Author: Chris Brown (Page 28 of 41)

Our Podcast is Listed in Google Podcasts

October 7, 2019 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

**UPDATE: Google Podcasts are no longer active.**

Although we have been creating episode after episode for the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, it was just recently that Google decided that they are going to return podcasts as a choice when someone googles something.

Since it started, Google has returned websites. Ever since Google became popular, people have used the search engine to find what they are searching for. Meanwhile companies have worked to understand how to get found on the internet. They struggle to get their website to be among the top results for certain phrases.

Google used to just return website results but then Google started returning other media besides just websites. Things like PDFs, images, news, blog posts, videos and other types of media. Granted, they are all housed on a website.

Podcasts have been around since 2005, but it’s only been in the last few years that they have become popular.

At the Google I/O 2019 (their annual developer conference) held in early May 2019 Google announced that they will be returning podcasts in their results.

Anyone with an Android phone has been able to use Google Podcasts for quite a while, but now you can Google the name of a podcast and Google will return the results with a link to the podcast.

If you listen to podcasts from your computer, this may be a great way to find podcasts of interest:

We announced this on our Becoming Elli Facebook page late last week:

You can listen to the “Fit Strong Women Over 50” podcast for the Becoming Elli community on Google Podcasts now. Share with a friend!

https://www.google.com/podcasts…

If you already listen to Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast episodes, this is no big deal, but many folks are still learning about how to listen to podcasts. Hopefully having the giant search engine of Google listing our podcast will really help spread the word!

What I Learned About Supporting Runners at a Big Race

September 30, 2019 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

I had an amazing inspirational day on Saturday.

The started with a bit of rain and an amazing double rainbow. I only caught part of it, but how often is there a rainbow at 7 am??

For several hours I cheered the runners compete in the Akron Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Relay through the streets of Akron, Ohio. I was a spectator along with another estimated 99,999 other people!

Over the past 4 years I ran in this race. Both in 2015 & 2016 I was on a marathon relay team and in 2017 & 2018 I ran the half marathon. This year my participation was limited to making it about supporting runners by cheering and high five-ing.

I’ve done a lot of volunteering at water stations over the years (at least 12 different races) and have competed in over 30 races since 2009 (mostly 5Ks and three half marathons.)

As a runner, I know that having someone watch you makes a difference in performance. You just simply try harder. And when the going gets tough, a kind word or even a smile at the right moment can make a really huge difference. I find it inspiring being around people who are working to achieve something really hard.

During my time running, spectating and cheering people on, I’ve learned a few things about supporting runners:

Make a sign that makes people smile. My signs were taped to a rake. They are easier to hold. And it left one hand free for the ringing the obnoxious cow bell.
Move locations to get different perspectives of the race. From 8:15 am I was at mile 6 until around 9:30. The streets were filled with half marathoners along with the full marathon racers and the relay teams. As this group turned into a trickle of people, I drove my car over to mile 14 and rang the bell again from 9:45 until 10:40 am. Mile 14 was at the top of the hill where the marathoners had just finished about 2 miles of vertical climb. It was much hotter as the overcast skies had burned off and sunglasses were needed.
I had a 2 sided sign but used the “Go Random Stranger Go” side that I used for for 99% of the race because it got the most smiles and comments. Many racers yelled out “Thanks, Random Stranger” and I hollered back “This sign is for YOU!” Most of those comments were at mile 6. At mile 14 I got a couple of “Hey, there’s that random stranger again!”
The other side of the sign said “This sounded like a good idea 4 months ago!” which for some reason I thought was funny the night before, however when I got to the race it seemed pretty snarky. Certainly not encouraging. I realized that there were a lot of people who thought it was funny, but they were all the bystanders and spectators, not the runners! So I learned for future races where I am a spectator… but sure to think of it from the perspective of a tired runner.
I learned that when cheering people on, it is great to use their name. The Akron marathon would print the name of the person (or what ever you wanted) printed on the front of the bib. It was particularly effective when the person was running by themselves. Their face would light up in a smile and their eyes said “Thank You!” even if they were too tired to say anything.

