Challenges

Congratulations to Team Dexter/Apache this past weekend. Lead by team captain Dale Sue Glass, the team raised about $4,000 for the American Cancer Society "relay for life". My wife Denise and I walked with the team for a while. The volunteers, supporters and survivors were all an inspiration. In their own way, they all stepped up and met the challenge.

Speaking of challenges, the employees at Dexter in Iowa and Apache in Wisconsin have agreed to a challenge worth every bit of the 500 miles I will ride in RAGBRAI. They have challenged each other to raise more donations per employee than the other. If Apache wins, I will head up to Wisconsin with some Iowa based managers and cook and serve lunch to everyone at Apache. If Dexter wins, Jim Freeze and his managers have to head to Iowa and cook and serve lunch to everyone at Dexter. This one is for more than donations. It is also for bragging rights. So come on everyone, step up and support cancer and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. We can't win the fight without your help. For those of you who have already made a contribution, thank you so much for your generosity. I must say, I am truly overwhelmed.

My training continues to go well. I rode about 150 miles this past week and ran 40 miles. I guess its no wonder why I am falling asleep on the couch at 8:30pm most nights! Yesterday, I rode 75 miles. My longest ride yet. I rode the same route as last week with a loop around Fairfield thrown in to get the total ride up to 75 miles. It was a great day to ride, and I felt good all around. Next weekend I plan on doing a 70 miler and a 50 miler on consecutive days to see how I respond to back-to-back long rides.

This weeks picture shows off my new RAGBRAI 2007 cycling jersey. It came a few days ago with all my credentials for the ride. Very exciting! Now all I need is for my Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG jersey and my Wisconsin Badger jersey to arrive and I'll be all set. And yes, I would wear a Hawkeye jersey one day during RAGBRAI if I had one.

Well that's all for this week. Get out for a walk or go for a bike ride and LIVESTRONG!

See you down the road.

Pat