maps.  The rain came some 2 hours later.

Oh, I forgot to mention, i almost crashed on rain-soaked roads, (I’ll save it for another day).  Head for the Hills reminded me that the amazing thing about living is that every second is special for its own reason.  It’s so easy to fast forward life and arbitrarily assign value to something or someone instead of simply appreciating what’s special about the experience.   I had fun riding in the rain.  It took me back to my childhood when each day centered around simple and innocent fun.

I’ve discovered that it’s the act of getting from one side of the river bank to the other that motivates you to survive.  It’s nice to say I’ll figure it out, but you can’t get to step 2 until you attempt step 1.
I once heard that real mindfulness is attention to…a respectful awareness of…it’s crafting the ability to not judge, like, or hate.  As crazy as it sounds, you simply roll, which is what we did at Head for the Hills.  Why judge the start, weather, or distance when the gift came wrapped in freedom. A lil’ shower, a lil’ lost, a lil’ isolation, a lil’ fellowship…and a damn good day!

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Training Ride a21

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
April 19, 2012

Another Tuesday, another ratchet training ride and the obligatory drop.  I gotta say it was not bad, I didn’t expect the wind and if you can see the flags in the pic, you can see why I tried to ignore it.    Why does the ride always start off with a headwind, yeah, the tailwind coming back is nice, but it really does not make up for the beating when going out.  I hear ya’, this is boring…but I don’t think training for anything is like having a ringside seat at a Tyson fight.  Yes, there’s a reason I bring up Tyson…more to come.

It was a nice size group, but not as large as last week.  I believe most of the guys were racing, but the guys who showed up, should-be somewhere racing.  Everything was cool until “Art”, decided to cut through the wind and pump up the pace.  The legs felt good, but the mind was wavering, thinking about the wind.  When they hit 30, I decided to cool the engines and wait for a better day to redline.

There was a lot of traffic and a guy new to the route asked me why we would have a training ride on such a busy road.  This was the first time I’ve encountered a lot of traffic, that may be the reason the pace jumped up so high, but the traffic made for some dangerous moments.  I’ve been asked a couple of times about this street…Texas Plume.

It’s the giant killer and mouse kicker.  But I had to do some bike gymnastics to simply make it to the stop sign.  As I was traveling toward the climb, there was a truck behind me.  This is not uncommon in North Texas, but he was a little too close for comfort.  Construction is being done on the lead up street and one side is blocked off, but there’s a traffic shift (think two trains changing tracks) with no traffic going on to the construction lanes.  So, this guy attempts to buzz me as we approach the lane switch…I guess he was hell-bent on getting in front of the bike rider.  Noticing this, I decide to go straight, which would take me on to the part of the road being constructed.  They are basically finished so it was safe to roll on it.  But as I went through the barricades, my front tire rolled into a crack on the road and the bike was about to go down.  The good thing is that I didn’t panic, the better thing is that reacted well by shifting my weight and bringing the bike right side up.  Close call and afterward all I could think of was “down goes Tyson, down goes Tyson!!!!” and I did not want to be that guy.

I had to take a pic from the top of Texas Plume, because 1) it’s a great view; but more importantly, it really represents a nice milestone for me.    It’s a little shaky, but the fellas were rolling past me kind of looking like, dude is seriously sight-seeing….doesn’t he know “we’s training”.   So I started my roll to the WALL.   It was uneventful except for the traffic…it was hell-a-traffic on the road.  I made decent time getting back to JPL and the rest is history.  It was a nice roll, but I’ve gotta hit the early parts of the route harder and figure out how I can get there earlier to warm-up before the roll out.

I think Shiloh was tired also, at least I think he told me that.  Or maybe I simply needed to see his name to know, hey…keep pushing, because my little man put up a hell of fight and he is my hero.  I don’t know what I was thinking when this last pic was taken, I kinda remember talking to someone about not wanting bonk and wishing my legs would move to get in the truck.  Another hard ride, another day closer to being closer.

