p-p.net

Jacksonville's Team Gestalt Ready to Ride the Tour de Cure

May 19, 2006 - Jacksonville, FL - Nine cyclists representing Gestalt LLC will participate this weekend in the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Tour de Cure, a two-day, 124-mile road ride from downtown Jacksonville to Fernandina Beach, FL and back. Team cyclists Bill (captain), Wes, Neil, Scott, Amy, Lane, Ryan, Perry, and Brian have been training for five months for the event, regularly meeting for group rides on the weekends.

Tour de Cure is a series of cycling events held in more than 80 cities nationwide to benefit the ADA. The funds raised by Team Gestalt and other Tour de Cure participants will support the American Diabetes Association's research, information and advocacy efforts and its mission: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

The team has exceeded its group fundraising goal, posting over $2,400 in pledges thus far from colleagues, family, friends, and from Gestalt's Charitable Giving Program. The May 2006 issue of the ADA's local The Tour Times newsletter listed Team Gestalt as one of the Top 10 Teams contributing to the overall event goal of raising $132,000, with team member Perry in the Top 10 Individual Fundraisers list. While the numbers may change through the June 16 collection deadline, Team Gestalt has clearly focused on financial goals as well as physical conditioning.

Bill, manager at the Jacksonville office, started recruiting for the team in December. "One of the options for the quarterly charity contribution is to use it to raise even more money. I like to ride bikes and saw that the Tour de Cure was coming up and thought it would be a great combination." Bill is a triathlon competitor who also has done longer rides, including the 1/2 iron distance race in Clermont, FL.

Neil and Scott are father and son and have cycled together before. Scott says they last "did the Cycle North Carolina ride, which is 475 miles. You ride 65 miles a day over the course of a week and sleep in tents. Dad's got one of those 'Gucci bikes' that goes pretty fast and I had to keep up." Scott noted that Neil has ridden the Cycle North Carolina ride four years in a row, the first year with Scott's sister.

Brian, a seasoned cyclist, says that participating in the Tour de Cure "was a great opportunity to extend upon Gestalt's interest in contributing to charitable organizations, and it was great to be involved at a local level here." He hopes that other offices follow Jacksonville's lead. Brian recently completed one of the longer Tour de Forts rides organized by the North Florida Bicycle Club.

Wes started out mountain biking, and then purchased his first road bike in late September. "Joining the event was a matter of good timing - it really worked out well." Wes' goal for the ride (after joking, "Total domination!") is "to finish both days in as relatively a pain-free state as possible." Wes also recently completed one of the longer Tour de Forts rides.

Amy (new to cycling) and significant other, Perry (another veteran of the road), train together. "Perry has been a patient coach and I've really benefited from his experience." Perry was on an event circuit a few years ago with Jacksonville's Team Roadkill and has done many longer rides, such as the MS150.

Amy sees the cooperative team paceline - where teammates ride in a straight-line formation, each drafting close behind the other - as a type of Scrum-like team collaboration that ensures a sustainable pace through the ride. "But then, I apply Scrum principles to just about everything since I've joined Gestalt," she says. She is riding in honor of family friend Luigi and in memory of her maternal grandfather.

Lane and Ryan also are new to road biking. Lane says he started riding for exercise and "joined the team to maintain my momentum." Another benefit he has recognized is "getting to see different parts of Jacksonville ... even around where I live, I see things I wouldn't normally notice." After discussing pre-ride preparations ("Carb-loading. Do doughnuts count?"), Lane notes that for him the ride "is about the goal of doing this very hard physical feat. What's surprising to me is how much I've improved in a short time."

Ryan, who joined the team because "it sounded like fun ... a new experience," was very impressed with the response of friends and families - "amazing people who are willing to give support." He says he was surprised at how impossible the ride distance sounded at the beginning "and yet how do-able it feels now. I hadn't previously ever biked more than a few miles at a time. To actually have something to train for was a cool experience." When asked for his ride strategy, Ryan quickly replied, "Don't stop!"

