Here I go again...

Hi everyone,
I've created this blog to keep you up to date on my fundraising and training for Pelotonia 2009. As you all know, I am not the most aerodynamic person on the planet, and gravity has a pretty strong hold on me, so riding 100 miles on a bike through Hocking Hills and Athens isn't going to be easy, but I know I can do it. I'm in training for an Olympic distance triathlon in July, and am throwing some longer distance bike rides in on the weekends to get ready for 100 miles on August 29.

For those that don't know, this is the first year for Pelotonia, and it's a bike ride from Columbus to Athens. Riders must agree to raise a certain amount of money based on the distance they want to ride, and 100% of the donations go to The OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center for cancer research. Another cool thing about this ride, is Lance Armstrong will be riding it as well.

Yesterday I found out that to get up hills when my legs feel like they're full of sand, I need to get really mad at my bike and the hill. Jenni and I were out on a ride and at mile 35, of this ride, there are 2 hills. I tried to take the first one, the longer hill, as fast as I could only to find out that doing that just about made me puke... On hill 2, the steeper hill, I just got mad and my mind set was as if I was fighting the hill, and I won that fight.

We also saw what happens when someone takes their focus off the road, their bike, who's around them and what they're doing for 1 second. We rode past a large group of cyclists pulled over on the side of the road, and 1 guy was down, bloody, and when asked if they needed anything, their answer was "we have it, keep riding!" After hearing that, the ambulance sirens, and seeing what we saw as we rode by, I'm thinking there was someting twisted, broken, etc, that can make me not want to get back on my bike. I hope everything turned out as good as possible for them, and that rider heals quickly.

I have some long routes mapped out and am looking forward to riding them every week. With the distances I'm riding now, each long ride is the farthest I've been on a bike. Yesterday's ride was 37 hilly miles.

If you would like to donate, please visit http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=2922&RiderName=Aaron%20Hoops&SearchStart=0&PAGING.

Until next time, I promise to keep the rubber side down!
Aaron