LUNA-TICS TEAM ROOM: Year-round "Looney" fun.

[Tombeur]

I have hesitated while I resign myself to doing fewer meters than I have in prior years. Between taking my wife every day to radiation treatments for breast cancer while she is mending from a severe sprain of her foot and other responsibilities I may not add much to the team's total. But I confess to being moved that you noticed my absence and invited me to join the Loonies in this favorite challenge second only to the charity row from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. And so, while I am also feeling more acutely the effects of age I will shortly add the 44, 000 + meters I rowed and skied these past four days to the team's total. Hopefully, I can stay close to this pace. Again, thanks for the reminder. Tom

oh no :[ sending a lot of healing/healthy thoughts to your wife..sorry that she joined the club....

Thanks everyone for the healing thoughts for Karen. It would take some explanation, but the prognosis is actually very good, probably because it was caught early in a mammogram. Tom

[Drivetofast]

Sorry to hear that Tom

[Kona2]

This will go well with my orange Buttercup hoodie...

As another Pedal the Plains rides off into the sunset, the road bike gets put away. I rode the entire first day, most of the second, and all 70 miles of the last day. Many moons had passed since my last 70 mile day - but, as always, the perspective of others often helps - as does the thought on day 3 of "I've got to get out of here and the only way to where my car is parked is on my bike." Motivation strikes in many ways. I put in at least 150 of the 177 possible.

This was not one of my favorite routes, but there are always good things in a ride. This one was about knowing you can weather the storm. Literally. The closeness to Denver of the route start brought out a whopping 40 percent increase in ridership - and the registration tables were just not ready for it. Our start out of Kersey was delayed by up to an hour - and with 50 miles to get done, it pushed the finish times to near darkness. The last education stop was at The Wild Animal Sanctuary - and people wanted to spend quite a lot of time there. This put us at rush hour on Friday night on a main regional highway...and some drivers weren't happy with our presence.

Sherpaville

The Sherpa Packer is the outfit that takes care of Ride the Rockies and Pedal the Plains. These pointy hat tents are about 9 to 10 feet tall, and have a center pole. Air mattresses and sleeping bag are provided - and your luggage gets moved about for you. It's a good deal. Lights similar to the popular strings of patio bulbs you may have seen have adorned the tent row in the past, but were so tangled in last year's wind storm that I think the Sherpa people said they were dropping that ambiance. One thing you can count on with the plains is wind....and Sherpaville turns into Sleepy Hollow scary when it's windy. About 10 pm on Friday night, the gale forces started up. My C2 tent (you will recall that I was set up next to SANE) was on the leading edge...and the sides of the tent were coming in a good three feet with each gust. I wondered if impalement might be possible and after packing up all my scattered belongings back into my bag, burrowed down in my sleeping bag. If wind was going to knock down the tent, I didn't want all my gear scattered EVERYWHERE. The winds continued strong for three hours, and then mysteriously went elsewhere. Since it was now quieter, it was very easy to hear the train. And the coyotes.

Keenesburg to Brush! was the second day. The cold front brought in by the previous night's wind made for a cold, gloomy start. LOT of headwind. Buttercup gave it a go, and then said "I'm taking the sag wagon to the lunch spot," and rode on from there. The sun came out and the skies were blue. Rough roads - and many of the education stops were related to natural gas companies and energy production. Local community band made for a fun evening, and then the rain started coming down. Tent was sea-worthy and no storm surge occurred.

Keenesburg back to Kersey and where the car was parked...70 miles. But. As one fellow said at the lunch at halfway point, think of it as you're going out for a 35 mile ride. So I started a countdown on the second half of the 70. It was a four Pepe le Pew day. You are gasping for air, and then you are gasping when you meet up with a Pepe that has become one with the pavement. Lots of acres of hay bales...and the trucks carrying some of those large triscuit rolls of hay are big. Sort of sucks you and your bike right along when they pass.


So, even though woefully less prepared than usual, I did find my bike legs on day 3..but need a recovery day. Rowing, and walking, are helping keep me going! No flats = successful ride!

[bg]

wow k2...what an amazing adventure :] you are such a rockstar and thanks for sharing it :} enjoy your well earned recovery :]

[Kona2]

Tombeur -

I, too, am so sorry to hear about the challenge you and Karen are facing. I wish her a speedy and continued recovery. The stats say that one out of three women (and lesser numbers of men) will get breast cancer...and the older we get, the higher the incidence rate. Vigilance for sure on preventive care and monitoring.

