West coast friends and familiar faces -- 109 days till departure

We had a great week of cycling this week. Monday and Wednesday were in the woods after work... nice rides.

Then on Friday a west coast friend, Darrell (above) (who rode with us last year on our San Francisco to Salt Lake City ride) came to Ocala for a ride. We got in a great 60 mile ride through the horse farms north of town. It was great to show him our favorite roads and enjoy talking with him. Also gathered some good tips about cross country riding as he rode all the way across last summer(2006).


Then on Saturday we had our good friend Dr. Don (as Derek calls him) with us. Don rides most Saturdays in the winter and the Wed & Sat the rest of the year with us. He is getting in better and better shape as he is with us as we increase our mileage towards our departure date. We enjoy his company and insights and will miss riding with him while gone this summer on the road. Derek is finally done with HS Basketball and was able to join our longer rides this week. He fared very well on the Saturday ride of 46 miles (to the Villages then around Lake Wier) Ahhh....the benefits of being 16.

Michael is in the last semester of his Junior year at the University of Florida. He is balancing classwork, teaching assistant responsibilities, a job, a girl friend( Hi.. Cayce!!) and trying to train. The good news is he was on Deans list last Semester and he still has about 100 days left to train. He is getting a taste of what adult life is like when you have to balance many tasks. He will do fine I am sure.

We are at $11,096 raised for the Lance Armstrong Foundation as of today. If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below

Cool Weather and 116 days till we leave

The weather this week turned cool here is Florida with 3 freezing nights in a row and temps in the mid 20's at night. It was however a good week of cycling with woods rides on Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday and road rides of 32 & 52 miles on Friday and Saturday. It was long sleeves and leg warmers do to the temps and the wind (13-18mph) but the sun warmed it up to the 50's in the afternoon.

We made a short stop at Silver Springs for this weeks pictures and spotted a gator in the water nearby. A northerner here on vacation commented, "He's Fake"...it was comical as in fact the Gator was VERY real.
We secured our plane tickets to Portland this week and for the return from New Hampshire. Derek has made plans to spend a week with Grandpa (my dad) immediately after the trip. Dad will pick him up in New Hampshire and then Derek will fly back a week later from New York.

If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so. Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150. Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below.

Winter Cross Training

Well it was some winter cross training this past week. Had a nice bike ride on Monday after work in the woods. Then on Wednesday Bernice & I headed to New York to see our Dad's (89 and 82 years old respectively) and to do some winter cross training.

The weather was winter-like. In New York that means highs around 12-15 and Snowy. As you can see from the pictures we were dressed warm and it was snowy.

Bernice did some snowshoeing and shopping with my Sister and an old friend. I skied for 3 days and logged 87,883 feet of vertical.

We, thanks to your help are making progress in our fund raising efforts to your generosity. We crossed the $11,000 mark this week.

We are down to 123 days till departure-- wow time is flying and time for departure will be here soon.

If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below

February already.... 130 days till departure

Last June we pedaled over the summit of Mount Rose (near Lake Tahoe) and I was excited (hence the picture to the right.

This week we passed a milestone in our fundraising efforts. We passed the $10,000 mark in our fund raising efforts. We stand today at $10,880. Now the website does not reflect checks as quick as online donations but is should show there soon.

We had a good week of riding and I
started using a Garmin 305HR to record our training rides. It will keep track of elevation,distance, route, speed,weather, heart rate,and even weather.
We had some nice rides and we were very fortunate to miss the devastation of the tornadoes that passed just a few miles south of us killing 20 people.

We are now only 130 days from departure and as the picture above shows we are ready to get on the road. We made our reservations for Astoria this week and have been scouting airfares... it won't be long.

If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below

Back in the saddle

Ahhhh it felt good this week to get back in the saddle. Some skiing, rain, basketball and golf detracted from normal training recently; but our base mileage is good and sometimes cross training a bit can be healthy. Had a very nice ride yesterday on the road, 47 miles and delightful cool Florida weather. This coming week looks like a normal training week.
On Friday Derek went to the Winter Dance with his girlfriend Jenna(see pic to the right). I guess it went OK as I saw her the next day and it did not appear she had any broken toes.

Our fundraising is going well we are now over $10,800 raised. We will be in touch with the Lance Armstrong foundation as to how to raise the goal to a higher number ( I am sure they will help with that request)

It is only 137 days till we leave.

Since you visited here--- take time to jot a short (or long) comment to tell me you stopped by. Feel free to ask questions about cycling or the trip.