One problem that happened a few times with using people’s name. I would say something like “Looking good, Julie!” but as soon as I got the words “Looking Good” out of my mouth, someone else, running right next to Julie would say “Thank you!” It only happened a few times, but made me feel bad, like I was calling out the person next to them and not them!

So, to remedy that, I learned to not use someone’s name if they were running near someone else, or I would use the name first, like “Julie, Looking good.”

I mentioned the obnoxious cow bell. I put it on a rubber band so that I didn’t have to worrying about setting it down and picking it up. As a runner, I always appreciated the cow bells. Especially when they ran in the same pace pattern as my feet were running. It helped me to keep going. As a spectator, I learned that cow bells are obnoxious to the people around you. Hearing that constant ringing for more than an hour gets jarring.

It is a similar effect for cheering people on.

I learned if I said the same thing over and over and over, it feels like a chant and starts to lose all meaning. So I tried to switch it up:

“Stay strong.” “You got this.” “Good job.” “Looking good.” “Keep it up.”
I learned that the runners have different attitudes towards how the day was going. While some people had head phones on. Most smiled back at me with my cow bell and sign. Other people wanted to be noticed. I found to really encourage someone, that it was really important to lock eyes with the runner, just them, one by one. A few runners didn’t want to engage, they were in their own flow state. And some were really desperate in need of some encouragement and support. “Thank you!!” some runners would gasp.

Once in a while the runner would looked like they were out for an easy run. They had a quick easy smile come across their face. “Thank you random stranger!!” they would shout back at me! I suspect that these type of runners were pacing someone else. Especially when I was a mile 14 and the runners had just completed a 2 mile up hill section.

I learned it was good to be prepared. I was really glad I brought my own water bottle. Being out there, cheering people on makes my smile start to hurt, dries out my teeth and gets my throat dry and voice raspy. A good swig of water fixed that every time. I tried to make it all about supporting runners.I know that people were running for 5 hours at a time. And I know I was only out there for a little over 2 hours, (so it feels like I shouldn’t have any issues,) but believe me, I was glad to have water. If you are going to be supporting runners and cheering people on, it’s good to have water!
I learned that is is good to research who you know will be running the race. Seeing the flat version of people the night before on social media really helps to identify someone when the sea of runners are going by!
Best of all, I learned that I loved seeing all the familiar faces running by me! Friends I know from volunteer work. People from my gym. Women from MRTT (Moms Run This Town.) Even someone I recognized from the Becoming Elli Community! (More about her later!!)
I learned that I should have padded the handle of the cowbell. I ended up with a blister on my right index finger. (I guess I should have trained to ring, eh?)

While I’ve taken the past year off from running, I still greatly admire the runners and get inspired seeing the determination, courage and struggles. My heart is filled when I participate – as a runner or volunteer or even just as a spectator who is all about supporting runners!

I’m sure you have some ideas, as a runner or a volunteer at a race or a spectator. What’s the most encouraging sign you’ve ever seen? What phrases have you heard that encourages people the most? Let me know by leaving a comment below or calling our voice mail at 330-970-6662.

Grab and Go Supplies for Easy Exercise

September 23, 2019 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

I have found that sometimes 90% of getting to the gym or going for some exercise is getting out the door. That’s why I try to do what I call “grab and go supplies.”

One way I decided to make that a little easier is to create a spot where all my bike riding gear goes. Helmet, sun brim hat, gloves, water bottles, neckerchief, and bike shoes are stored together in a little cubbie area. My bike and pump stay in the garage. It works for me to keep everything together, so I can just grab and go.

Having my gym bag packed with all the essentials is another trick. Swimming suit, googles, and cap, all live in my gym bag, along with a hair brush and deodorant.

I keep another bag for skiing. It contains my favorite ski socks, handwarmers, liners, pants, gloves, helmet and goggles. I hang the bag over the wooden hanger that holds my ski jacket. Boots, poles and skis are stored in the basement.

