What We Accomplished!
The BC Cancer Foundation announced today that 1701 participants from across B.C. and the Pacific Northwest raised $6.9 million in B.C.'s first Ride to Conquer Cancer, an epic cycling journey from Vancouver to Seattle.

The Ride to Conquer Cancer was a fundraiser for cancer research in British Columbia and Washington state. Funds raised by Canadian Riders will be donated to the BC Cancer Foundation to support research and patient care at the BC Cancer Agency. This money will drive crucial cancer research and help develop new cancer treatments at the BC Cancer Agency, Canada's only cancer control organization dedicated to both cancer research and patient care. Funds raised by U.S. Riders will be donated to the Canary Foundation to support early detection cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

This was only possible due to the tireless work and support of an amazing set of organizers, crew, volunteers, and sponsors like you. THANK YOU!

by Paul Litwin on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 @ 2:19 AM

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MultiMedia Images from The Ride
Philip Meadows from my organization followed me up to Vancouver and (along with his girlfriend Danielle who drove while he hung out the window) photographed and filmed the ride, including a number of still and video shots of yours truly.

Here are two "rough" products of Phil's work:

1. Slideshow of shots from Day 1 of event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31PKHdtIntI

2. Slideshow of shots from Day 2 of the event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9jIZXxFomw

3. Short video featuring me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gEhZpA5Q-U

4. Not from Phil, but this is a great video that a rider shot of the hail storm we all encountered around 1 PM on Day 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9EYCimQZBE

Enjoy. More to come.

UPDATED: 06/25/09 1PM with additional items
Paul

by Paul Litwin on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 @ 2:06 AM

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I Did It!
Wow. I did it. Two days of 80+ miles of riding. Only possible, of course, because of the support of my sponsors. When I awaken from my fog I will compose a more complete blog entry (with photos) about the event.

In the mean time, if you are curious, you can look at my twitter stream by going to
http://twitter.com/plitwin

You do NOT have to be signed up for twitter to view my entries there.

I will also be posting a URL to photos and a video that Phil Meadows took of the event and me.

by Paul Litwin on Mon, Jun 22, 2009 @ 2:04 PM

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Heading to Vancouver for the Ride!
It's time to catch a ride to Vancouver for the BC Ride to Conquer Cancer. It's finally here.

We ride from Vancouver,BC to Mount Vernon, WA starting at 7AM Saturday. And then from Mount Vernon to Seattle on Sunday. The Ride organizers have yet to post the route (this is very annoying, by the way). Should be 80-90 miles per day.

I will be tweeting along the way (with photos) so if you are on twitter (or need a reason to start on it), please follow my progress at:

http://twitter.com/plitwin

There's at least a 30% chance of rain for the Ride. I am hoping for the 70% chance it doesn't.

And no, it's not too late to contribute to this amazingly important cause. In fact, you can contribute until August 20th!

All the best, Paul

by Paul Litwin on Fri, Jun 19, 2009 @ 2:14 PM

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It's Almost Here
In one day I will be travelling up to Vancouver for the Ride to Conquer Cancer which starts the following day. I believe I have trained well and am ready but most of all I am touched by the generousity of my 62 sponsors who have raised over $4,700 to help conquer this horrible disease!

Sixty two of you have become sponsors of my ride. Who are you? You are old and new friends, people I met in first grade and people I met last month. Business aquaintances, people I work for and people who work for me. Close relatives and distant cousins I haven't seen in years. People I see almost every day and people I have never met in person. People I have met through my interest in software, and through my passion for running, biking, and triathlons. People who have helped me and a few I have helped. People who have had or currently suffer from cancer, and people who know others who have suffered or even died from cancer. People who I have met and keep up with via twitter and facebook, via email, or just plain old face to face contact.

You people are nothing short of amazing. Thank you for your amazing support and generousity!

