The Night Before the Day of the Ride

Like most major events, there’s always a bunch of scrambling to do at the last minute.  In this case, there were a few last minute changes based on television, newspaper and personal schedules that we tried to accommodate. The good news – we’re all set. The Stillman Volvo XC-60 is all fueled and shiny, we awesome ground effects and enough decals to do any tour proud! Show up tomorrow at any point on our ride and you’ll see what we mean!

The packing is all done. The bikes are all ready. The route is all firmed up. The stops and visits confirmed (as much as we can confirm them) and the weather is about the only thing we know we really can’t control. In short – we’re ready…

Our departure is 8:00AM, but first we have our visit with Mayor Comitta in West Chester at 7:30AM, the Daily Local News and ABC-6 out of Philadelphia. From there we boogie out to Birdsboro where we visit the Animal Rescue League of Berks County and speak with them and the Channel 69 news crew and possibly the Reading Eagle reporter. We should be in Birdsboro around 10AM and hope to see numerous riders from the West Chester Cycling Club rolling with us for that first leg. From there, we head north towards our final destination  – Lehighton.

Visit with us tomorrow and wish us luck. The more the merrier!

At this point, I’m shutting down any updates to the website www.pedaling4paws.org and we’re updating this blog (only). Expect updates every 2 hours or so and technology-allowing, we’ll have photos all along the way.  Track us and share your comments and donations to your favorite SPCA/Shelter.

Good evening and see you in the AM!!

What Riders Bring when Pedaling4Paws and SPCA Updates

Many people have asked, “What do you bring with you when you ride almost 500 miles?” Last year, the answer was, “about 15 pounds of stuff, totally carried on the back of our bikes with a seatpost rack that looked something like this:

Sample Seatpost rack from 2009 trip

 

This year, because we have the Stillman Volvo XC-60 SAG support vehicle , we have less to worry about in terms of fitting all our stuff into a small, back of the seat rack pack. As such, we don’t need too much.

Here is what you can expect us to bring:

• – Bike mechanics Kit (everything we need, in my opinion, to do any repair on the road other than a broken frame or headset replacement!)
• – Floor pump
• First Aid Kit (mini-version)
• Beach towel (to sit on in the car when driving)
• Two gallons of water sp we’ll always have hydration if we need it
• Tissues, wipes and a trash/recycling bag to keep ourselves and the vehicle clean!

In my “carry on” bag in the car (bag is about 2ft x 1ft x 1ft)

• Shorts, t-shirt, ear plugs and eye cover (as used on airplane), in case someone that I share a room with snores!
• 2nd kit (jersey, shorts, socks, headband). We will ride with Red WCCC on Day 1, 3 and 5 and Blue WCCC (2 years ago) on Day 2 and 4.
• 1 zip lock bag with electronics – camera battery charger, i-phone charger/cable, paper cue sheets, spare batteries for GPS, wallet
• Running shoes or flip-flops for when not on the bike (and a plastic bag to keep them in)
• Chamois Butt’r (from Paceline Products – thanks much, guys!), Coppertone Sport sunscreen (SPF-30) and a tube of diaper crème (for Mike, of course)
• 1 zip lock bag with toiletries – razor, toothbrush, toothpaste
• 1 zip lock bag with pro-link lube
• Spare tubes x 4
• Power bars, gels, power-bar electrolyte powder mix (enough for all of us in individual serving packets)
• Wallet with driver’s license and medical insurance cards, cash and credit cards (although I will likely carry this and my cell phone with headset in my back jesrey pouch.)

I also kept my usual saddle bag which contains:

• 2 spare tubes
• 3 allen keys
• Full size chain tool
• Tire levers
• Screw driver (flat & Philips)
• Chain master link
• Derailleur cables (front/rear), brake cable (1 each)
• Money and medical card, but the wallet stays in my above bag
• Emergency ID with doctor and family contact info
• Elastics and twist ties plus zip-ties – for the McGyver moments
• Finger nail clips (to cut the cables if we have repair issues)

SPCA Updates

We’re happy to announce that the folks from the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York will be meeting with us at the Welch Allyn Headquarters (where Mike Van Ryn now works) on Friday, 6/25 at 8:30AM.  We were also told that many of teh Welch Allyn management and employees are expected there to wish Mike and the rest of the Pedaling4Paws riders well on their last day and a half.  By then, we’ll also see Onondaga Cycling Club members joining in on the ride, so look for all of us in that area on 6/25!

To all the people who have added more to the donations – thank you very, very much and again, please drop us a brief comment on the blog post from yesterday. We greatly appreciate the support for this worthy cause!

We also asked the folks from the Southern Tier Bike Club if they can help with our SAG wagon driving as we will be down to a few riders. Hopefully they can help!

Happy Father’s Day!!

Thanks to those Following and Donating!

To the many people who have already added our blog to your daily list of must-read activities, thank you! To those who have already donated or pledged your donations, thank you very, very much! If you have already done either or both, please add a comment to this post and let others know that you are supporting us! We are just a few days away from the start of our 475 mile, 5 day ride and now is the time to ask for others to join the cause!

To those who love animals, donate and follow with them in mind!