My running gear is more spread around, especially since I haven’t been running very much this past year. I don’t use as much equipment, but the clothes, socks and shoes make the biggest difference. I love to create a “flat Chris” the night before an event. Most running events are very early in the morning and many roads are closed well before the event, so I’ll be getting up to go we;; before the sun and leaving the house super early.

It really helps to keep me on track in the morning. Having things ready the night before calms the nerves about forgetting something.

Yoga is pretty simple. My mat is about all I need, because my gym supplies blocks, blankets, straps and bolsters. I used to have yoga socks with the little stickies on the bottom of the sock and the toes open, but I think my washing machine ate one of the socks.

For each one of my “sports” I put together a list. It really helps when I change seasons. The check lists include the long version (weekend ski trip or bike trip) along with a just quick trip. It really helps when I keep everything together.

For me it is okay to skip the lip balm when I am biking, but not when I’m skiing! Or skip water bottles if it is a short run, but include electrolytes and snacks if it’s a long one.

For all of my sports, I have my sport fanny pack. Even walking! In it goes my glasses with case, my phone and that all important bee sting kit.

How do you organize? Do you keep lists? Do you keep your gear all together? Let me know how you manage. I’m always looking for a better way.

NEOC Cookie Century Ride Recap

September 16, 2019 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Yesterday was the perfect weather for a long bike ride and the NEOC event on Sept 15 2019 put on by the Out-Spokin’ Wheelman didn’t disappoint!

My biggest challenge of the day was trying to not overindulge in the cookie table. You see, I had forgotten what the initials NEOC stood for – I thought it was Northeast Ohio Century, but when I asked one of the organizers they jogged my memory. The initials stand for Northeast Ohio Cookie ride.

This was their 46th year of putting on this ride. Wow! I’m amazed I never heard of it before.

PRE-RIDE:
The ride was held at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds which is about an hour from where I live now. I left around 6 am. I was rewarded for getting up before dawn with the most beautiful sunrise! The weather was chilly, so I brought my bright zipper sweatshirt for the early part of the ride.

The people at the check-in registration table couldn’t have been nicer! Friendly and organized, they handed me a giant bag of “goodies.” I preregistered on line for only $20 and day of registration was still only $20. I have to say I was amazed at all the support, food and prizes that the $20 provided!

ROUTE:
Route maps with both the turn-by-turn directions and a mile marker route image were perfect. The turn-by-turn directions were on the back of the map and stacked so it was easy to attach to the bike so you knew exactly where you were. The ride featured different choices – 5 loops of varying mileage, surfaces and degree of difficulty. All the routes started and finished at the fairgrounds. I think all 5 routes were flat, although I only rode three of them. One was the Western Reserve Greenway Hike and Bike trail which was straight and flat, surrounded by beautiful trees and greenery. (My bet is this would be a gorgeous fall ride route!)

Great maps for each of the routes. All routes had a small color coded arrow sprayed on the road as well. Outstanding job by the Out Spokin Wheelman for the 46th year!

If you are a fast rider, or at least faster than me, this is the perfect ride to get a century. If you are a cookie lover, this is also a great ride! Regardless, I had a really great day of riding. This year, and maybe many other years, the ride was all around my hometown of Cortland, Ohio and Mosquito Lake Reservoir.

This was a screen shot from my Strava app that shows our route for the whole day. I grew up in Cortland and went to Lakeview High School. Lots of memories while riding around!

There are some areas that were covered twice. My total mileage for the day was 63 miles. While it wasn’t a century ride, it was a metric century. A century ride is a 100 mile ride. A metric century ride is 100 Kilometers or about 62 miles. I had originally thought I would try 100 miles but my pace is more like 10 or 11 miles per hour, which means a very very long day. I think we still did about 6 hours of moving to get the 60+ miles in, so I feel like I got plenty of enjoyment from the ride!

FOOD:
A large table full of homemade cookies. Oatmeal raison, peanut butter with Hershey kisses, date bars, coconut flaked, chocolate chip! It reminded me of some of the weddings I have been to in western PA and eastern Ohio. Lunch was home made meatballs with pasta, salad and choice of lunch meats and cheeses with rolls for sandwiches. While it wasn’t overly healthy, it sure was delicious!