UPDATE (06/19): We are now at 64 people and $4,889.06 raised! You people rock!

by Paul Litwin on Thu, Jun 18, 2009 @ 10:11 AM

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One Week Till the Ride!
It's one week till I start riding to conquer cancer. It's been a busy week:

- Rode to work 4 out of the 5 days.
- Rode 20 miles with Cascade bike club Tuesday night.
- Rode 50 miles on Saturday (June 13) as part of the Cascade Flying Wheels event.
- Have now raised a total of over $4,500.

With only seven days left till the ride, I was hoping to raise an additional $500 and go over $5,000. If you haven't donated yet, won't you please consider it. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and I could really use your support!

by Paul Litwin on Sat, Jun 13, 2009 @ 8:43 PM

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Longest Ride Yet: 76 Miles!
I've been on a long and steady training program that I have taken on to get ready for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. My basic routine is:

1. Ride to work.

2. Thursday night ride with Cascade Bike Club Thursday nights (25-25 miles).

3. Long ride on Saturday, gradually getting longer and longer.

4. Recovery ride on most Sundays to get me used to two long rides in two days.

This recipe has worked well. (In truth, I will really know how well it worked in two weeks on the weekend of the Ride.) This week, in fact, I rode to work every day. And had a nice ride with Cascade on Thursday to Edmonds of about 26 miles.

Yesterday I rode 76 miles--my longest single ride ever! I got up at 5:45 AM (uggh!), ate my cereal and jumped on my bike at 6:25 heading out for 65th NE and the Burke Gilman Trail (BGT) where I was to meet my coworker and friend Indika. Apparently, there was a slight communication breakdown (he thought we were meeting at 8 AM instread of 7AM) but a quick call to Indika and we were able to get under way at 7:30 AM. We headed north on the BGT, connected to the Sammamish River Trail (SRT) in Kenmore and biked all the way to Marymoor Park in Redmond. We got there just before 9AM. It was a bit cold and windy so we put our jackets on and headed back the way we came.

On the way back, we stopped at a Starbucks in Kenmore for about 20 minutes. It was a well-deserved rest and boy, did that latte and coffee cake taste great! But soon enough we were on our way again.

When I dropped Indika back off at 65th NE, I was at mile 53 (and he at mile 42). Here's a photo of us, taken by a nice woman who was standing at a water stop for runners who were in the Seattle Fit program: http://twitpic.com/6rvlu

If I was to head home at this point, I would be have ridden about 60 miles -- a nice distance but not quite what I wanted to do today, so when I got to the Montlake Bridge, I decided to head towards Seward park to add 15 miles to my ride distance, At about a mile before Seward Park, I turned around, which according to my calculations should net me 75 miles. Due to some rounding errors, I arrived home with 76.01 miles on the odometer. (I always reason it's better to be over than under!)

On the way back from Seward Park, I considered bumping it up further to 80 miles by adding on a bit, but I had promised Suzanne I would be back by 1 PM so that, and the fact that I was exhausted, kept me to 76 miles, still the longest I had ever ridden and only about 4 miles short of the estimated distance of Day 1 of the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Not bad!

by Paul Litwin on Sun, Jun 07, 2009 @ 2:28 PM

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Fred's Wheels Profiled in FCHRC Center News
Our internal Center News at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Reseach Center recently wrote an article on Fred's Wheels efforts in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Since the Center News is not available outside our intranet, I thought I'd reprint it here...

======================================

Hop on Your Bike and Ride to Conquer Cancer
June 1, 2009
By Christi Ball Loso

Paul Litwin, programming manager in Collaborative Data Services, was already riding a wave of team-captain success. He had just led a Healthy Challenge team to first place two years in a row when another opportunity presented itself.

"While on CenterNet, I read about an orientation session for The Ride to Conquer Cancer," Litwin said. "Right away, I knew that event would become my next challenge."

The Ride to Conquer Cancer, an international cycling event, is set to begin Saturday, June 20, in Vancouver, B.C., with opening ceremonies followed by the first leg of the course. After camping overnight, the riders will finish their sojourn Sunday afternoon in Seattle. Funds raised by U.S. riders will be donated to the Canary Foundation to support early detection cancer research at the Hutchinson Center.