To those who love cycling, donate, follow and if you can join us at any portion of our ride!

To those who just know us and love that we are going on this adventure and doing it for a good cause, donate and follow for that reason!

Regardless of why, we appreciate your tremendous support and encourage you and those you speak to about us to comment, follow, donate and ride!

All the best!

Fast and Furious Activity

As expected, things are starting to pick up and very quickly as we get closer to the Pedaling4Paws ride. In this post, I’ll update you on departures, media, bike clubs and more.

Departures – we are moving our starting location 3 blocks east to Gay and Adams – the West Chester Borough Council building at 401 East Gay Street (corner N. Adams). Why? Because we’ll be visiting with Mayor Carolyn Comitta before we depart! We’ll also have parking in the lot behind the building so if you bring your animals with you, it’s likely you can park there. Remember – 7:30AM on Tuesday, June 22!

Media-wise, we’ve had much more activity. Dan Kristie from the Daily Local News who wrote an initial June 16th article covering Pedaling4Paws is planning to publish daily updates on our progress. Look for these updates and Dan is hoping to get video coverage of the departure (for the online version), so make sure to wear your WCCC 2010 clothing – the red jersey/shorts with your bike and to bring your animal friends, especially if you can’t ride with us!

Our first stop in Birdsboro has us visiting the Animal Rescue League of Berks County and their President, Barrie Pease.  To capture the moment, TV 69, WFMZ is sending a reporter and photographer and the Reading Eagle Times is expected to cover the story too! We invited riders from the Berks County Bicycle Club to join us there, so hopefully there will be plenty of West Chester Cycling Club members to join the BCBC riders!

Our first evening will complete when we arrive in Lehighton at the Country Inn & Suites where GM Jennifer Lesher has already helped us with a great deal at the Inn, but also in working with us to gather donations for the Carbon County Friends of Animals in nearby Jim Thorpe.

Shortly after we finish our visit to that animal shelter, we’ll be met by Bob Reynolds and the camera crew from 16-WNEP-TV (transmitting out of the Scranton area). Whether they film and interview us while riding or in the Albrightsville area will depend on numerous factors, but expect that coverage on Wednesday!

On the following day, we’re told that Action News-12 WBNG will be covering us as we roll through Binghamton, NY. No word yet on where, but we’ll let you know when we know!

You may have already seen the articles in the Daily Local News, The Ogdensburg Journal, but have you seen the Times News article from June 17?

We have also been contacted by the Skaneateles Journal, the Watertown Daily Times and they expect to cover our visits to their area. More as we learn more or get the article links.

Bike Club wise, we expect to see riders from WCCC, BCBC, STBC, OCC and JCBC – and though there are probably others out there that we’ve contacted, we’ve not heard back as yet. If you are in one of the other clubs and want to forward our blog to your members, please do but also let us know which club so we can add you to the list and welcome you to Pedaling4Paws!

Wow – now all we have to do is actually ride the 475 miles in 5 days! Good thing we have the Stillman Volvo XC-60 as our highly visible SAG support!!!

Read All About it!! P4P featured in the Daily Local

We’re famous! 

Read what the Daily Local has to say about our Charity Ride.

Cyclists plan bike ride to help SPCAs

6 Days until Pedaling4Paws………

Media, Media Everywhere!

I’m happy to say that Pedaling4Paws has already had two interviews from newpapers (the Daily Local in Chester County and The Journal from Ogdensburg, NY). The Daily Local hopes to cover all 5 days of our trip using the blogs as a source of information and video of our departure from West Chester on their site. We’ve also been interviewed on two radio programs and have a 3rd one scheduled for after the event is over. We’ve reached out to known cyclists that are media personalities at television stations along the way (specifically 6ABC,  WNEP and WBNG). If you know of specific newspapers, radio stations or television stations that are in your area that we should contact, please let us know by posting a blog here or emailing us directly.  Our goal is to get the personalities who love animals and cycling to join us for some portion of our ride!

Pedaling4Paws Accommodations Now Set!

People are really nice when you ask them for a favor. For instance, I have been calling local owners of smaller motels and Inns along our route to see about accommodations for the evening we arrive in their town. The first place I called was The Vacation Inn in Union Dale, PA and I spoke to the owner there – Rocco Centonze. What a great guy! After some initial skepticism about whether we were a legitimate organization, he started sharing numerous ideas for additional media coverage (with local affiliates ABC-16 and Channel 12, 34 and 40) and even agreed to act as a sponsor for our cause! He further suggested some of the local animal shelters that he knows and in truth I could have spoken with him for hours! 

I then called up a few other places and had a great conversation with The Inn at 81 in Watertown, NY where Cindy spent a good amount of time speaking with me and it’s very likely that her brother will ride with us for some portion of our ride in the Watertown area.  I hope he does and that he brings all his friends!! Cindy also pointed out that their local Watertown SPCA isn’t on our list – so we’ll fix that shortly!

Although we originally had a place for Day 1 in Lehighton, Doug A reached out to the great folks at the Country Inn and Suites and spoke to Jennifer Lesher, the General Manager there and she gave us a great deal and went above and beyond by agreeing to help collect donations locally with signage in their Inn. Jennifer already knew of the Carbon County Friends of Animals the help she will be giving us and them is invaluable!