In between routes, they had water and Gatorade in large cooler jugs for filling water bottles. I enjoyed a coffee as well during one of the breaks – delicious. It was a big spread!

WEATHER:
The weather was around high 70’s low 80’s but overcast. That made for the perfect ride day. I had put sunscreen on before riding early morning, but the sun never got to that hot cooking feeling like sometimes happens in July and August. Light breeze at one point made me realize we might have a slight headwind, but it never was very noticeable. Around 2:15 or 2:30 we were on our 3rd route and it started sprinkling, with a bit of drizzle. Rather than get another 10 miles out, we decided to cut short and head back to the fairgrounds. Of course it stopped after we started heading back, but I didn’t have any rain gear with me.

My trusty bike is an 1988 Cannondale. Water bottles courtesy of Eddie’s Bike Shop. The front one has about a cup of Gatorade in it, that’s why it is blue. Plus, matches the bike!

AFTER:
Since this ride was located so close to my parents’, I stopped over for a quick “hi, how are you” drop-in visit. That also added to fun of the day!

Next year is going to be their 47th year and will be held 9/20/20. Although it’s hard to plan a year out, I think this ride is going on the calendar for next year!

Do you have a favorite event that you’ve participated in this year? Tell me about it! Leave a message in the comments below or call our voice mail line at 330-970-6662. You can also leave a post on our Facebook page.

Healthy Eating, Shopping and Meal Prep with Health Coach Beth Kazcmar

Healthy Eating, Shopping and Meal Prep with Health Coach Beth Kaczmar

September 10, 2019 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 41 Healthy Eating, Shopping and Meal Prep

In episode 41, Jill and Chris talk with Health Coach Beth Kaczmar about healthy eating, grocery shopping and meal prep ideas.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Akron in Nutrition and Dietetics, is certified in health coaching through Precision Nutrition and currently works as a health coach at a medical practice.

She likes to help people to see what they can eat, instead of focusing on what they are told they can’t eat.

She said she likes to help them with variety, make it about recipes. “We tweak recipes, so they are not feeling deprived. For instance, substituting, normal flour for an almond flour and then adjust the liquids in the recipe.”

Some of the discussion points:

Tips on shopping the grocery stores – Produce. Fish. Organic. Locally grown. Nutrition label.
Food prep ideas for the week.
TasteMyTable instagram page of her original recipes for eating the rainbow. https://www.instagram.com/tastemytable/
How she squeezes exercise into her busy week: swimming, elliptical, and weights
Fueling for working out and training for endurance events.

Find her on:
@TasteMyTable
RevitalizeMed.com

Beth’s Red Cabbage Recipe from TasteMyTable:
Sweet and Spicy Cabbage on the go!

I love this recipe because all I do is chop all my ingredients, pop them in a zip lock bag, including the dressing, and when I’m ready to eat, just give a little shake and I have my salad to go

It’s packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and it’s high in fiber and low in calories

I hope you enjoy! 1/4 head of purple cabbage, shredded, 1 slice white onion, diced, 1 small whole carrot, diced, 1 T goji berries, 1 T raisins, 1 T Apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp hot sauce, 1 tsp honey, sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Throw all ingredients into a zip lock bag, give a shake and enjoy!

These are a Few of my Favorite Veggies

September 7, 2019 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

I love vegetables, especially my favorite veggies. I have found that if I don’t have a bunch of product in the refrigerator, I feel like we don’t have food. Most of them I cook, but many just eat raw.

“Eat your vegetables” is something that kids hear from adults, but many times, even as adults, we find it hard to eat enough vegetables.

During 2019, we’ve been doing the #VeggieChallenge here in Becoming Elli by coming up with new recipes or trying new vegetables each week. While it’s a marvelous goal, I’m finding that my vegetable list continues to include the tried and true choices.