If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.
Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Brrrrrr..... time in NY

Well the picture to the right is what my rental car looked like at 6:45am this past Saturday AM as I was leaving my Dad's house for my 3rd day of skiing at Gore Mountain. After brushing the snow, then scraping the windows in 3 degree weather I remembered well why I moved to Florida 20 years ago. The skiing was great and though it was cold and kind of windy I had an incredible time. I was also able to spend time with my Dad and several other family members and friends. Prior to heading to NY last week I did get in one ride in the woods; while there I got in a total of 21 hours of skiing. So I am calling that cross training.

I am back in FL now and will be back on the bike this week. It is only 144 days till we leave.

If you visit take time to jot a short (or long) comment to tell me you stopped by. Feel free to ask questions about cycling or the trip.

If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.

Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Great Week of cycling

We had a great week of cycling. A good off road ride on Monday and Wednesday. On Friday Bernice and I rode 52 miles on some very pretty horse farm roads north of town. Then on Friday afternoon I headed to White Springs, FL to camp for two nights at Stephen C. Foster SP. I stopped by the Suwanee Bicycle Association to pick up some maps of good road rides in the area. They provided an excellent route. The next morning I headed out for a 48 mile ride with just my shadow for company. Bernice was doing Mom Taxi duty for Derek's basketball practices. She did get in a nice 30 mile ride in Ocala while I was riding.
If you are reading this click the comment button and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions - I will attempt to answer them.

Also----If you want to help (and I hope you do) -- click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

A new year and Warm again

We had a good week of riding with a nice 54 mile ride Friday am and a 43 mile one on Sat am. It is important to put back to back days together. Right now we are not too concerned with long miles as the ride is still 157 days away. As time gets closer we will ramp up the miles and the saddle time - for now about 130 -150 per week is fine.


We learned a lot during last years ride (June 2006) from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. We were in good shape when that ride came. So I will kind of follow that training again for this year. To the right you can see some of the endless miles we pedaled in Nevada

We had summer like weather here this week with mid 80's and humidity.

On the equipment front this week I want to feature the Shift /Brake Lever show to the right. Many people think of these as the brakes only; but in recent years they integrated the shift lever and the brakes into one lever. You pull it towards you to brake, push it to the side to shift and push the black tab on the inside near the end of the lever to shift the other direction. This is lighter and easier to use, especially while climbing.


I am encouraged as to the fund raising we passed the 8% mark this week and there are some promising prospects on the horizon.

If you are reading this click the comment button and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions - I will attempt to answer them.

Also----If you want to help (and I hope you do) -- click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

New Years Eve

Well I took most of the week off from work between Christmas and New Years. This allowed for some time with family and friends and was spent doing some fishing, cycling and relaxing in general. Now I know this is not a fishing journal but that was a nice redfish.

The riding was highlighted with a nice 83 mile ride on Friday through the North end of the county. Derek rode with Bernice & I and we had a very nice pedal. We saw all kinds of animals ( horses, cows, llamas, turkeys, donkeys,rabbit, baby bulls and others).

Training now consists of mainly just getting in miles and time in the saddle. We will begin to focus more as the time gets closer. We are 164 days from departure. Time is passing quickly...it will be here before we know it.

Today's bike photos were taken by Derek. I like the composition of the one to the right with the wheel in it--- nice touch

If you are reading this click the comment button and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions - I will attempt to answer them

Also----If you want to help (and I hope you do) -- click the button -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Merry Christmas

Well tomorrow is Christmas that means we celebrate the birth of Christ and good family time. It also means there are only 171 days till departure. Wow.... time is flying and there are still many things to do before we leave.

Tomorrow we will all be home for the day. Mike is down from UF and Bern's Mom will be here for dinner. The tree is trimmed and all is ready. We had a good day today with friends and family and a nice Candlelight service to remind us what this holiday is all about.



This past week I had to take a continuing education test in Gainesville. We went out for ice cream before the test. Bernice found the T-shirt she is wearing to the left. She said it is the way she plans to ride 3600+ miles -- "Fueled by Ice Cream"
If you are reading this click the comment button and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions - I will attempt to answer them

Also----If you want to help (and I hope you do) -- click the button -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation. You can also send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Ahhhh....nice Florida Weather again

Well after last weeks chilly riding weather; this week was back to incredible. We had temps with lows in the 50's and highs near 80. Great training weather. Got in several nice rides including a 43 mile one on Saturday with some intervals thrown in. This was done using a heart rate monitor. After about 25 miles and being nice and warmed up and on an appropriate stretch of road (long & straight) I pick up the speed to about 25 - 30 and hold it there till my heart rate goes north of 165 then ease off and when it hits 130 then time for another effort. This is repeated about 5 times.

The picture above is on they way up to Donner Pass this summer a rolling acent up to about 8300 feet. Interval training helps make you stronger and that makes mountian assents easier.

