Cal's Angels WAR of Wheels

Molly…Today we rode 90 miles in frigid temperatures and hellacious headwinds. We were all bundled up with everything we packed for the trip and most of us were still cold. The effective temperature at our riding pace was 11° for the first few hours and the American flags decorating the country roads were absolutely pinned because of the 25 mile an hour winds! We decided to ride as a group today so no one would suffer through stiff winds on their own. We recognize that the suffering we put ourselves through today and over the last week does not measure to the pain and suffering that you and your fellow pediatric cancer patients have faced. I am humbled by your resilience. I am not sure I could fight as long as hard as you did, if it had any resemblance to the suffering that we’ve managed through over the last week. Molly…I will tell you that outside of doing our best to ride in your honor, was when we visited Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. We met with the doctors doing resea...

On day 8 we rode for Megan Sporny, who just passed in June of this year! She faced a long three year battle with cancer that stripped her of her physical capabilities due to paralysis…Her story is a powerful and emotional story of a young woman who faced an incredibly challenging battle with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). Megan's remarkable journey serves as an inspirational reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the importance of supporting cancer research. Today was a very difficult ride. We rode over 105 miles and climbed more than 2,600’ of the rolling landscape of southern Ohio and Indiana. That puts our 7 day total at 620 miles and nearly 40,000’ of elevation. However, the data doesn’t tell the whole story…we faced a sneaky elevation day as there were very few hills but an obvious steady eddy incline, which was made worse by the rain, the cold and a 15-20 mph headwind for the entire ride. The entire team of 23 riders were hurting, but we had to ride for Me...

Today is a very well deserved rest day! It was great to see the Cal’s Angels crew down at breakfast this morning. A couple cups of coffee, some breakfast potatoes with bacon and eggs really really hit the spot. Man oh man are we putting down the food along this journey! A huge shout out to Jeff, Scott, Milupa, Vytas, Ryan and Joe…it was an incredible experience to spend a week with you fighting the good fight to raise awareness for pediatric cancer. I look forward to finishing this ride with you on Friday the 3rd. I knocked out some email after breakfast and had the absolute pleasure of eating lunch with my good friend, Larry Orwin, who was gracious enough to drive five hours, round-trip from Cleveland to Columbus. It was good to see Larry and connect on family, friends, and fitness. Of course, Larry ran 12 miles today and hit 110 for the week! He ranked as one of the top 10 ultra marathoners in his age group (60-65) and in a couple weeks he is shooting for a world record of more than ...

For those that feel compelled to donate to the pediatric cancer research… https://charity.pledgeit.org/WOWV Liv…we rode 81 miles and ~2,500’ of elevation in your memory. I have to admit, we are all grateful for your day because while today’s ride was tough out of the gate…we faced rain, wet roads and cool temps with two big climbs of 13% and 14% right at the start. There was silver lining in that we were able to get 90% of the hard stuff out of the way over the first 30 miles and then it was like you guided us downhill for the last 50 miles and you were kind enough to blow on our backs which is allowed the group to finish together for the first time over the last six days. I’m sure you saw it from heaven, but riding through Amish country was beautiful and we got to see a handful of Amish folks leading their horse and buggies down the country roads. Their beards are something else and the land mines the horses left us created a bit of an obstacle course 🤣.  We had a wonderful lunch...

For those that feel compelled to donate to the pediatric cancer research… https://charity.pledgeit.org/WOWV To those reading today’s blog, I would ask you to settle in as it’s a little long, but well worth the read to understand the challenges that kids with pediatric cancer face everyday!!! To Blake Burton and Anya Hopkins… I wanted to let you know that we road in your honor today. I can honestly say that there is not a single person that rode today who would have finished if you were not in our hearts and minds. I would describe myself as a very fit person and today’s ride broke me physically eight or nine times!!! However, each time that I broke physically and mentally, I had encouragement of the fellow riders, and your Mom’s voices in my head listing out all the challenges you both faced in your battle against pediatric cancer. I’m not sure I can articulate how hard today was. I can just tell you that after logging 322 miles and nearly 28,000 feet of elevation over the first four d...

For those that feel compelled to donate to the pediatric cancer research… https://charity.pledgeit.org/WOWV Shane…Today was a lighter mileage day at 68 miles and significantly less elevation (3,813’) than we faced the first three days, but we didn’t want to take it easy since you didn’t have it easy. We climbed ~ 1,000’ in the first 7 miles and then we HAMMERED the sections that were safe enough to go all out! It was the minimum we could do to honor you today! Your four year battle with osteosarcoma and the fact that the doctors took drastic measures to extend your life by amputating your left leg it a testament to your unwavering courage!!! Today’s ride was very painful and we all burned a bunch of “matches” in your honor. For those that don’t understand what it means to burn a match… Simply put, to burn a match is just a way of saying that you did a hard effort. This may be up a climb or at the end of a time trial when you have pushed yourself to the limit. Think of it like this - at...