Here’s what I find that I buy and eat most often. I guess you would call these My Favorite Veggies:

Artichokes – I usually buy in a jar, but love to make these with Parmesan cheese the way my sister showed me.
Asparagus – My other sister makes asparagus for holidays and I’ll fix it like that with cheese, but usually just roasted in the oven.
Avocados – It’s been hard to find ripe ones lately, I love eating these with my egg whites in the morning.
Bib lettuce – delish in a salad or to hold hummus
Beets – in our garden. LOVE these roasted
Broccoli – I usually steam broccoli but also like it raw or roasted
Brussels sprouts – roasted is my favorite
Cauliflower – raw, riced, baked and boiled/mashed – I love C-flower!
Celery- chopped and mixed with tuna
Cucumber – with vinegar and tomatoes
Green cabbage – a little olive oil and baked on a cookie tray
Iceberg lettuce – rarely buy except I eat from a salad bar
Kale – growing this in our garden out back
Mushrooms – love these sauteed with eggs
Olives – black, green and Greek especially
Onions – white, and yellow. Not so much the purple
Peppers – green yes. But love the yellow, red and orange minis
Pumpkin – especially the canned plain pumpkin to bulk up a soup
Radishes – shaved in a salad. Whole when roasted
Red cabbage – shredded in a salad
Red Lettuce – placed under another salad as garnish
Sauerkraut – Love sauerkraut. I cook it in the crock pot low and slow.
Spinach – two bags of washed spinach each week. Wilted and eaten with my eggs
Sweet Potato – baked is favorite, but sweet potato fries are a treat
Swiss Chard – growing in my garden. Great wilted and sauteed with garbanzo beans.
Tomatoes – mostly little grape tomatoes but this time of year big Beefsteak or Early Girl or Roma tomatoes are great!
Zucchini – now is the time, right? Who else makes zucchini bread?

What am I missing that you wouldn’t go without? I’ve shared my favorite veggies, so now, what is your favorite way to fix them or eat them? Let me know by sending an email to Chris@becomingelli.com or calling 330-970-6662.

Accountability and Consistency Equals Success

August 27, 2019 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

In episode 40, Jill and Chris talk with Kai Boyer, a Certified Master Trainer in Orange County in Southern California.

Kai competed in tennis both in college and professionally. Unfortunately, she had a career ending hip injury and had to give up her sport. She then turned her attention to finishing her degree and starting her business, Kai Boyer Fitness.

She specializes in in Women’s Physique, Weight Loss, Athletic Performance Training, Injury Rehabilitation and Pain Management. With over 5 years experience, Kai has helped hundreds of individuals achieve their fitness goals and transform their lives and bodies through fitness & nutrition.

We discuss:

Questions to ask your personal trainer
Best exercises for women over 50
Modifications for basic exercises when needed
Functional training
Why she suggests the row machine and elliptical instead of the treadmill
Recovery and rest day
Healthy eating tips
Weight loss plans that she offers clients
How she defines fit
Healthy food lifestyle that limits sugar, trans fat and alcohol
Why she encourages food substitutions over food eliminations
How her meal plans are more manageable and maintainable

Those who would like to learn more about Kai Boyer Fitness and how accountability and consistency equals success can follow her:
Website: www.kaiboyerfitness.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kai_boyer_fitness
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaiboyerfitness

Chris and Jill discuss the Fitbit app and watches.

- Which features we use and how we use them.
- Exercise
- Food
- Challenges
- Sleep
- Heart rate
- Water proof

What we like and why as well as what we don’t like and why.

Interested in joining a Becoming Elli FitBit challenge group? Let us know by sending an email to Jill@becomingelli.com or calling 330-970-6662 or connecting with us on FitBit. We will be posting our FitBit names in the Becoming Elli Private Facebook group to see who else is interested.

Best Podcasts of 2019 for Women Over 50 Jill and Chris in Becoming Elli sweatshirt

Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast – Best Episodes of the First Half of 2019

August 24, 2019 / Chris Brown / 3 Comments

If you’re new to podcasts, you may be interested in learning about the best podcast episodes for women over 50. Because we are more than halfway through the year, I decided to give you a heads up for the top 10 episodes of our Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast downloaded during the first half of 2019. I’m calling these the best episodes because of the number of downloads. Everyone has their favorites!