Litwin dubbed his cycling team Fred's Wheels, dedicating his ride and fundraising efforts to a cousin who died of lung cancer. His first teammate is the Center's Damon May, scientific software engineer in Computational Proteomics, who just bought a new bicycle--his first in 10 years.

"It was a no-brainer for me, joining the ride so I could improve my cycling skills while giving back in support of important research," May said. At work, May is part of a pancreatic-cancer research team that receives funding from the Canary Foundation. He has gotten up to riding speed quickly, commuting to school and work and training with Litwin on evenings and weekends.

Both men have raised upward of $2,000 in their first weeks of pledge appeals to friends, family and colleagues. They invite others to join them by donating or by taking part in the cycling event. Donate to Center team members' rides via http://cdsweb01.fhcrc.org/theride Registration for The Ride to Conquer Cancer is still open; to sign up, call 1-888-771-BIKE or visit http://www.conquercancer.ca

by Paul Litwin on Sun, Jun 07, 2009 @ 1:58 PM

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$4,000 and Counting!
Woohoo! We broke through $4,000 and 100% this past Monday thanks to my very generous 57 donors! Thank you everybody so much. You rock!

Lookout $5,000 -- we might just make it past you as well!

by Paul Litwin on Fri, Jun 05, 2009 @ 12:04 PM

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Paul's Big Training Weekend
After fixing a unexpected flat Saturday at around 7:30 AM, I ate my cereal and headed out the door a wee late to meet up with Damon for a ride around Lake Washington. I was about 20 minutes late due to a rear tire flat so I skipped the latte and we headed out on our ride together. Our Thursday night ride leader, Mike Kelly, suggested a route on the Cascade Bike Club site which you can view at http://cycleuniversity.com/09/CBC-full_lake.pdf Turn-by-turn directions can be found at http://cycleuniversity.com/09/CBC-full_lake.doc

We headed out at about 8:05 AM from Starbucks/Fred Meyer in Ballard for Montlake via the Burke-Gilman trail (http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/trails/regionaltrailssystem/burkegilman.aspx).

Our first stop (not including a quick bathroom break in Kenmore) at mile 25 was in Kirkland at a nice cafe on Lake street (I don't recall the name). I sucked down a grande latte and a very delicious eclair (a very rare event that I eat eclairs but boy it tasted good). We continued south through Bellevue past 520 and I90 and south through a section of King County I had never been to (Newcastle, Renton, and South Seattle). We had some great views of Lake Washington and Mount Ranier.

We rounded the lake around mile 40 and made our second stop at Seward Park at mile 46. I had a chocolate ice cream cone from a nice vendor who was parked there (seems like that guy in the white truck is ALWAYS parked there, by the way).

We arrived back at the starting point of our clockwise ride around the lake just north of the Montlake Bridge. The ride around the lake was 48 miles but with a few minor changes we made to the route was more like 51 miles. Adding the 2 x 5 miles to and from the start would put me at 61 miles. But then I got thinking how good I felt and decided to extend the ride a bit. (Damon's back was hurting a bit so he opted out of the extension and we parted in Ballard). [Aside: Damon is a great riding partner.] I continued on the BGT to Shilshole/Golden Gardens, but instead of heading up that steep hill to 85 street, I doubled back to 8th Avenue NW and then some so I ended up at home with the odometer reading an even 70.0 miles. Wow!

After getting to bed early, I awoke before 7 AM on Sunday and headed out the door on my bike alone for a ride north along 8th NW and 3rd NW to the city line at 145th Street. I headed east on 145th, unsure of what my next turn would be when I happened upon the start of the Shoreline section of the Interurban Trail. So I headed north along this newly discovered trail. The IUT is actually a number of loosely connected trails that stretch from South King County to North Snohomish County with a large number of unconnected sections (e.g, most of the city of Seattle and parts of Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, etc.). Anyway, I stayed on the trail when it was there and turned around after an hour so I could be home in time for church.