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Roll Out

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
April 2, 2012

MOD walk shi garden pic The iRide4Shiloh campaign is my BIG idea for 2012 to raise donations for March of Dimes and raise awareness to the Infant Mortality Rate.  My son, Shiloh Stone Maxwell Adams was born January 10, 2007 (16 weeks before his scheduled due date).  We celebrated Shiloh turning 5 this year and thought this campaign would be an amazing way to honor his memory and celebrate his life. 

 Many of you may be familiar with March of Dimes and it’s role in fighting pre-term births.  You may also know about the 1 in 8 pre-term birth statistic, and you’ve probably heard that for more than 70 years, the March of Dimes has saved millions of babies and children from death and disability through it’s lifesaving research and innovative programs.  However, what at times is lost in the headlines or pushed to the back page of the news is that not every child born prematurely will survive.  In fact, nearly 7 of 1,000 births end in death, with the number increasing almost twofold for minorities.  Studies indicate premature birth is a factor in more than two-thirds of infant deaths and the U.S. preterm birth rate has gone up since 2000.

 When I read the medical and social studies, the common theme seems to center on women and health.  Obesity among women continues to rise and we’ve all read about chronic diseases and the link to obesity.  A baby is at risk of being born early when the mother suffers from high blood pressure, stress, diabetes, etc.  Research and technology is great when it comes to the fight against pre-term birth, but so much of it is designed post birth in an effort to keep your child alive.  Unfortunately, for my son, it was not enough. 

 Losing weight goes a long way to helping not only you, but the unborn child.  This brings me back to March of Dimes and its Prematurity Campaign.  The money that you donate will help educate women about risk-reduction strategies and advocate to expand access to health care coverage to improve maternity care and infant health outcomes.  The information that you share will help bring someone to realize that choosing a healthier and more active lifestyle could not only save a life, but the life of a child.  Oh, don’t forget to mention how getting in shape makes it easier to run after that toddler or take them to the park.    

This campaign is for everyone and of course, everyone who takes part, as well as completing a personal challenge ride/walk/run pledge, will be helping us raise awareness about health and fitness can reduce the Infant Mortality Rate and helping us to raise funds to fight pre-term births.  

The sunrise is making it’s way through the night, the wind is non-existent, it’s a cool 67 degrees, and a wide-open country road.  Let’s ROLL OUT!!!!!

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Training Ride 31

Filed under: iRide News, Uncategorized by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
March 29, 2012

I’m 2 days late posting info from my 1st official training ride (it’s taken that long to recover).  This past Tuesday I had a chance to roll out with some REALLY STRONG riders…big shout out to James “nzone” Jones for the invite.

The laughther and overall lightness if the group lasted about 1/2 a mile when a CAT 1 dude decided to spike the tempo.  He was followed by some CAT 3′s and soon the entire group.  I was dropped, but James hung at the back with me and showed me the route.

We rolled from Joe Pool Lake toward Texas Plum and then the WALL.  The beast in Tyler can’t touch the hemline of the wall.  I suffered tremendously on all of the climbing and cramps took me off the bike 1/2 way up the wall.

James stayed with me the entire ride giving up his training ride to help me and Shiloh.  We finally head back to JPL and a couple miles out we catch up with a guy from the group.  They ask if I’m good…I say yeah, then BOOM! they’re off in the wind.  I make it back and take inventory of myself before driving home…thighs full & burning, snot & blood on jersey, cramps, and disillusional gazing.

It’s dark, I’m tired, but I’m thinking I can’t wait to come back.  1st official training ride…1 step away from failure, 1 step closer to success!  

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Unofficial 1st Ride Report

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — Leave a comment
March 26, 2012

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I made my way to the great lil city of Bullard Tx on yesterday to take part in this years version of Beauty and tje Beast.  It was an incredible day to ride.  An hour before rolling out the temperature was a smooth 62, there was no wind and the number of participants didn’t seem to overwhelm the organizers.

I rolled out with two great veteran riders (Jay & Mike) and we had our own thing going for the entire 53 miles.  If you ride you know theres some light talk, deep talk, quiet miles, and some cuss’n and spit’n.  The constant rollers didresched get under my skin but the “fellas” kept the ride rolling by talking up the beast.

