The Tour of Page County Road Race

Yesterday I mentioned all the events that went on in Page County over the weekend - today I'll post a bit on Saturday's bicycle road race, part of the Tour of Page County.  The Tour is a stage race that combines the road race, a time trial, and a criterium event.  It's promoted by our neighbor Chris, and benefits the community cause Choices (linked below).

During the first race of the day, I road in the wheel van with Ricky supporting the women's group.  Another local friend, Bill, also drove as a wheel van for one of the other groups - and there were quite a few of our other friends out volunteering in other roles.  We weren't more than a mile or two into the course when I realized that I wouldn't have even made it this far on a bicycle, with the undulating, but beautiful, terrain.

Hopefully some of my photos will do it justice.

We did have a situation during the women's race where we had to get out and help the riders a bit - an accident that involved about eight bikes.  Most of the riders were okay, but two were treated by an ambulance crew.  Their injuries weren't serious, and I understand that they are fine, but I was sorry to see these folks having to end their rides - they did seem more disappointed about that than concerned with their injuries!

The Pig Ahead sign (second photo) made an appearance in the road race - readers may recall I'd posted about this a couple of years ago when I volunteered on the Shenandoah Time Trial, which is another race in the Page County series.  I understand that the rider in this shot is a trained first responder, and was at the scene earlier helping out with the bike crash.

The pig - actually a breeding pair - is just ahead in the photo, near the barn just visible over the hill.

In the afternoon, Chris and Ricky asked me if I wouldn't mind providing wheel van service for the masters race. My third photo is a look back into the cargo space of the old Equinox, full of wheels.  Fortunately, none of these riders needed the spares, although there were a couple of calls for assistance with the other classes.

The race had a small world context I might make a note of - Ricky is an old neighbor of ours when we lived at the Vernon House in DC.  He's an avid cyclist these days, and he and Chris new each other.  In that great way Facebook has of reconnecting people, we got back in contact a few years ago after losing track of each other for 10 years.

The last photo today is of the Masters class group heading out, very close to the start of their race.  At this point they were still all together - not a single straggler yet. Eventually, the official here on the motorcycle instructed me to move up in front of this group and follow the Cat 3/4 group leaders.

After avidly watching those bike races on TV all those years, this was a great event to be part of.  I've written about how important the races are to "active tourism" in the Valley - I was glad to have a chance to contribute.

Here's the link to Choices if you'd like to check out this important organization in Page County:  http://choicesofpagecounty.org/
Here's the Facebook page for Hawksbill Bicycles, if you'd like to get in touch and learn more about the cycling events in Page County:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hawksbill-Bicycles/459334500719

For Sgt Darne

On Saturday, Mary and I got up at 0-dark-thirty - the designated starting time for so many things out here at Hawksbill Cabin - to join in an event over in New Market honoring Matthew Darne, a former Marine sergeant who was lost last April.  This was an event put together by Healing our Heroes, an organization that supports returning soldiers, all too many of whom are dealing with injuries that go much more deeply than the visible flesh and blood wounds that many of them bore.

My service, in the Cold War, never put me on the front lines, in the heat of battle - a 'hot war' as it were.  There were risks, but I can only read the books, or see the stories told in video (I recommend Restrepo for those who are interested in an embedded story about what the troops we sent over there have gone through) about loss of life or risk of injury in the heat of battle. Still, I know that despite the grief and worry that these stories bring to life, we just can't understand fully the complete picture.

I found this tribute post about SGT Darne:
http://bostonmaggie.blogspot.com/2013/04/farewell-matthew-colin-big-darne.html
He was a very likable fellow - just like the hundreds I met and served with.  It's a shame we lost someone of his character.

His wife was very strong as she spoke at the opening ceremony for this 5K Run and 1.25 mile walk at the New Market Battlefield State Park.

Today I'll keep her and the family, and so many of his friends, in my thoughts.

Our veterans are an asset -

I’ve made light of my USAF service before – I was “chairborne,” and a “legend in my own mind,” as my friends used to say when we were stationed in Berlin. But that’s not to say that our relatively cushy assignment there was without its perils: we had a fairly legendary traitor in our mix, for one thing, and there were some severe injuries that occurred during a training exercise shortly after I left. These are all in the daily mix for service members, but for those who currently serve our country, well, let’s take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifices they make.


This story is a little dated, but it is one that I often recall when I think about the veterans returning from service in Afghanistan and Iraq, where post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been an emerging problem. PTSD isn’t something that was often diagnosed in past conflicts, but it may just be part of the reason so many of our veterans have found that reintegrating into every day society is so challenging.