I ended up having a nice Sunday morning ride of 24 miles. And here is the great part: I felt pretty good, even though this was less than 24 hours after yesterday's 70 miler. I think this means that I am ready for the Ride to Conquer Cancer! Cool. Now only if I could get a few more donations to boost me over $4,000...

by Paul Litwin on Sun, May 31, 2009 @ 11:56 PM

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Thursday Night Cascade Ride
I rode Thursday night (accompanied by my Fred's Wheels teammate, Damon) with Cascade Bike Club. We ended up riding south on a similar route to the ride two weeks prior, but ended up going further south past Seward Park before heading west on South Henderson Street.

It was a good, fast ride of over 35 miles with quite a few hills. Coupled with the 15 miles I rode to work and from work to the start of the ride, it was another 50 mile day (the third one in 6 days).

It seems like my training is falling into place nicely. That's not to say I am not sore nor am I pain free. However, all in all, I believe I am tolerating the ramp up of the miles quite well.

by Paul Litwin on Sun, May 31, 2009 @ 11:16 PM

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100+ Miles Memorial Day Weekend
On Saturday, I met up with Fred's Wheels teammate, Damon May, and a co-worker/friend of Damon's, Jason, for a ride to Redhook Ale Brewery in Woodinville. It's mostly a flat ride on the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River trails. Damon and I stopped for lunch at the brewery (Jason went on for a longer ride while we ate). On the way home, Damon and I added Shilshole/Golden Gardens with its monster hill at the end. My mileage total was 52 miles!

Sunday I didn't ride but did manage to go to the Folklife Festival at Seattle Center with Suzanne and the kids. After the festival I drove to Mercer Island Pool and did the swim workout (over 2000 yards) with the Mary Meyer Life Fitness group. It was a tough workout but at least I didn't have to ride home on my bike this time.

Monday (Memorial Day), I got up and headed out on my own to East Lake Sammamish for a 51 mile ride. The route which included trail and a lot of streets was quite a bit hillier than Saturday's ride but surprisingly, it wasn't that bad!

So all in all, not bad for the 3-day weekend. I'm certainly getting closer to being ready for the ride from Vancouver to Seattle in 4 weeks.

by Paul Litwin on Mon, May 25, 2009 @ 11:40 PM

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My Victoria Trip -- Carbon Free (Not Counting the Boat Ride)
I had to ride the Clipper (boat) from Seattle to Victoria on Thursday so I could deliver a couple of talks on SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services to the Victoria .NET Developer's Association.

What's cool about this trip is that I bicycled the whole way. I biked from my home in Seattle to the Clipper dock on Pier 69 on the Seattle Waterfront. Then rode the Clipper for over 3 hours to Victoria (was only supposed to take 2.5 hours but we had some engine trouble...).

When I got off the boat in Victoria, I biked to my hotel. I had planned to take a taxi later that afternoon to the University of Victoria but after looking in Google Maps, I discovered it was only 5-10 miles from my hotel (depending on the route)--certainly a location I could bike to.

So I did--I biked there and back. I spoke from 6:45 to 9:10 or so, then hoped on my bike and rode back to the hotel. Good thing I had just purchased a new very bright light cause it was pitch black on the Galloping Goose trail I rode on for part of the trip.

Today (Friday) I then rode my bike back to the Clipper for the return journey and then rode to work at FHCRC from Pier 69, worked a few hours, and then rode home.

In total, I rode 32+ miles over Thursday and Friday and saved a little carbon in the process!

by Paul Litwin on Sat, May 23, 2009 @ 12:25 AM

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Inching on Up On $3500 and A Word or Two About Multi-Payment Donations
Wow. I am within a few dollars of $3,500 now--over 85% of my goal of $4,000. It's clear now that I will have no trouble reaching that goal.

That brings up an interesting subject: multi-payment donations. When you donate, you have the option to pay in 1 or multiple payments. I only get notified of each payment as it comes in and never get told the total amount or how many payments you have committed to. In fact, I think this is handled quite poorly by an otherwise great web site/app. So for multi-payment donations, I don't get credited with the total amount, nor do I even have any knowledge of what you pledged.