This weeks "gear moment" is the handelbar. To the right you can see the view I see when I look down. You can see the brake hoods and the bike computer (I will talk about the computer another week) and the rear view mirror. You will notice the bars are covered with padded tape to cushion my hands and there are a number of places to hold onto. Varying my hand position is critical to good bike health (meaning not getting stiff & sore.) The mirror lets me see what is happening behind -things like traffic of course but also other riders (allowing me to know if the current pace is comfortable for the group)

If you are reading this click the comment button and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions - I will attempt to answer them

Also----If you want to help and I hope you do -- click the button -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation. You can also send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong FoundationP O Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Brrrrr 38 degrees this AM

We waited a little bit and it climbed into the mid 40's by about 10:00am, we donned leg and toe warmers, long fingered gloves, and a wind jacket and off we went for a 47mile ride. It was not only cold it was breezy steady winds at about 12mph, the good news was that we headed into the wind so the last 20 or so miles had a nice tail wind.

You might ask why? I would tell you things like the picture above of the Mt. Rose Summit and knowing what lies ahead this coming summer. There will be cold mornings and windy days and we will pedal; therefore we might as well learn what it is like before it counts.

This weeks equipment feature is the bicycle seat configuration. You can see the seat post serves many duties. Mine is carbon fiber with a clear Zerts insert this makes it light and it allows it to reduce road vibration. It serves as a mount for my rear flashing light used in early morning light. It holds my seat which also holds my tool kit (CO2 tube inflator, multi-tool, quick stick, extra tube).

The seat itself is very comfortable. Notice several things: wide enough to rest my pelvic bones on - no wider. Gel inserts for comfort. Cut out in the middle to avoid excess pressure on the prostate. We can ride all day in comfort.

If you want to help -- click the button -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation. You can also send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong FoundationP O Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

December means it is only 7 months away

Well it seems as if time is moving forward at high speed. We will embark on our journey in just over 7 months from now. We have the dog, the lawn, and the pool issues taken care of; yet there is still much left to do.

This week we took my Dad back to the airport, we enjoyed His two week visit, and miss having Him here. The dog misses him too. She was his constant companion and liked all the attention she got from him.

Riding this week was impaired by weather and travel. I got a good ride in the woods on Monday. Wednesday it rained and I climbed on the trainer for an hour (not nearly as much fun as real riding-- but a good workout. Friday I got no ride in due to an all day meeting. Saturday it was wet and drizzling but we hit the road anyhow as the radar showed nothing scary. It ended up being a nice ride just under 50 miles.

I have been getting questions as to equipment. So I decided to feature some of the gear we use. At the left are my cycling shoes. They are very comfortable with lots adjustments as to fit. They have a very stiff sole ( mine are carbon fiber) to spread out the pressure from the pedal and this reduce foot fatigue.
If you notice on the one that is upside down there is a cleat like thing on the ball of the foot this actually locks into the pedal making it very efficient. It does release if you need it to.

If you have a question or comment please click the comment button.

We passed the 6 percent mark in fundraising. I am starting in earnest to ask people to make a contribution. This is a very good cause and one that has or will affected all of us in some way. So.... go ahead and click the button -- HELP the MILLER's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation.

You can also send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong FoundationP O Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving is a good time of year as it gives us cause to reflect on the things that are important to us. For us it is our faith and our family; and it was nice to have Mike down from UF for the long weekend and my Dad here for 2 weeks. We had a total of 26 to our home for Thanksgiving. We are missing 3 regulars from our midst due to death from Cancer - One more reason we are on this mission.



Riding this week was good.
Monday in the woods by myself - good day to stretch the legs after a long ride on Sunday.
Wednesday Michael was home from college early enough to get out to Santos and play on the Red trails. These are the challenging trails that some would call scary - we call them FUN!!
Thursday- a nice 20 mile ride at Santo's; we went to land bridge and back with a neighbor "JT".
Friday and Saturday we were on the road. Bern & I on Friday did a nice 30 mile ride and then on Saturday (Bern, Michael, Dr. Don & I) went on a good 48 mile ride looping through the Ocala National Forest. The above photo of Bern & Michael was at the Moss Bluff Dam.

I should say that the days I am in the woods Bernice is riding the road - she does not like the woods for bicycling -- just camping.

THANKS to all who have donated so far to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. We are up to $600 ($100 - that was sent in by check is not shown on the tally board). That is 6% of the way to our goal of $10,000. I am encouraged and challenged to ask for more. If you have been touched by cancer or you just think it is a good cause .....Log in and make a donation. THANKS again.

November - cool weather and sunny skies

This week was similar to last week and hopefully like many to come. Two rides in the woods and two on the road. It has been much cooler (lows in the high 30's and high in the low 70's.



Today was a great day of hills as we rode the Horrible 100 in Clermont. Though it is called the Horrible 100 we did the 76 mile choice. My Dad is down and he was waiting so we chose the shorter option.