My friend and I were driving in my Alexandria neighborhood and saw some teenagers skateboarding in the street ahead. As we approached, they got out of the road and stood in a group, lurking in their teenage resentment because we’d interrupted their fun, waiting for us to pass. My friend had gone quiet for a moment, and then told me he had passed the same group on his way to my house.

Except that time, he was taken back to his experiences driving the cratered and bombed out roads in Afghanistan, where groups like this one might harbor a conspiracy to do harm. He told me that when he’d seen the kids before, something clicked, taking him back to the days where he would automatically identify the first one in the group to “take out” – to shoot, should a confrontation ensue.

“But these are just kids here,” I said, “and we’re driving through a suburban neighborhood. You’re not thinking you have to do that here, are you?” My friend said he understood the difference of time and place, and he’d been more troubled by these kinds of thoughts earlier (he had been back for 2 months at that point). He said that the thoughts came less frequently and that he thought he was making his way through the issues. He never shared with me any details of encounters that might have reinforced these feelings when he was in Afghanistan – just this experience that had brought it all back.

So from time to time when I think about today’s veterans – the ones I encounter down near the Pentagon, often moving down the escalators on prosthetic legs, or even the fellow I saw in an Irish bar last weekend enjoying a Guinness with a colleague – I think not only of those who have physical reminders of what they’ve given for the rest of us, but also those who have these other wounds that aren’t so readily apparent.

A couple of years after that conversation with my friend I came across the organization “The Mission Continues” (linked below) – an organization that helps returning bets continue their service through fellowships and community projects. It’s meant to be a help for those returning from duty – whether they may have lost limbs, hearing, eyesight…or relationships…or loss of purpose. As they exit the service, the readjustment to life without the structure and camaraderie of their units can make things exceptionally difficult, and The Mission Continues attempts to support them by providing an outlet to further their lifelong mission of service.

Stay tuned for some follow-up posts on this topic, but thanks for taking a moment to think about our returning veterans today. And if you want to take that thought a step further, check out the web site below.

http://www.missioncontinues.org/

The Mission Continues

Luray Tri Weekend

Just back after a late start this Monday morning. Those early days working registration for the Luray Triathlon got the best of me, so I postponed my drive back until this morning (and a little further delay to avoid HOV restrictions on the roads).

I couldn't believe the enthusiasm and fun that everyone was having this weekend, all over town. But out at Lake Arrowhead, there were 600 participants in each of the two events - add 80+ volunteers and a couple hundred friends and family, and you've got yourself a crowd of 1,000 or more, easily.

As I mentioned, on both days I started early to help out with registration. That meant a 6:00 start for the international and a 7:00 start for the sprint. The pace was pretty hectic, but everybody was handled in quick fashion so nobody missed their starts. We even had late arrivals for both days - late wave starters, that we were able to get processed and in the water at their designated times. A success, in my book.

The photos accompanying this post are:

• View of the line for registration - International
• A glimpse of the water event start from registration
• Before and after shots of the bike transition area
• Some bikes at the "mount" line
• An early runner coming out of the chute
• The finish line area
• Prepping the International awards
• Our team on Sunday at Water Station #1 ("before")
• Recognition ceremony for 30+ participants completing both events (this included several folks in the "over 60 class!"

By the looks of things around town on the weekend, the event was a success for many local businesses - very glad to see it. The Artisan's cafe was packed Friday and Saturday night, and the Mimslyn was sold out on Saturday night. You couldn't go anywhere downtown with seeing cars with bike racks.

In addition to registration, for the International, I did a job as "crossing guard" for pedestrians trying to get into the viewing areas near the transition area. This was very tough - bikers coming in from one direction and runners heading out in the other. We didn't want to keep anyone from being able to cheer for dad, mom, sister, brother or friend, so we just tried to help them cross without an accident.

On the Sprint day, I worked with a team to staff water station 1. This was a very rewarding assignment - everyone should try working one of these stations sometime. You'll be inspired!

Now for some takeaways. The event raised at least $10K for Page County United Way, which is pretty awesome, because all of those donations will stay in the County - which can definitely use it. There was a total of more than 150 volunteers - many of whom have done this more than two years in a row! This was the total at the two days of racing. I understand there were several days of prepartion ahead of time - Howard and many others worked late hours on Thursday preparing the giveaways for 1,200 participants. Several of the volunteers I met had worked on the bike race on the previous weekend.