I share this with you now because I am little embarrassed about this. I just found out recently that a couple of you donated a lot more than I was aware you had donated.

So if you have pledged a donation in multiple payments: thank you. And unless you tell me in an email, I won't know how much you actually pledged.

I really hope the folks at Ride to Cancer consider re-working how multi-payment donations are handled. Maybe next time!

by Paul Litwin on Sat, May 23, 2009 @ 12:15 AM

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Sunday Ride & Swim...and Ride
Rode 16 to Mercer Island pool Sunday afternoon. And did a hard hour-long swim workout with Mary Meyer Life Fitness. Then rode 16 back. I'm beat but I have to get used to riding more in the coming weeks.

by Paul Litwin on Sun, May 17, 2009 @ 11:32 PM

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Busy Biking Week
I rode my bike to work every day this past week. Friday was Bike to Work Day around here. The day was great--the 4th I have rode--with lots of commuter stations all over the Seattle area. I managed to hit six of them. You can view my pics of the day at http://is.gd/AkQZ.

On Thursday night, I also went on a ride with Cascade Bike Club (http://cascade.org). We biked 26 miles all around Seattle. We started at 65th Street NE and Ravenna Blvd. Rode thru U District, across Montlake bridge, past I90, up thru Beacon Hill, the International District, Seattle Waterfront, Interbay, Fremont bridge, and back to the start. It was a fun ride plus a bunch of us ate at Bengal Tiger afterwards. I didn't get home on my bike until after 10PM.

Rode 14 miles today (Saturday). Hope to get another long ride in tomorrow. But first, my daughter Anna will celebrate her first communion at out church.
Thank you for your continued support! If you haven't contributed yet, I could sure use your help!

by Paul Litwin on Sun, May 17, 2009 @ 12:08 AM

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My Ride Dedication
Today I wrote a blog post on my cousin Paul Kunzinger who I am dedicating my ride to.

You can read it at http://plitwin.blogspot.com/2009/05/dedicating-my-ride-to-my-cousin-paul.html

by Paul Litwin on Sun, May 10, 2009 @ 3:17 PM

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More Riding
I rode to work several times last week. I also formed a team for the Seattle-area 2009 Group Health Commute Challenge. This contest is mostly a fun way to celebrate Bike to Work Month (May) in the US, Canada, and probably a few other countries.

My team is named "Hamsters on Wheels" and consists of me and 7 co-workers at FHCRC.

On most Sundays I attend a swim clinic run by Mary Meyer (http://www.marymeyerlifefitness.com/) and this Sunday I decided to combine swimming with biking so I rode to the clinic on Mercer Island for a total round-trip ride of 31 miles plus an hour of swimming. Suffice it to say, I was tired when I got home. But it's important to keep logging the miles.

The swimming is important too because the week after the Ride to Conquer Cancer, I will be competing in a triathlon (my 7th and the first of the 2009 triathlon season).

If you haven't donated to my campaign yet, please think about doing so in the near future so I can exceed my fund raising goal. Together, we can make a difference in fighting cancer!

by Paul Litwin on Tue, May 05, 2009 @ 3:45 PM

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Programmer Contest for Cancer
As most of you know, I am a programmer working for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. And many of my amazing sponsors are fellow programmers who I communicate with on twitter, facebook, and see at conferences and meetings.

Anyway, I just created a blog post at my technical blog (http://weblogs.asp.net/paullitwin) about a contest to try and drum up some more sponsors. If you are a programmer or technical type, please check it out at http://weblogs.asp.net/paullitwin/archive/2009/05/02/put-your-money-where-your-pillar-is.aspx

by Paul Litwin on Sat, May 02, 2009 @ 2:49 PM

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A Wet Tuesday Night Ride
I attempted to go on a Cascade Bike Club (http://www.cascade.org) group ride last night after work. Unfortunately, unlike previous rides I have gone on, they actually left on time. I had to change a flat tire before I left home and thus arrived at Gas Works Park at 6:11 for the 6:00 ride.

