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Dude & Mini Dude's 2016 Ride-2-Survive

Dude

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Hey guys.

I'm a bit late to the party this year in getting my page up, but better late than never.

This is my 8th R2S, and Michael's 3rd.
2015 is here: http://takethepiss.com/threads/dude-mini-dudes-2015-ride-2-survive.18294/

Previous years posted there....

Here's the donation page for 2016: http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Otherspecialevents/IFE_BC_even_?px=5735705&pg=personal&fr_id=20552

We've been riding a lot, and it's only going to ramp up from here. This year Michael has chosen to focus his primary efforts on road racing, which means a lot of saddle time. Me, I signed up for my second Ironman, only as an exercise in recovering pride left out on the course in 2014. That, combined with the rest of life and Dude Inc slowly and steadily eating away at my soul means I've neglected getting this going.

Basically, as much as this event is close to my heart, this is about me supporting my kid and his endeavors. Cycling has been a massive part of my life, his, and of course ours together as father and son. R2S, and the people involved have been right at the heart of that.

Here are some "over the years" photos of his life on bikes. We'll keep you up to speed on training. Please take some time to click on our page, and to learn more about R2S at www.r2s.ca .

-Mike & Michael.
 

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Regs

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Every year you create inspiration with this event @Dude - donation to the cause coming up soon from me, plus I believe @oldtimer asked for some of his cash winnings from the TTP pools completed in December to be put towards this.

He may have changed his mind after the self-like debacle you've caused though.

:)
 

Dude

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Not my fault. If you'd just give me my own self-like power, and nobody else, this wouldn't be a problem.

:D

Thanks again for the platform to tell our story. TTP over the years has been, in my estimation, about 80% of the donations brought in through my page...so it is much appreciated.
 

oldtimer

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Yes. go ahead @Regs....donate all my winnings, in spite of all the trouble he's caused you :DI will do it for Michael, really great to see the youngsters who believe in a cause and dedicate themselves to it. Great job Michael...and Dude too!
 

Dude

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Training update #1…

We’ve been racing. Because of my other planned events outside of R2S (one ½ Ironman in June, Ironman Canada in July), and because Michael is keen to see how he can do in road racing if he’d actually focused on it for a season, instead of, you know, just kind of doing it while focusing on BMX, we’ve taken a bit of a different tactic this season.

He trains every Tuesday at Fortius with his team doing strength and conditioning, and has been on the bike at least 2 other days during the week- till now. Once April kicks in, it’ll likely be 4-5 times / week on the bike. While he’s there, I spend time in their “Cauldron”, the indoor bike lab that designs workouts based on % of your measured FTP (Functional Threshold Power).

I need to get more pure speed in my legs…it’s nice to be strong, but that alone ensures I finish in the dark in July, and I’d rather finish while the sun in still up. Training off FTP is very scientific, and I understand very little of it…except that I need to be able to maintain 75% of my 255 FTP for the Ironman bike leg in order to finish that portion of the race in under 6 hours…so that is my focus for Spring. Increasing my FTP while also increasing the amount of time I can hold a high % of FTP. Racing is the one way to do that by fault. So, I decided to race while Michael is racing, and gain speed that way. It also meant training w/ the Escape Velocity race club with Michael while he is training with their Devo Team. Every weekend since the second weekend of January has been spent on training rides with them, or in the case of two of the past four, racing.

Michael races in what the local Spring Series terms “C” Group. There is A (pro/elite), B (near pro/elite/hoping not to get promoted), C (still quite good), and D (novice, or guys that have re-classified down because they haven’t raced in a while, or injury, or…). In my first race out, they placed me in D, since the last time I actually raced road was when I was about Michael’s age. I thought I’d be better placed in C, but there you go. Just like in the FVSL, you need to win your way up.

My first race went really well, I sat near the front all race to watch for breaks and help answer them if needed. By last lap, me and a group of 5 were doing well to control the bunch. I made a move, a bit early, and two others slipped by me to snag 1 & 2. Podium, not bad. First impression? NOT a novice group, LOL. It was more like going golfing w/ @sixfyv , but at least in this case I could actually golf. A lot of guys who clearly were experienced, and strong, but maybe not feeling enough love to go up and battle the C group. This was also a flat course, so there wasn’t a lot of separation.