On another note, seeing all these folks getting out for the activities reminded me of the Berlin Marathon, a very, very long time ago - September 1983, in fact. I've thought about whether or not I might set a goal of doing that race again someday. I haven't quite made up my mind on it; but one sight certainly has pushed the thoughts a little bit further. During registration for the international, I saw a middle-aged guy changing into his swim trunks in one of the support areas (most folks, as he did, had them on underneath other clothes).

When he took his shirt off, there was a tell-tale scar over his heart - major surgery. Here he was, setting up for something as challenging as a one mile swim, 25-mile bike ride, and six-mile run...that is something we can all take a little inspiration from!

PS - Happy Birthday to Andy, who celebrated her day on Saturday night!

Antarctica Update

I saw a post on Facebook yesterday - my friend David, featured in the recent post about Alpine Mountaineering (see link at the end of this post) is in South America after wrapping up the trek to Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. I hope to have a post from him when he is back to the US.

I managed to find this photo of him on the Denali approach, taken last July. Also recently found out that he has ascended Aconcagua in South America, so by my recollection, he's checked off North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Antarctica from the 7 summits list (http://7summits.com/)

Dave also has a cause, posted on his blog. He's formed a charity, in fact:

"Live to Give is dedicated to the memory of Patrick Brandt, who lost a courageous battle with brain cancer on March 2, 2008. Pat’s motto: “live, love life, give love” is the inspiration for our name and for our mission. During his 37 years on earth, Pat lived life to the fullest and gave of himself every day—to his family, to his friends and to the causes he held dear. Throughout his decade-long battle with cancer, Pat never stopped setting goals and taking action to achieve them. The day he died, he was one of the top salespeople in his company and an inspirational supporter of the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society)."

The earlier post on Dave's trip to Antarctica is at: http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2009/01/hes-alpine-mountaineer.html

Facebook Experience

We're working through the process of getting the blog put up on Facebook - if you are a member there, check us out.

So far, it's been a great experience checking in there. I've reconnected with several past communities, and looking forward to running into other friends there.

I've posted about it before, but in particular the veterans' group of folks who were stationed with me in Berlin are as close to a fraternity as you can get. Many of them are on the Facebook network. This Thursday we had a virtual reunion - back in the old days, our NCO club, "Silverwings," had Rock 'n' Roll night on Thursdays.

I thought we might try something interesting and announced the return of this event. There were some challenges for all of us learning how to use the various features (I think that is a process we will be going through for some time). But by the end of the evening, we'd had 8 or so of the group check in, post some YouTube videos, tell the same old jokes, and chat. A good time, only the 85-cent heinekens were missing!

On another note, I've added the blog to the Amazon Associates program. So from time to time a "badge" will be included in the blog post, usually related to books, music or films. As with the Google Adsense ads in the right column, any revenues associated with either of these programs will be donated to animal rescue charities, such as the Page County Shelter, Lost Dogs, ASPCA, other others.

Blogging - we learn as we go

I have started going through the old post and will be using the "tags" function as a way to index those entries. For example, say you would like to have a recap of the carpenter bee adventures - or would like to be reminded of the termite damage we encountered when we first bought the Hawksbill Cabin. The tag "carpenter bees" will take you to all associated entries on that topic, while "termites" will take you to the other; there will also be a tag "battle of the species" where all of the encounters with wildlife can be found, and "big projects" when an entry should be cross referenced - as the termite issue meant a roof replacement.

On another note, I elected to allow Google to place ads based on content - these ads are shown in the left hand column - over there ---->

I am not promoting gratuitous clicking, but any proceeds on this site will be donated to the Page County Animal Shelter. If you do see anything of interest over there, and you decide to click through, you can rest assured that you will be doing some good.

A moment for something important...

http://www.extremehomema2008.com/ (look for the Giunta family episode)http://www.middlesexbank.com/extremehome.asp?print=1

I dont know if this show on ABC is on your regular viewing list, but last night they featured the Giunta family of Maynard, MA...the story is that Paul, the husband and father in this family, was on the way to the hospital to meet his wife, giving birth to their third child at the time, and had a severe accident that nearly killed him. He was left with a tough road to climb - but he is committed to it and his story is one that continues to inspire.

At the time, Paul's brother Chris was a colleague at Booz Allen, and we worked hard to accommodate his need to be near the family after the accident. Chris had his own record of accomplishment - a USMA grad who went on to earn an MS in engineering - Chris eventually left Booz Allen to move to MA full-time, where he now works as a construction manager on a hotel renovation.

The ABC show was pretty moving and inspirational to see, and I wanted to share some of the info about this family's story with you.