Team Ride #8 Taste of Terrible Two is dedicated to Jan Alexander.

Jan was first diagnosed with CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) on April 26, 2005 - a month before her first grandchild was due. A lymph node biopsy in September 2007 changed her diagnosis to indolent follicular lymphoma. She began participating in a clinical trial at Stanford in October 2007 but was released from the study in March 2008. She will not receive any treatments again until after a CT scan in August 2008.

Jan sent a message to the team, "A great big thank you to everybody for the commitment that you're making to help everyone who has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. Some of my treatment has been made possible through the Society's support. Having cancer is so expensive, and it means so much to me that the Society can help make clinical trials available. All of the funds that you are raising will be used in the future for new clinical trials and new treatments to improve quality of life and hopefully to find a cure. This is only possible because of people like who you are willing to commit to ride and raise money to help us. Thank you so much."

Thank you for that Jan. But it's ALL about you.

What's in store for the team this week end. A Taste of the Terrible Two's. The goal...103 miles, 9500 feet of climbing. YIKES!!! Can she do it. YES! You bet.
Here's the philosophy I will stand by on this ride:

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year but eventually it will subside and something else will take it's place.
If I quit, however, it lasts forever.

-Lance Armstrong

Thank you Coach Kim for the inspirational words.....We are going to riding through some of the most beautiful scenery in California. Beginning in Cloverdale, riding out to the coast, down the coast a bit, and back in and up to the start. That's it in a nutshell! Hang on to your hats!...or helmets. ( :

Hi. I'm Porter. I just turned four on November 25. I have a big brother, Parker, who's 10, and two big sisters, Emma and Eliza, who are 8 and 7. My mom Jennifer won't tell anyone how old she is. I think she's real old, like at least 22 or 23. My dad Jim is probably old enough to be a grandpa.

I was born at Thanksgiving time in 2003. The doctors figured something was wrong when I had little purple dots all over my body. I spent a lot of my first few months in the hospital. I had my arms and feet pricked so many time for blood tests that I finally just stopped crying when the nurses stuck the needles in me. That's when my mom started crying.

In March 2004, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML), a very rare and lethal form of leukemia. My type of leukemia always comes back after chemo; the only possible cure is a stem cell transplant. Fortunately, my sister Eliza is a perfect match.

I have been in good health for nearly four years now and have not needed treatment. The doctors say my leukemia is just "simmering." This may have something to do with the fact that I also have Noonan Syndrome. While NS has created other problems for me, it has also helped me fight the leukemia.

I love being an honoree for Team in Training. I especially like coming to TNT events and getting hugs and kisses from the babes--I mean the ladies. GO TEAM!

TEAM FUNDRAISING UPDATE
We’re doing GREAT! Our team total so far is $55,219! Almost halfway to our goal of $115,000. We’re on track and we just need to keep on truckin’, which I know we're all going to do. Here are our top 5 Fundraisers: Drum roll please………

Nick Cofod
Grace Cassel (Team Honoree..CANCER SURVIVOR!!!)
ShellyWillard (Still recovering from a cycling accident)
Robert Dekas
Michelle Shutzer

Great job you guys!!! GO TEAM!

Donate Here PLEASE

Life IS short. That feeling can be especially prevalent to those who are battling cancer. Life is short. I have been busy all my life trying to cram as much into it as I can to get the most out of it. The result has been a better quality of life, enjoying life, and having met some people who are kindred spirits. I don't know what is on the flip side of this or whats gonna come at me that I can't control. So for now I'm livin'. Like Kieth Urban's song says: You better start living right NOW!!!

That is me and my good friend Suzie. On Saturday we trained out in the Point Reyes area. The weather man said 60% chance of rain....I'm glad we didn't listen to him. It was extremely windy though. We started out from Nicasio and peddled out to the Lighthouse in Point Reyes and back; 65 miles, 4500 ft of climbing. But the hardest part of the weekend was Sunday morning when I had to get out on the bike again for my "recovery" ride. I only did a fast 10 miles, mostly flat, spinning all the way. It's always so hard to get out there after a long ride the day before, but once I'm rollin' I love it and feel good about making myself do it. But the recovery rides are going to have to be longer as the Saturday training rides get longer. I'm only riding about 150 miles a week so far, but that is going to soon change. But like my friend Suzie told me and I told my friend Rich, take it one week at a time.

Okay, Saturday 3/8 Team Ride #4......After another great nutrition clinic, we headed out for a climb up the north side of Mt. Diablo, descending the south side and then out to Livermore. We returned to the starting point at Monta Vista H.S. What a great day for a ride, good weather, awesome SAG support, and of course great company. We rode 55 miles and climbed about 4000 ft. It's Sunday evening as I write this. I did a quick "recovery" ride today before going to church. I figured if I didn't do it then I would not have done a ride today. I am a little fatigued but feel like I'm well on track with my training. Tomorrow morning is Abs Class and Yoga at the Y. Then the rest of the week I will do hill repeats to try and begin building my climbing strength. I find it's a fine balance between eating correctly, training properly and rest. But I love it.

I received a beautiful thank you card from Norma Peddle yesterday. Last year Norma's husband Bill Peddle died of cancer. Bill was one of my honorees for the Solvang Century. Once again I am honoring Bill Peddles memory as well as two of Norma's other relatives that she lost to cancer. Her brother Ronald Leger and her cousin Ann LeBlanc. Norma lost her brother when she was quite young. Ronald Leger was only 8 months old when he past away from leukemia in 1947. Then her family continued the ordeal with her little cousin Ann.

In Norma's words:

My baby brother Ronald died as a young infant of leukemia and my little cousin Ann died of the same at 4 years old. She was a guinea pig with treatment back then because they really had no cure or hope. It was very very sad. I helped my mom, help my aunt take care of her, she was exhausted. The poor little girl went through hell.

Thank you for doing what you do!!!

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Children today are benefiting from the research that is done with the funds we raise. The five-year survival rate for acute lymphocytic leukemia (the most common form of childhood leukemia) has improved from just 4% in 1960 to over 80% today.

Please donate: www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/tntgsfNWhitla