Michael raced the same course w/ the C group, but one more lap than us- so actually longer. Ours was 40, his was 60. He did great, statyed with the pack, stayed close enough to the front, and finished in the main 1st pack, just couldn’t get close enough to contest the sprit to the line. A great 1st race.

Race weekend #2 neither of us could attend (I was skiing and drinking every last bit of booze in Whistler, Michael was playing hockey in a tourney). Last weekend I was coaching, but Michael raced.

He’s been having some issues w/ exercise induced asthma, and last weekend it reared itself. He abandoned 1/3 of the way in with an attack. But, we learned a lesson- he’s allowed to race w/ his puffer.

This weekend he raced with his puffer in hand. The course was out around Bradner in Abby, on the North side of the highway. Very hilly 9 KM course. Basically, you climb the whole time, because after the descent, you are back into climbing. It seems you spend almost most of the loop climbing, and only a small part recovering.

Again he raced C group, and the group busted apart right away. He was spat out the back, but stayed in it. They raced 8 loops, and he did very well just to finish strong…the only rider under 20 to actually finish the race. It was a hard bloody course, finished 65 km in a solid 2:17. Very proud of his guts, while other kids his age had all dropped out after 4 or 5 loops.

I raced in D / Sandbagger. How did I know? Well, not counting my rookie experience earlier in the month, we did the first climb at a 40 KM/hour pace, which blew up our group. Our race was only 5 loops, so the paced stayed high the whole time. By the end of lap 2, there we 6 of us with a solid 2 minute gap on the next group, and the rest of D group spread out. We played a few games till the last hill, and once again I made my move a bit too early…my matches burnt out with about 20 meters to the line, when all 5 blew past me for the top 5 podium spots. Fcuk me, schooled by more savvy racers again. But at least I know I can hang with these liars, and likely be moved up to C by the end of Spring season based on points.

Decided to ride home, since my IM training plan called for 90-100 KM ride, and a nice ride through Fort Langley and home made up for the extra distance I needed. I finished around 95 km for the day, a solid day of racing / riding.

We anticipate joining in w/ the R2S Group in April, perfect timing for their longer training rides.

I’m looking forward to riding with the group again…it’s what I’ve done every spring for the last 7 years, and it kinda feels wrong not riding with them right now. But, we both need to get in these harder miles to cover off the other goals, but we’ll be well prepared for the longer distances, as those are only starting to ramp up now. R2S did 92 today in their training ride.

Thanks for reading…this and maybe a couple of other blogs are my only means of soliciting these days. As most of you know, I don’t push hard, just try to tell my story and hope some of you can resonate with it. I count myself pretty luck in the fight against the big C. Yes, we’ve lost family- who hasn’t- but my immediate family has not (yet) been dealt a big blow. Honestly, it scares the shite out of me, and when you have kids, it is the fear of them being hit that scares you…not the fear of it hitting me personally. I honestly don’t know what I’d do. I’ve met folks who’ve lost their kids. I have a hard time comprehending how they have such a positive outlook, but them, that is also what motivates me. This is something I can do to build awareness of what these programs actually to, and give a platform. I’m a lucky SOB in many ways- most ways, actually. Health, a good income, great kids, great marriage, great lifestyle, and did I mention health? Sometimes I feel like there is another shoe to drop. This ride and raising funds, to me, feels like the right thing to do. The riding part is the easy part…

If fundraising for Cancer Research is close to your heart, please consider donating through our page (see first post, this thread).

Thanks for reading,

-Mike & Michael.
 

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Dude

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It’s been a while, time for an update!

It’s pretty much been all training, all the time. I’m tired. All. The. Time. But, that’s a good thing; chaos is good.

I refuse to use the word “busy” anymore, because it’s always associated with being a negative. I.e.: “Fcuk off, I’m busy.” Not very nice. So I save that for only special occasions. Replacing the word “busy” in my everyday talk is chaos. Things are chaotic in the Dude household. The newest Mini Dudedette is a full blown psychopath. At 18 months, she rules the house. Runs everywhere. Yells everything. Never, ever, tires. Basically, it’s Leila’s world, and the rest of us just exist in it. Honestly, I repeat it almost every day, she’s the best thing to happen to our family in ages. Not that we weren’t tight before, but…she’s our bonus baby, and she simply flipped our world on our ear. In a good way.