It was 40 degrees when we pulled into the Waterfront Park. There were over 700 preregistered and many signing up the day of the event. This was a very hilly ride many many hills. I am talking 30 x27 gearing being used.




The ride was very enjoyable because we were able to spend time with some friends from our ride the past summer from San Francisco to Salt Lake City -- Monica and Jenny. (shown above)

It was so good to see them and ride with them again. It was just like being on the road again. Thanks for the company ladies.

On the fund raising side of things we are now at $550 - that is only 5.5% of the way to our $10,000 goal- but it is progress. If you have been touched by Cancer in any way.... I would ask you to consider making a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Click the Link to the left and help us fight Cancer. Thanks

November Ramblings

This week was rather normal as far as riding goes. Two days in the woods about 1.5 hours each and then 53 miles on the road on Friday and 47 miles on Saturday.

Saturday's ride took us west of town and by some very pretty horse farms. As you can see by the photo to the left. We rode with a good friend and long time riding friend - Don. Always nice when there are several of us; it allows for more drafting.

Next weekend we are doing an organized ride in Lake County. It is called the Horrible Hundred;
though we will only be doing the 72 mile option.

We will riding with two friends we met on the ride we did this summer from San Francisco to Salt Lake City.

Some very good news is that the money is starting to come in we went from $200 to $425 this week which is still a long way from our goal of $10,000 but none the less double what we had.


To the left is a pic of Bernice and I with two good friends and supporters of our cause - Lil & Ruth. We happened to run into them as we were on our ride on Saturday.

On a side note, my Dad is coming to visit for 2 weeks for Thanksgiving. Yippee.....always fun to spend time with him.

As to the Fund raising.... you may click on the link on this site "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer" and make a donation online with a credit card (preferred) or you can send a check made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.

Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation
P O Box 161150
Austin, TX 78716-1150

November happenings

Friday the wind was blowing
(15 -20 steady) and Bernice and I ventured off into the North end of the county - horse farms and rolling hills.
Headed into the wind to start... so the ride home was FAST.

I did enjoy the two rides in the woods earlier this week . I guess it is kind of like being a 12 year old catching air and sliding around the turns.


For those who think Florida is FLAT, look behind Bernice at the right. I am not sure if she is smiling because we are at the top or because she is getting a short break.

For those of you who want to make a donation to help fight Cancer click on the link to the right. It is easy, secure and tax deductible. If you would rather send a check mail it to me, payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation with Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo. Either way let's get the donations coming.

Fall is here

This shot was taken yesterday in Blue Ridge, Georgia. I was up there with Bernice visiting some friends at their cabin. Nice & Cool and very pretty foliage.

As the seasons change so does my riding. This time of year I divide my time :

• 2 days in the woods (mountain biking)
• 2 days road riding
• 2 days lifting weights
• 1 day of rest

We are beginning the process of nailing down the logistics of our trip. We have our dog care and lawn mowing nailed down. Working on travel to Astoria and other details. There is a lot to be done when you will be away from home for 60 days.

The boys are really looking forward to being back on the road

Please visit our link: Help the Miller's fight cancer on the right and make a donation.

The Santa Fe Century went well. A century is a one hundred mile ride and we did an organized one yesterday.





Actually it was:

• 102.3 miles
• it took us 5 hours and 25 minutes
• we had an average speed of 18.5 mph.

And of course we got a tee shirt. I asked Derek to model it because he got his braces of this past week and has been smiling more ever since.

Derek, Michael and I did the ride as Bernice was heading to the mountains of North Georgia ( I will be heading there to join her there Wed afternoon. )

I have been asked by several what kind of bikes we will be riding on our trip next summer

Here is a picture of my bike. It has 30 gear selections, skinny tires (120 pounds of air), carbon fiber frame and fork, weighs right at 17.3 pounds.

Don't forget to go to the link on the right "help the Miller's fight cancer" and make a donation. We are trying to have all the money raised before the trip. It is a great cause, one we have all in some way been affected by, and tax deductible.

This week we logged 150 miles, including a 50 mile ride yesterday - escorting a "Five Points for Life" ride from Gainesville to Ocala thru the horse farms.

This coming week the week of the 16th I expect two days of riding - a 25 mile ride Monday before work then a Century (100 miles) on Saturday. The century is the Santa Fe Ramble and I will be riding with both boys which should be fun.

The middle part of the week I will be in Chicago on business


The picture (above right) is from last fall. Bernice and I did a trip around the central part of Maine.

It is nice riding in Florida now that the weather has changed; why we even needed vests a couple of mornings.
====================
on a side note we had the first $100 donated this week .... be sure to click on the link on the right and make a donation.... we are 1% of the way there.