Radio Shack 2010 Bikes

I have to admit that sometimes I can't help but being jealous of all the pro cyclist that i follow and reading first hand the free bikes and gear they all receive.  I can tell you this.  Before my days on this earth are done I will own a Trek Madone 6.5 or higher bike.  I know that by just owning one I will increase my overall speed by at least 1/2 mph and also increase my cycling coolness by about 100%

Check out the first 2010 "THE SHACK" Team bike right off the Trek line.

Bicycling Safety PSA

I thought this was a great 30 second clip on driver / bicycle safety.  Too bad we're all not made of legos.

MS150 Ride for 2009 Complete

I'd like to thank everyone who donated to this years MS150 Ride to benefit Multiple Sclorosis.  The ride was very hilly and very challenging.

Prior to the MS 150 being held in Greenville, SC it was held in Myrtle Beach, SC for over 20 years.  A decision was made to move the MS 150 to Greenville for whatever reason.  I liked the idea because I live in Greenville so it's convienent for me and my cycling buddies.  Well if anyone has been to the eastern coast it's relatively flat so most riders who chose to sign up for the MS 150 in Greenville were in for a bit of a shock.  In the upstate we have rolling hills and some challenging climbs.  The hills are not too bad, but they are tough and after 60, 70+ miles the hills get harder as the day goes on.

Day 1 covered 80.34 miles with 4300 feet of climbing averaging about 16.3mph.  The starting temperature for the day was 48 degrees.  Day 1 MS150 Route details from Garmin Edge 305.

Day 2 covered 36 miles with 2300 feet of climbing averaging about 16.1mph.  The starting temperature for the day was 46 degrees. Day 2 MS150 Route Details from Garmin Edge 305 GPS

We chose not to do the 60+ miles for day 2 since it was going to take us up some very steep hills into Saluda and Tigerville.  I wanted to be able to walk at work on Monday so it was probably a wise idea to take it easier on day 2.

I've posted some pictures of myself during the day 2 ride below.

This is me sporting my Hincapie sportswear cycling gear.  In my opinion the best cycling gear you can buy.  The other plus is that the company headquarters is also located in Greenville, SC so occasionally you get some super cheap deals at their warehouse sale.  How good of a sale?  Try buying $702 worth of retail cycling gear for just over $150!  Check out their website at Hincapie Sportswear.

This is a picture of me completing the end of the day 2 ride.  I chose not to ride my LiveSTRONG bike on day 2 because there was much more climbing than day 1 and wanted to be able to walk on Monday.  I built up a Felt F65 with SRAM Rival Compact Cranks and very light Industry Nine Ego wheels.  The wheels retail for $1100 but I got them super cheap from a contact I know.  Safe to say I didn't pay anywhere near retail for the wheels.  Information on the wheels can be found a Industry Nine Ego Wheelset.   My Felt bike weights in ride at 17.2 with the tool bag.

Overall the whole weekend was great and I had a great time riding with my buddy Jeff Meadors.  We pushed pretty hard most of the time.  With the exception of some cramping between miles 60 and 70 during day 1 the ride was fantastic!

Custom LIVESTRONG Road Bike with Video

My name is Tim Thome and I live in Greenville, SC. First off, I’m not affected by cancer but quite the opposite, I’m inspired by it.  I have, however, had loved ones near and dear to me lose their battle with cancer.  This is my dedication to my grandmother, grandfather and uncle all of whom were taken by this disease. I watched all 3 of them fight for years until they could no longer continue. I watched cancer rob them of their future and dreams. Cancer is a thief; it takes the ones you love away without saying a word. Cancer took my grandmother away, robbing me of the pleasure of having her hold my children; robbing me of having her see me graduate high school, college and get married.

I built this dedication bike for various reasons. First and foremost to honor my grandmother who was my teacher, my support system and probably my biggest fan ever. Secondly to spread the word about what we can do together to fight cancer. And lastly, I have been inspired by someone that just a few years ago I didn’t know much about other than his achievements in the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong.

I started riding 3 years ago and quickly fell in love with cycling. For me it’s a love/hate relationship. I love riding, but hate it when it gets hard to pedal. I can only think how this feeling must translate to cancer patients. You have good days and bad days.

When I had read that Lance announced his return to cycling to spread the LiveSTRONG message I quickly became drawn to it because of my newfound cycling experiences. I knew I could help out the cause with my cycling efforts. Yes, I had heard of LiveSTRONG; yes I knew it was about fighting cancer, but so are many other charities, but LiveSTRONG included cycling so I knew this was different. I recently finished reading the book LANCE: The Making of the World Greatest Champion . I didn’t know just how much I and this other 38 year old dude had in common. I, too, am 38 and I had come from a broken family, had many less than favorable father figures, and wanted to prove everyone wrong and break the cycle by making something out of myself and raising a family in a stable environment. This isn’t a review of the book; it’s just that I could closely relate to this guy and his attitude and how he’s been able to channel his anger into many positive things including beating cancer. Trust me when you’ve had nothing in your life; you fight hard not to go back. You fight HARD!

It wasn’t until I started cycling that I figured out I can help many groups who not only fight cancer but also those stricken with MS by riding in the MS150. I could help the home bound by riding in our Wheels for Meals ride which supports Meals on Wheels. I could do a number of things. So I asked myself “what could I do to spread the message besides just riding in these charity rides”. What can I do to support this effort? I thought maybe I would buy a Trek Madone themed LiveSTRONG bike.  Well if anyone has visited the Trek Website to see just how much it would cost to sport this awesome piece of machinery and the  LiveSTRONG name you better be ready to shell out some dough. I, for one, don’t have $10,000 for my dream bike, which is a Trek Madone 6.9 LiveSTRONG bike, so I thought I could at least duplicate the Madone 5.9 version which is about half the price at $5500.  Still way too much for what I could ever dream to get for one bike. (see the picture below). 

Now to say I would give my left “lower male body part” would be inappropriate to many of the cancer survivors who are reading this, so I’ll coin a phrase from Wimpy of Popeye fame, “I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a Trek Madone Today” (anyone from Trek listening?).  If, by some chance that Lance Armstrong ever reads this please let him know I'd be very willing to trade him mine for one of his spare bikes.  I'd only need one.  Who knows someone at TREK might take me up on it.  I can dream, can't I?

Lastly, I have 5 children and a wonderful wife who I support, and in return support my riding efforts. I know that my children are influenced by my actions and I wanted to show them that even though you might not be able to afford the things you want, you can still get the same amount of joy and excitement and be happy with it if you build it. I’m trying to teach them that good things happen when you DO GOOD THINGS. That being said I decided I would build my own LiveSTRONG dedication bike.  I want to continue to support and spread the message of what LiveSTRONG is all about. I had a plan, a budget and a vision. This is the story of my build; it’s for my grandmother, the hope that my kids can live a cancer free future and most importantly YOU. IT’s ABOUT YOU!