March's Chill and Spinning-for-Dollars at Shoprite

It was another weeked of mummifying myself in spandex and neoprene to stave off the cold and wind of March. Saturday offered a bit of sun, but countered with powerful gusts of wind that tried to wrench my Canondale from the road.

As we're finding out in drips and drabs, this 100-mile ride in June is no cake walk. The latest ort of information about the course included the mention of a eight-mile ascent (at an average speed of 10 mph up a hill, that means about an hour uphill, if I did my math right.

So on Saturday, they threw a 40-mile ride interspersed with a series of hills to prepare us for June. The first 20 were the worst. After that, I got used to the pain in my back and an ache in my right knee.

But the ride hurt.

On Sunday, I camped out in front of a ShopRite with two other TNT participants (Eve and Dawn) to raise money for the event. We rode our trainers from 10 am to 3pm - that's about 20 or 30 miles. To show off our TNT jerseys we took off a few layers, which made the wind especially cruel, as we were in the shade the entire time.

And some scooted by us as if we had a disease, others gave pocket change, others still donated $20-bills. We netted more than $450, which was a bit discouraging, as that's a lot of work to pedal that long in the cold. I just took $100 for the day, as the other two are not as far along in their fundraising efforts.

Me, I have about $2,600 left to raise. That's about 60 miles, using $44 as a benchmark.

I am hoping for a warm spring, when all I will have to worry about is how much water to carry and whether I missed a spot with the sunscreeen. But nomatter the weather, I will be out there. It's a good cause.

Thanks to all those who have given generously, and I hope a few others will be motivated in the near future to contribute to my efforts. Seventy-five cents of every dollar goes right to the cause.

http://www.active.com/donate/tntnonj/tntnonjEFlemin

Thanks. More updates soon.

Eric