Day 3 - Cal’s Angels W.A.R. on Wheels Today we rode for Ava Olson. Ava suffered from  an incurable form of cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) which is an aggressive type of childhood cancer that forms in the brainstem. They are very rare and almost always occur in the pediatric population. Ava died 6 months and 10 days after her diagnosis.  I had the pleasure of riding with Ken Olson and the rest of the Cal’s Angels crew today. Ken told us that Ava loved “Do Rad Shit” and he wore a “DRS” hat today in her memory so when I was side by side with Ken as we descended a very steep road at over 45 miles an hour battling serious crosswinds that almost blew us off the bike and heavy traffic, Ken turns to me and says….”Ava would have loved this!” Today’s ride was special because Ken was riding with us. It was a challenging ride at times with long descents. For the most part drivers were courteous, but we got coal rolled by some jackass, and he absolutely covered us in...

If you’re reading this, and you haven’t donated, please donate. Such an amazing cause for some really amazing kids that shouldn’t have to suffer through cancer https://charity.pledgeit.org/f/A3c0f37ylV Day 2 - Cal’s Angels W.A.R on Wheels We rode for Olivia Parker. She passed away in 2021 after a 3 year battle with glioblastoma (brain tumor). I’m told she was an incredible young lady, full of humor, energy, and positivity, Today’s ride cannot replicate the pain and suffering that she went through and the pain her family goes through every day. However, I can arguably say it would not have made it if we didn’t have Olivia in our hearts and minds as this was the HARDEST thing I’ve ever done!!! Learning more about the current state of pediatric cancer research has been incredibly disheartening and motivating at the same time. I’m not sure I would put myself through this torture, if cancer didn’t exist, or the federal funding was appropriate for pediatric cancer! Only 4% of federal funding...

Day 1 - Cal’s Angels W.A.R. on Wheels In the books and we had the privilege of riding for Brooke Copeland . She is 15 years old from Geneva Illinois. She’s been battling ALL for more than two years. She sent us this picture today so there’s no amount of pain that we could endure to match what she’s going through. It was a pretty damn cold 🥶 for a ride this morning but it eventually warmed up because we were climbing some legit elevation, and the temperatures finally got above 55, but it was a beautiful day overall.  We had a legit a headwind the entire time which wasn’t fun. I’m grateful for all the people who have donated to a great cause. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!. I’m grateful for all of the people I got a chance to ride with today, including fellow Googler Justin Quattlebaum (THANK YOU for coming out JQ and guiding us past the Google office.  The path along the Potomac was very nice with a steady incline. Shit got real about 40 miles in with our first real climb. ...

After a restless night sleep I rode to the airport with four other dedicated riders. We had an uneventful trip to the airport, and an easy flight to DC with a great flight crew from United Airlines. They were gracious enough to announce that we had a large contingent of people from Cal’s Angels on the flight and the purpose of our upcoming ride. After we landed, I had the pleasure of spending some time with my good friend, Stewart Reed, and his beautiful family. Stewart offered to cook steak and roast potatoes for lunch if I agreed to bring him a couple loaves of sourdough bread. That was obviously an easy decision for me. 🤣 I won’t get much time to visit, but this is my first trip to DC. The weather is actually beautiful this afternoon and the views of our nations capital are spectacular. We have a pre-meeting at 5 PM and I need to get all of the routes loaded onto my Garmin computer. I’m hoping to get a better nights sleep, but I’m not sure it’s possible based on my excitement to st...

We are t wo days out from the Cal's Angels WAR on Wheels ride from Washington, DC to St. Charles, IL and I have to be honest that I am a bit nervous. We will face a handful of climbs ranging from 10% to 16% that are miles long, which is something I have not and cannot experience training on the flat country roads of Illinois. I've been training hard for this ride, but there's no way to simulate the feeling of grinding up a long, steep mountain. I'm worried that I'm going to bonk and have to walk my bike up the hill. Or worse, I get injured and have to drop out of it the ride altogether. I'm trying to stay positive and focus on the fact that I've trained hard and I'm prepared as I can be. I'm also going to be riding with a group of experienced cyclists who will be there to support me. I know that this is going to be a challenge, but I'm also excited to support such a fabulous charitable organization in  Cal's All Star Angel Foundation Inc. ,...