Michael is fully committed to training and racing on the road bike, which is awesome, because it means we can mesh schedules. It also means I’ve been full on bitten by the road racing bug. Not surprisingly, but it wasn’t part of the plan for this year.

The latest was a race called “Jeremey’s Roubaix”, which is a play on words off the famous Paris-Roubaix. Paris-Roubaix is famous for its cobble and dirt sections along a grueling 260 KM course. Our race was not quite so grueling, but no less epic. The course is in Pitt Meadows, on the South side of the highway right near the bridge. The looped course travels 5 KM along the roads till a sharp right onto the gravel path on the dyke.

My Sandbager class got merged with Michael’s C group- which meant I finally got a chance to race with my son!

Our race was six laps, and I soon found out that Sandbagger C is a touch faster than Sandbagger D. The pace was high- average about 38 KPH. It seemed like the gas was always on, attacks always happening, and I was always in the group of guys answering. Crazy. Once on the dyke, the 2-line formation rarely changed…with the exception of the last lap! As soon as lap 6 started, it was attack after attack. One had to keep one’s head on a swivel, but man, was I ever loving it. We hit the gravel again, and unlike the other laps, it was full on. The front grew to about 4 guys wide on the path as we all sort of jockeyed for position. As we neared the end of the dyke, and the widow maker corner that would decide final sprint position, I looked down at my Garmin…and we were doing 45. On the gravel On skinny little road bike tires. It was awesome. I look over at my buddy Gar, and yelled, “Fcuk this is fun!”. And it was. I’ve raced BMX, mountain XC, Enduro, and DH…and this was by far the most fun. Hooked.

It seemed like seconds after yelling at Gary, two riders get tangled and literally fly off to the left into the bush, one doing a full-on cartwheel. They were ok, so in my head I'm thinking "two fewer guys to try and get around". As we approach the final corner- a sharp right downhill corner off the dyke onto the road and final sprint to the line, another guy goes down. His bike shifts sideways and takes up 1/2 the lane, right in the middle. Definitely BMX racing skills same in handy for a quick recovery and maneuver around the corner.

By then the final bunch splintered. If you were luck enough / good enough / smart enough to be right at the front and avoid the crash, you had a clean exit and clear lane. The rest of us battled for scraps off the podium.

My "novice" group was bunched in with Cat 4, where I expect to get promoted to next season based on points. Happy to take 15th overall, 2nd novice, but more important happy to be able to hang with these animals. Definitely faster than my Sandbagger D group.

Honestly, going back to the solitude of Ironman training is so hard after a race like that. Oh well, risks of crashing be damned, it’s too fun.

Michael unfortunately got dropped on lap 2, but I was still able to find this one photo of him suffering in the pain cave. Getting dropped is a lonely proposition in road racing. The pack is the vacuum. Fall off the vacuums, and there is no coming back. And no, I had no shame about staying in while he dropped. I’m on borrowed time with him before he crushes me. The photo I posted of him is a good shot of what it is like in the pain cave.

Last weekend was a big training weekend for me, spent in Whistler riding a portion of the Ironman bike course, then running the marathon route on Sunday (it’s a two lap race, I “just” did one. Seriously, I don’t know what exactly compels me to do this shite to myself. Probably stubbornness mixed with narcissism. 50/50? 40/60? It probably floats from one scale to the other.

If you haven’t seen this video, watch it. I can definitely relate to that pool these days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh9jAD1ofm4

That being said, we did ski on Sunday, after my run. Blue bird day, sun’s out, guns out for the last ski day of the year on Whistler. It was like 15 deg C up top. Killer.

Michael and I are up here again this weekend on a training mission, the girls stayed home. Tomorrow is another big day on the bike. I’ll run the course again Sunday, then swim, he’ll do a recovery ride. In between, we’ll bar-b-q steaks and just hang out.