These include a variety of episodes. Some are where we (Jill and Chris) interview experts – personal training, nutrition, and healthy living. In other episodes we interview “regular” people about their habits, routines, motivation and success with getting and staying fit and strong. Two of the episodes were just the two co-hosts discussing topics.

Best Episodes of the First Half of 2019
We defined best by the number of our women over 50 podcast episodes downloaded from our hosting platform during the time frame of 1/1/2019 and 6/30/2019. In other words the time frame is just the first six months of 2019. Most of these podcast episodes were released in 2019. Although all of the 2018 podcast episodes were available for download during the same time frame, they weren’t necessarily in the top ten for the first half of 2019

Best Episodes of the First Half of 2019 – Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast

How to Crave Healthy Foods & Stop Dieting – Melanie Jatsek
Hormone Health for Women Over 50 Jeannie Beaudin
Tap Into Your True Strength with Tammy Wise
Running and Staying Healthy with Wendy Rivard
Improving Fitness Through Spinning with Sherry Chlysta
Group Exercise Instructor Diane Reuther
Using Triathlons to Overcome Adversity Diana Woolf
Inspiration, Motivation and Discipline Jill and Chris
Becoming a Triathlete After Retirement Linda Brooks
Improving Health with Training, Sleep and Omega 3s Jill and Chris

While these are just a few of our almost 40 episodes, these were the ones most often downloaded during the first half of 2019.

Topics
We primarily focus on healthy eating, working out, positive mental health and other ways we define fit and strong. We’re always looking for guests how have something of interest to the Becoming Elli community and welcome suggestions from our readers and listeners.

Have you listened to these episodes of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast for the Becoming Elli Community?

I know I have my favorites! Which ones are your favorites? Why? Let me know by leaving a comment below or leaving a phone message 330-970-6662 or send an email to Chris@BecomingElli.com.

Strava App Review – My Favorite Bike Riding App

August 18, 2019 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Strava App Review
On most of my bike rides, before we even leave the parking lot, someone invariably says “Strava On?”

It’s become like a mantra. The bike riding (and running) app was originally designed for competitive people who really like to see how fast they are doing a similar course compared to others. I like to use it to document rides. (I guess you can use swim also, but I’ve never tried that.)

I don’t use it as much of challenge but more like documentation or logging my rides. I love looking back over the years of riding and remembering the fun we’ve had.

On this past Saturday, I rode my favorite ride. It’s a large circle that we affectionate call the “Kent Loop.”

It hardly goes into Kent, Ohio at all, just the outer edge. It’s the southern part of the Bike Hike Trail for Summit Metro Parks. If you click through on these links, you’ll see how great this route is! We are so very lucky to have so many trails.

One reason I really like this route: about 70% is on a bike trail, 25% on pretty neighborhood streets and only 5% along or crossing large highway (4 or 5 lane monsters.) Most of them have a cross walk.

The Strava app keeps track of your moving time, so if you’re like me and like to take breaks to drink water or talk a bit, it captures your moving time, not just how long you are out riding. I also like tracking the calories and the elevation. The Watts for average power kind of aludes me, or I guess I don’t care about it as much, since I’m mostly riding for fun and secondarily for the exercise.

Strava lets me document with photos, elevation, speed, the map, and I can text changes to the route.

One of my fastest sections is along a 1 mile flat area that has a hill down from the crossing road. I’ve done this section 55 times, first starting in 2012.

Someone has named various sections of the Kent Loop and this section is called SPRINT! so I guess lots of people like to ride fast along here.

I know from tracking all these rides that I like to ride a little over 11 miles per hour. I’m happiest as a casual ride, chatting and enjoying the wildflowers along the trail.

The SPRINT! section is also one of my running and walking routes. Loyal readers may remember these flowers from last fall!

If you are a bike rider, you probably already know about and use Strava to document and log your rides. If not, give it a try and see if you like it. I used to use MapMyRide and have also tried RideWithGPS. I sometimes use Charity Miles too, but they all offer different features.