So, we’re done with confirmed reservations in Lehighton (Day 1), Union Dale (Day 2), and Watertown (Day 4). We are staying with friend’s in Skaneateles (Day 3) and in Ogdensburg (Day 5).

I love it when a plan comes together!!!

Bike Clubs Along the Way

There are several bicycle clubs along the Pedaling4Paws route. We’ve contacted the following:

West Chester Cycling Club – they will be there with a group riding the first morning, another group continuing the first day and a 3rd group riding two days.

Brandywine Bicycle Club – They’ve been invited and it looks like a number of people are trying to get their schedules to accommodate at least one day of riding.

Penn State Cycling Club – Invited, but no reply as yet – let’s home some of the members see the cue sheets and join us!

Lehigh Wheelmen – Contacted, but still waiting to hear from their president. Hopefully he’s already forwarded information to the rest of the membership.

Southern Tier Bicycle Club – These guys rock! We already had people from last year contact us and looks like they’ve already posted this ride on their list of rides for June. Expect to see many Southern Tier folks – certainly from the NY/PA border up to at least Syracuse! (Many have already said they hope to join us, weather permitting).

Onondaga Cycling Club – Another club that rocks – this club is in and around the Syracuse area, and one of their Board of Directors, Bill Goffe tells me he announced the ride on the clubs listserv, so hopefully we’ll catch up with a number of Onondaga riders. So far, it hasn’t been posted on their club’s calendar of rides, but if you are an OCC member, please update that list so others can join us!

Jefferson County Cycling Club – Actually, we haven’t invited them yet because as I post this blog, I realized that I have a phone number, but no name. I will correct this shortly and hope to see many Jefferson County cyclists on the road around Watertown!

If your club isn’t listed above, post on this blog and let us know so we can make contact. If you are one of the many in the clubs above, please post to let us know where you plan to meet with us and/or how many people you expect to bring along for the ride. We welcome all and look forward to seeing your blogs and you in a couple of weeks!

Send us a picture of your pet and story

We’d love to see a picture of your pet and the story behind their adoption?  We’ll post all your entries!  I’ll start……

I adopted Higgins from the Chester County SPCA 11 years ago this July.  I was a volunteer dog walker and had walked Higgins a few times.  He was a very roudy boy – about 2 years old.  My dog Maggie died 3 months earlier and I was finally ready to adopt a new dog.  When I told the shelter staff they immediately told me that I HAD to adopt Higgins.(they named him).  But I really didn’t want an 85lb Rotty mix.  Way too much dog for me.   but then they told me that since he’d been there for 3 months and the shelter was full, he was going to be put down the next day.  Everyone had fallen in love with him…    And I fell for their sad story.  It was the best thing I’d ever done.  Higgins is the best friend a girl could ask for!!!

Resting after playing in the snow 2010.

Welcome Stillman Volvo!

I am very pleased to announce that Stillman Volvo  is on board with Pedaling4Paws and will be supporting the ride with vehicles at select points along the way. Long-time bike rider and owner of Stillman Volvo, Ed Stillman, is planning to ride the Pedaling4Paws Day 1 segment as we venture out of West Chester. Welcome Ed and welcome Stillman Volvo!!

It’s Official!

Pedaling4Paws

2010 Ride to Benefit Animal Rescue! 

 

Cyclists are gearing up for the second annual ride from West Chester PA to Ogdensburg NY to raise money for animal rescue. 

 

Our ride will take us through 7 counties in PA and 5 counties in NY for a total of 450 miles.

 

You can help by either riding all of the route or a portion of it with us and help raise money for your local shelter.  Or you can donate to your local shelter on behalf of Pedaling4Paws.

 

Its all good!!!

 

To donate……

Find your local shelter under “donate locally” and just make a donation. (and don’t forget to mention pedaling4paws).

 

To ride……

Check out the route on our website or blog and then contact Viktor Ohnjec at vo@m2vp.com if you’d like to ride with us.

 

And you can help us by circulating our flier!

Pedaling4Paws Flier

It's Official!

Pedaling4Paws

2010 Ride to Benefit Animal Rescue! 

 

Cyclists are gearing up for the second annual ride from West Chester PA to Ogdensburg NY to raise money for animal rescue. 

 

Our ride will take us through 7 counties in PA and 5 counties in NY for a total of 450 miles.

 

You can help by either riding all of the route or a portion of it with us and help raise money for your local shelter.  Or you can donate to your local shelter on behalf of Pedaling4Paws.

 

Its all good!!!

 

To donate……

Find your local shelter under “donate locally” and just make a donation. (and don’t forget to mention pedaling4paws).

 

To ride……

Check out the route on our website or blog and then contact Viktor Ohnjec at vo@m2vp.com if you’d like to ride with us.

 

And you can help us by circulating our flier!

Pedaling4Paws Flier

2010 Pedaling4Paws Ride to benefit Animal Rescue: Join Us!

June 22 – June 26, 2010

2010 Pedaling4Paws Route