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This was the type of ride you wish you could experience every Saturday.  Did I say the weather was incredible.  We didn’t come upon any crashes and we were far enough in the front to enjoy the police escort given to the “racers”.  We got finished and chilled.

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B&B was a good tune-up for the upcoming months of heavy riding.  Oh, the beast was a “12 word” challenge and it’s NOT funny having a sign on the climb before it saying “this ain’t it’, thanks for the East Texas humor…lol.  I would’ve taken a picture but I was too busy sucking wind. A brief recap: I hit the base of the beast rolling about 26 mph.  A quarter of the wa up I’m trying to hold onto gears, but I’m dropping my mph, 19,16,12. 1/2 way up I’m at 8 mph w/legs screaming, back aching when doubt begins to set in.  Now, I’m at 6 mph, and close to the top…I try to stand up and the body says S.Y.A.D. 

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I’m cooked and ready to unclip when I see this guy about my size walking with one shoe in his hand and head hung low.  I did not want to be that guy.  Right about then here comes Mike fly’n up the beast out of the saddle. It’s too early in the year for doubt…So I kick it into overdrive and crest the beast with dignity in hand.

I didn’t have fun, but it was a hell’uv a good time!!!

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grass in the roots

Filed under: Health & Fitness, iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
March 14, 2012
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infant_mortality_chart1008 (Photo credit: msomustek)

As I approach the official kick date for the iRide4Shiloh campaign, I was reminded that it’s important to continue the effort to get everyone up to speed about Infant Mortality, as well as the developing strategies to reduce the overall rate.

I had the opportunity to explain to someone today how Infant Mortality is used to compare the health and well-being of populations across the country.  It’s important to understand that the IMR is the rate at which babies less than one year of age die.  Preterm births are directly associated with the IMR and I believe that if we lower preterm births we will accomplish the goal of reducing the IMR.  The rate has been roughly 6.9 per 1,000 live births in which an infant dies.  SIDS is another contributer to the IMR and we will definitely have a post discussing ways to prevent it. 

In my small odd world, I believe everything has a point in which the direction can be controlled.  I’ve always said, “control what you can control when you can control it” which basically means be proactive in everything you do.  When it comes to preterm births, I’m convinced that focusing on modifying behaviors, lifestyles, and conditions that affect birth outcomes makes the biggest difference when it comes to your newborns health.  It’s easy to identify smoking or substance abuse as habits that will cost your child.  But what doesn’t get equal headlines is how poor nutrition, lack of prenatal care, medical problems, and stress contribute to your childs struggles, or even death. 

The best strategy is a proactive one in which health care providers, fitness experts, dieticians, and communities of all ethnic groups partner together to improve the infant mortality rate.  The one thing I’ve noticed while trying to get this campaign off the ground is that people take the healthy birth of a child for granted.  What I’ve tried to share with folks is that, this is not all about the death of a child, and addressing certain behaviors, lifestyles, and conditions will help decrease birth defects, child obesity, and ADHD. 

The research is out there, but the challenge I’ve seen is getting folks to recognize that Infant Mortality is as signficant in our communities as cancer, diabetes, and addiction.  There are so many social diseases impacting soon to be mothers and ultimately their children that it would make sense that the best way to give your child the health he or she deserves is to first give it to yourself.   

I’ve been getting the curious raise of the eyebrow when I tell people what I’m riding for, and why it’s important.  A few have asked what they can do to help, others smile and try not to offend.  Some take action and become ambassadors for the cause. 

Everyone can play an important role in this effort by encouraging pregnant women to seek prenatal care in the first trimester.  You can also help with the grassroots effort to get the word out to folks in your community, health providers, fitness professionals, health enthusiats, pregnant women and their family members about what we are attempting to do here.  The effect infant mortality has on a family is painful and damn near impossible to overcome.  But it is not the end to reaching out and grabbing hold of brighter days.

Thank you for helping me keep my promise to Shiloh.

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