Why I Like the Strava App:

With Strava I can connect with friends and give them “kudos.” There’s a friend from Rhode Island who started riding later in life, and we support each other with our bike riding.
I like to look back a prior years and see when was the last time I did this route
If I’m looking for a “new” but familiar route, I can quickly flip back to see my rides
Uploading the photos was a cool way to further jog my memory
It’s easy to let the phone log my rides. Much easier than jotting down on a paper or entering into the computer.
Tracking helps me know how “prepared” I am for a longer or more difficult ride. It gives me confidence.

Do you track your rides or runs with an app? Ever tried Strava? What do you like, or not like, about it? Let me know by leaving a comment below, sending an email to Chris@becomingelli.com or calling 330-970-6662.

Bike Ride Recap of the 2019 Buckeye Breakaway

August 10, 2019 / Chris Brown / 4 Comments

Fun. Challenging. Hot. Lots of food and laughs. Exhausting. Sleep Depriving. Happy. Silly. Tiring. Inspiring. Great.

The recap of the bike ride for 2019 Buckeye Breakaway with my team the SOB’s was all these things and more. Take a couple minutes to watch the video below with the Skiers on Bikes, read this recap and learn about my experiences this year!!

About my bike:
My bike is a 1988 53″ Cannondale with downtube shifters that we bought from Craigslist in 2012. The previous owner barely rode it and it was like new. Except for the bent fork. I suspect during one of their first rides, they ran into a ditch and then didn’t ride again. Then 24 years later I bought it. The bike is 31 years old (half my age!) and still has a lot of umph left.

My Goals for the Buckeye Breakaway:

This year for the ride, I used the idea of an A, B and C goal to help me define success. Overall, I met with success because I

A) HAD A LOT of FUN! Lots of silly times and fun jokes along the way.

B) Met my fundraising goal and even went over. Thanks to all those who provided support.

C) Rode all 75 miles the first day, but only 36 miles the second day. So this goal fell a little short, but I feel the effort was an overall success.

This was my annual big ride event (you can read about all my yearly experiences here.) It’s like reading 9 years of a bike ride recap! Click thru to find out:

How many MS rides have I ridden?
Why do I ride?
What’s it like?
What do we eat?
Where do we sleep?
How long does it take?
Is it hard?
Is it fun?
Is it hot?
Did it rain?

There were many funny and inspiring stories from the 2019 ride that I want to include in this bike ride recap:
Here are just a few stories:

Second morning as we were riding out of town, the sun was coming up. A little rooster was Cack-a-Doo-Doodle-Doing all over the place seeing all the bike riders going past. It was like he was talking to us! While the seat was uncomfortable, the weather was perfect.
We rode past a whole group of goats (flock? gaggle?) and I had to stop to get a photo. Reminded me of goat yoga. I think I’m the only one that thinks Goat Cycling is funny. Okay, I’ve got a quirky sense of humor.
We got a corn photo too, and got a SAG driver in trouble for stopping to take our picture!
There was a blue bike on the ride that had a seat approximately 9 feet off the ground. I don’t know how the guy even got on it!
While riding up some steep hills Sunday morning I was super inspired by the handcyclist in front of me. I don’t know that she had MS, but she sure had a whole lot of spunk, heart and determination! I think she did better than I did on day two for sure this year!
I also met a guy who posed under the big orange inflatable for a photo. He had a bunch of medals around his neck from many different years. When I congratulated him, he said, “Yeah, I’ve ridden this 15 years… 14 of them after I was diagnosed with MS.”

Wow. That’s inspiration.

I’m glad I did it. Although I’ve spent the last few days trying to get my “oomph” back, I’m already to commit to next year! How about you? Want to join us?

Do you have a big physical challenging event each year? What is it? How do you prepare? If it doesn’t go exactly to plan, how do you regroup? What’s next on your goal list? Let me know by leaving a phone message at 330-970-6662 or an email to Chris@BecomingElli.com. Thanks!