Fundraising wise, I have done next to nothing…except for one big thing. Contradictory? I guess…

On April 8th we (Mrs. Dude, my oldest daughter, and Michael) attended an R2S Fundraiser put on by Nasir Kamrudin, a second year rider in R2S, and owner of Surrey Honda. This guy is a fundraising machine, last year, and again this year, he’s donating a car. A fcuking car. Well, including this year, two fcuking cars. He’s the man.

The cars are raffled off, FYI. I will post some info at some point.

Anyhow, he and one other rider who happens to be an event coordinator threw this thing together in about 4 weeks- and sold the joint out! Tickets were $75.00 a pop, and if they had double the space, they would have sold that as well. The big thing for me was a silent auction for riders. Whatever we donated, 100% of the proceeds went to our page. We donated three separate weeks to our condo in Whistler, and were able to raise $2250.00 (soon to be posted up on my site)! Pretty kick ass. That leaves us exactly $1,050.00 to go to reach our goal. Pretty pleased with that. It was also a fun night out with my girls and son…though we had to leave Leila at home. It wasn’t a baby friendly event, much less Leila The Destroyer friendly. She would have picked the lock on the Honda and stolen it, then I’d have to try and explain that it’s a normal thing, her stealing things and taking off…and hiding them where you can’t find them. Still looking for a wallet and a set of keys that went missing recently.

So, we are getting down to crunch time now. Basically two months to ride day! That’s nuts. We’ll be ready, and we’ll get there with our fundraising, too.

Not to forget WHY we do this…and everyone has their reasons. How has Cancer affected you? Some, very profoundly. I’m not one of those people, I can say with honesty. Yes, it’s touched us, but I have sat with grown men over a beer while they told me through their tears about losing a child…which represents my biggest fear- that this will strike them. I don’t ever want to live that hell. I love bikes, I love soccer, but I live for them.

Michael has his reason…to honor his Grandfather, Mohammed. I am sure Abba is up there, somewhere, just totally chuffed for his grandson, and his dedication to this. I am. As challenging as raising a son, now a young man, is (at 16, he’s going through all the typical stuff that…well…we did as 16 year olds), I can say that I have a really good kid who gives a shite about something, and wants to do something about it. Sure, he couldn’t care less about school, but he cares about this…it’s his community. I guess I’m pretty chuffed, too.

My one and only rule: you don’t have to donate to my cause. I’m a firm believer in “paying it forward”, and all I really care about is that my friends pay it forward, somehow, in their own way. But, if raising money for Cancer Research is important to you, please consider donating through my page. Not one cent goes to overhead, either at the R2S level or CCS level. If you want to support us in this cause, go here to donate: http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Otherspecialevents/IFE_BC_even_?px=5735705&pg=personal&fr_id=20552

Thanks guys, we’ll be back in touch soon!

~Mike & Michael- Team Kick Ass.
 

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Dude

Lifetime Better Bastard
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RF- thanks again for the very generous donation and getting the ball rolling.

Dedications this year?
 

Dude

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Great ride today. I pushed the pace a little; to Pemby from Whistler, including a 50 KM flat section through to the end of the paved road in Pemberton Meadows. This is a tough ride; the last bit from Pemby up to Whistler licks balls.

It was only three of us (a buddy also training for Ironman came and joined us), and the ride home from Pemby to Whistler was a drop ride. Lots of wind, and that is tough on skinny children riding bikes. In the end, I pulled into the condo and he was only 5 minutes back. A super solid effort by Mini Dude on an important training ride for us both.

Naturally, I rewarded him with ice cream. I'm sure if you asked him, he crushed those hills with the ice cream being the key motivational factor...not killing cancer, of course.
 

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Dude

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@Reds-16, never met you, but thanks very much for the generous donation! As you are new to this, you get a dedication. Post here or shoot me a note as to who my ride should be dedicated to / in honor of.
 

Reds-16

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Thanks Dude, it is a great thing you do.

I lost one of the young ladies that I had coached from the time she was twelve, she passed away a year and a half ago at the age of 31 she played ball for me for 19 years before leaving us way too early. She was the strongest young woman I have ever met and she will always be in my heart.

Please dedicate your ride in memory of Layla.
 

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