The two-day Tour de Cure concludes Sunday, May 21, with lunch provided for riders at Jacksonville's Metropolitan Park. Will Team Gestalt ride again? The outlook is positive - Lane, the team's next captain, is already recruiting for the MS150 Bike Tour in September sponsored by the North Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

-- A.S.K.

Jacksonville's Team Gestalt Completes the ADA Tour de Cure

May 22, 2006 - Jacksonville, FL - Hot weather and hard work made Team Gestalt's inaugural fundraising road ride an effortful yet enjoyable event. While the team trained through a chilly-for-Florida winter (with two minutes of light snow flurries spotted on one training ride in February!) and a mild spring, the Tour de Cure weekend brought summer with 94+ degree days and the attendant atmospheric moisture that prompts that old adage, "it's not the heat, it's the humidity."

Amy, Brian, Lane, Neil, Perry, Ryan, Scott, and team captain Bill were up for the challenge, however.

The nine-cyclist team took advantage of the regular SAG (support and gear) stops along the way to and from Fernandina Beach to stay hydrated and keep well-fueled. On day one, the team started off in line and traveled through downtown Jacksonville, San Marco, and Arlington toward the Fort Caroline area, separating into two and then three groups according to pace preference. The team groups met up briefly at each rest stop and at the Mayport ferry, which transported Tour de Cure cyclists across the St. Johns River from Mayport Village to Ft. George Island.

From there the ride route followed SR A1A with views of the beaches and marshlands, and eventually wound through beautiful and shady Fort Clinch State Park and into the city of Fernandina Beach. Team Gestalt cheered each other on down historic Centre Street to the Fernandina Harbor Marina on the Intra-coastal Waterway. Amy enjoyed a full-team salute from a local sandwich shop when she rolled in to close out Team Gestalt's effort for the first day.

Supporters along the course included Carlos and his son Brandon, Bill's wife Tara and their children Lauren and Nathan, and Wes' wife Sarah, who followed the team's progress from stop to stop by car all through the day, providing welcome cheers and encouragement (as well as tipping the ferryman for us!)

Day two started early as tired muscles were stretched and primed for another 60+ mile ride. The cool morning brought tough head- and cross- winds, making drafting absolutely necessary to maintain a pace for the long haul. The team split to ensure no one rode alone. The day quickly heated up and shade was little evident on the southerly route, which took riders through neighborhoods and along country roads. The last stretch of the ride ran through Jacksonville's Westside through Riverside back to Metropolitan Park, where Tour de Cure volunteers welcomed a tired but triumphant Team Gestalt.

As of this writing, the team has raised over $2,500 for the American Diabetes Association, with additional donations coming in over the weekend. To our friends, families, and colleagues, the Jacksonville team says "THANK YOU!" for the great show of financial and personal support. With your help, we met our goals for the Tour de Cure AND made Gestalt LLC a much-asked-about corporate name in North Florida!

-- A.S.K.

Exclusive P-Interview!

Perry - why did you decide to join Team Gestalt and ride in the Tour de Cure this year?

It was a good reason to ride again - hadn't been on the bike in a long time, and it was an opportunity to ride with old pal Brian and with Amy. I also did it to enjoy the fitness aspect and support the cause.

What was the most challenging part about training?

The hardest thing was trying to keep a training schedule and not letting things get in the way - that was the toughest part of the whole effort.

What did you enjoy most about riding the Tour de Cure this weekend?

I enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells - good to be outside, got a good change of scenery throughout the ride. You feel that you're relatively protected riding with a group of people in an organized event, so it's a nice experience to get to ride on roads that you typically wouldn't ride on because they are not generally cyclist-friendly.

What's next? Do you plan on training over the summer?

Oh the great debate: sleeping in or going out for a ride in the sun? I'm pondering, scheduling... Trying to decide whether to do the MS150 in September. Amy, are you going to do it? If you're gonna do it, I'll do it...

Hmmm... This interviewer is still recovering from the TdC and doing pondering of her own...Stay tuned (check this site!) to find out what is next for road warrior Perry...