The other thing was about amount of meters you can put in the team meter piggy bank during the Fall Challenge. I'd say we're not proud - we'll take anything...but that would so not be true. We ARE proud. Everyone gets jazzed by the efforts of those on the team - and somehow it makes it even more motivating when we know that someone on the team is still contributing even though they are fighting personal battles with illness, or have increased family responsibilities for other reasons. You took the time to respond with a personal story that touches many on the team...and I thank you for sharing. So. Contribute what you can - and know that your story probably added quite a few other meters to the coffers. That's just the way it works. And thanks to Drivetofast for giving you a shout out to say "where the heck are you, man?"- it was the right thing to do.

And the third thing....I almost convinced myself that I couldn't bike as many miles once that magic number 65 hit this year..and then there was this 87 year old guy on the route who was kicking butt. He has ridden 31 RAGBRAIs and a bunch of other rides that add up to thousands of miles. He puts a laminated sign on the back of his recumbent for all of us to see. Since this Pedal the Plains was dubbed "The Wild Ride", he had two tiger tails on the back of his recumbent too - and we all saw them because he was moving right along, and usually in front of the pack. It STILL all comes down to mental toughness...and you've got that.

I was going to send this as a PM, but decided that it really applies to all of us.

[Drivetofast]

Dan thanks again for another great job with stats.

[Kona2]

Day 5 of 31...

Slippage....Lunies are in 8th spot...https://log.concept2.com/challenges/ftc/2018/teams

MILESTONES..Bragging Rights...Celebrations:


1.45 MM David A
650 K Dough
450 K Dennis

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

Jeff M 1,008 m
Debbie 2,000 m
Stefan 4,938 m
Kevin 5,000 m
Patrick H 5,000 m
bg 5,018 m
Tom M 6,000 m
FRiC 6,199 m
David W 6,414 m
david w (GBR) 7,000 m
Remon 7,008 m
Howard 7,010 m
David T 7,332 m
Mikkel 8,015 m
Ian 8,238 m
Dennis 10,000 m
Derric 10,000 m
Kellee 10,000 m
Lynne 10,000 m
Ted 10,000 m
Ed 10,001 m ...a one aught palindrome!
Doug 11,014 m
AJ 11,056 m
Richard T 11,301 m
Dan O' 14,610 m
Minnie 16,254 m ...where have all the palindromes gone...
David A 18,336 m
Donna 23,391 m ...she moons us!

[danwho]

Dan thanks again for another great job with stats.

Thanks. Just makes me appreciate a little bit of what K2 does day after day...

(a little bit of a slow shuffle on a recovery day )

[bg]

Dan thanks again for another great job with stats.

Thanks. Just makes me appreciate a little bit of what K2 does day after day...

(a little bit of a slow shuffle on a recovery day )

thanks from me too :]

[Tombeur]

Tombeur -

I, too, am so sorry to hear about the challenge you and Karen are facing. I wish her a speedy and continued recovery. The stats say that one out of three women (and lesser numbers of men) will get breast cancer...and the older we get, the higher the incidence rate. Vigilance for sure on preventive care and monitoring.

The other thing was about amount of meters you can put in the team meter piggy bank during the Fall Challenge. I'd say we're not proud - we'll take anything...but that would so not be true. We ARE proud. Everyone gets jazzed by the efforts of those on the team - and somehow it makes it even more motivating when we know that someone on the team is still contributing even though they are fighting personal battles with illness, or have increased family responsibilities for other reasons. You took the time to respond with a personal story that touches many on the team...and I thank you for sharing. So. Contribute what you can - and know that your story probably added quite a few other meters to the coffers. That's just the way it works. And thanks to Drivetofast for giving you a shout out to say "where the heck are you, man?"- it was the right thing to do.



And the third thing....I almost convinced myself that I couldn't bike as many miles once that magic number 65 hit this year..and then there was this 87 year old guy on the route who was kicking butt. He has ridden 31 RAGBRAIs and a bunch of other rides that add up to thousands of miles. He puts a laminated sign on the back of his recumbent for all of us to see. Since this Pedal the Plains was dubbed "The Wild Ride", he had two tiger tails on the back of his recumbent too - and we all saw them because he was moving right along, and usually in front of the pack. It STILL all comes down to mental toughness...and you've got that.

I was going to send this as a PM, but decided that it really applies to all of us.

I am very grateful to receive this thoughtful and encouraging message. And not just because of its substance or because it is well written. Everything you post is meaningful and well written. You obviously took time in a crowded schedule to put together these healing and timely thoughts and I appreciate that. And yes, a special thanks to "Drivetofast" for the jump start. Whlie moments of introspection can be a benefit--perhaps--it is better to be in the fray and on the move. I hope your email encourages others to get in the game even if this time around they will fall short of their historically higher batting average. After all, 3 x 4000 is equal to 1 x 12000 and arguably more securely grounded.