So I decided to go on a solo ride on the Burke-Gilman trail. It was great except for the rain and the wind. A few minutes into the ride it started raining and proceeded to rain harder and harder with each passing minute. By the time I turned around to head back home at around 7:00, the wind was blowing hard and the rain was raining even harder.
Still, I managed to ride home in one dirty wet piece and was able to log 24 miles.

Donors continue to come on board and I have now raised over $1900. Thank you everyone for your fabulous support.

by Paul Litwin on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 @ 3:11 PM

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Saturday Bike Ride
Got up early this morning -- even though it was tempting to stay in bed -- ate my cereal and grabbed my bike and biked 32 miles with my buddy Bill Marty to Seward Park and back.
It was good to get some significant exercise after 2 days of colonoscopy fun.

by Paul Litwin on Sat, Apr 25, 2009 @ 7:17 PM

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Colonoscopy Fun!
Okay, so the prep work for the colonoscopy wasn't exactly fun. You have to fast most of the day before and then drink about a gallon of laxative to cleanse your colon. But, you know what, it wasn't that bad.

Then this morning they hooked me up to an iv, put me to sleep, and somehow (I was asleep) shoved a tiny camera up my butt into my colon to check it out.

The results: no cancer and no polyps! The doctor did visualize my diverticulosis (not the more serious diverticulitis) but that was expected.

So I will continue to rest up at home here but tomorrow at 7:30AM I am planning to go on a long bike ride with my friend Bill cause I have to get ready for the big Ride!
Fundraising, by the way, today slowed down quite a bit after going gangbusters the first 3 days. If you're on the fence about donating, we sure could use a donation from you now. Thanks

by Paul Litwin on Fri, Apr 24, 2009 @ 7:49 PM

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Day 4 and First Hand Early Detection
I'm starting out day 4 since I signed up for the Ride to Conquer Cancer and am very touched by all my friend and family member's generousity. I have already raised over $1500 for early detection research!
What a great coincidence that I am also scheduled today for my first colonoscopy which I am having two days prior to my 51st birthday. That's right, I waited 363 days after I turned 50--not exactly recommended but the important thing is that I AM doing it now.
The prep work--taking of fasting and taking a laxative the day before and morning of the colonoscopy to cleanse your colon isn't as bad as you hear. Hey, it's not exactly fun but it's only a minor annoyance and getting a colonoscopy is very important for early colon cancer detetion.
I'm scheduled to have the procedure in less than 4 hours. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh, and if you are reading this and haven't yet contributed, please consider sponsoring my ride!

by Paul Litwin on Fri, Apr 24, 2009 @ 7:08 AM

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Fundraising Phase 2
I've already reached 25% of my goal and pretty much promoted the event only thru twitter and facebook.

Just a few minutes ago, I emailed and potentially annoyed over 400 people with direct emails asking for money. I imported all the email addresses from my Outlook contacts. And yes, not all the contacts are close friends.

If you received one of those emails are here to read more about my ride, thank you!

If you were annoyed by the email (and therefore are probably not reading this), sorry.

Thanks for your support.

by Paul Litwin on Thu, Apr 23, 2009 @ 1:57 AM

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One Day After Signing Up
So I signed up Tuesday, April 22 and here it's Wednesday and I'm already at 22% of my goal, having raised over $550 thanks to the generousity of my co-workers and twitter and Facebook friends. Thank you everyone!
Today, I rode my bike to work, which is a good thing because I have to get ready for the ride but also because today is Earth Day and I can't think of a better way to acknowledge it then by not driving.
Thank you again to each of my generous sponsors!

by Paul Litwin on Wed, Apr 22, 2009 @ 11:28 AM

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What Did I Just Get Myself Into?
Okay, I just signed up moments ago. Am I crazy or what?
Please help me answer that question by being my first sponsor.
Now, it's time to grease my chain, inflate my tires, and start getting ready for the event. Oh, and find ways to raise the $2500.
I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little worried but if you don't challenge yourself from time to time, you're not alive!
Thanks for reading,
Paul

by Paul Litwin on Tue, Apr 21, 2009 @ 5:11 PM

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