[Kona2]

Dan thanks again for another great job with stats.

Thanks. Just makes me appreciate a little bit of what K2 does day after day...

(a little bit of a slow shuffle on a recovery day )

I like the energizer bunny - especially the new commercials. Jazzy! And the pups don't know slow shuffle - they want high speed...and off we went! After initially greeting me, they both immediately sat in front of the door - ready for their walks.

Here's the Tiger man of RAGBRAI fame who rode Pedal the Plains. I think we were in front of Western Sugar Refinery - a factory that they are re-opening! Makes GW sugars....

[Kona2]

We're in 8th....and we can change that!!

Here's the Challenge team standings: https://log.concept2.com/challenges/ftc/2018/teams


Hope you are too, because we've got some erging to do! This taken at one of the produce farms in Brush!

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

3.05 MM Ed
1.1 MM Tombeur
1.05 MM Dan O'
400 K FRiC
300 K Tom M
250 K Stefan

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

Tony 1,111 m ...a onesie palindrome!
Rich M 2,000 m
Patrick H 5,000 m
Steve W 5,000 m
bg 5,017 m
Bernie 5,037 m
Kevin 5,093 m
Jeff D 5,405 m
David T 6,000 m
Tom R 6,329 m
Tom M 6,500 m
FRiC 8,624 m
Peter G 9,515 m
Derric 10,000 m
Rick 10,000 m
Stefan 10,236 m
danwho 11,011 m ...a double aught double palindrome!
David A 11,256 m
Tim 12,779 m
Dennis 13,431 m ...a palindrome!
Dan O' 14,032 m
Donna 14,109 m
Jane 14,241 m ...a palindrome!
Minnie 15,151 m ...a palindrome!!!
Louis 20,000 m
Doug 21,735 m ...and he moons us!
Tombeur 22,588 m ...a double five double! AND he moons us!
Richard T 23,419 m...he moons us!
Keith 26,000 m ... he moons us!
Ed 33,333 m ....a threesie palindrome! And he moons us!
Ken 35,000 m ...he moons us!

[Kona2]

We're still in 8th...

Last day of summmmrr....ENJOY it!

Starting to see more of our teammates check in for the 2018 season - this is a good thing! Welcome back to Kerry McB and Jim M!


MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

2.155 MM Richard T
800 K Keith
750 K danwho
600 K Ian
450 K Derric
400 K Tim
400 K David W
400 K Donna
50 K Jeff D

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us.




Jim M 2,000 m
Kerry McB 2,005 m
Jeff M 3,518 m
Patrick H 5,000 m
William H 5,000 m
Bernie 5,024 m
Kevin 5,676 m
Tom M 6,000 m
Jeff D 6,234 m
Tim 7,611 m
David T 9,832 m
Roy 10,000 m
Mikkel 10,032 m
danwho 11,011 m ...a double aught double palindrome!
Tombeur 11,551 m
bg 12,200 m
Keith 13,000 m
Howard 14,033 m
Lynne 16,000 m
David W 16,320 m
Trista 16,768 m
Richard T 18,521 m
Rick 20,000 m
Lane 20,013 m
Doug 21,097 m ...he moons us!
Ian 21,223 m ...he moons us!
Stefan 21,509 m
Dan O' 28,634 m ...he moons us!
Donna 31,563 m ...she moons us!
Ed 43,334 m ...a full moonish palindrome!
Derric 43,612 m ...a full moon plus some!

[Kona2]

And now it is well and truly Fall...

The stalwart Lunie Fall Team Challenge crew is keeping us in the game at the 8th spot, and thank you all for your efforts! I have been busy with previously made commitments, but hope to be contributing some m's soon.

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

1.2 MM Minnie
1.15 MM Jane
1.1 MM Dan O'
700 K Doug
350 K ATX33

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

Jeff M 1,013 m
David T 4,500 m
FRiC 4,850 m
Steve W 5,000 m
Richard T 5,280 m ....mile high...
Jeff D 5,332 m
Louis 6,000 m
Tom M 6,000 m
Dan O' 8,013 m
ATX33 8,122 m
Rich McC 8,254 m
Stefan 10,000 m
Jane 10,001 m ...whew! A palindrome!
Doug 10,556 m
Tombeur 12,446 m
Minnie 15,128 m
AJ 21,388 m...he moons us!
Keith 22,000 m ...he moons us, too and continues on his even thousands meter entries!



And where IS ?? Might be busy checking basque country roots!

[Drivetofast]

K2, What you Contribute every day by doing stats is enough. Sit back and relax and come up with more bunny trails.