Jingle Bell Run/Walk to support the Arthritis Foundation

I was watching New Day Northwest today and they had a great feature letting people know about Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

If you've been reading the blog over the past year then you know that topic hits very close to home for my family as my niece actually suffers from it.

It was for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that we formed Team Brooklynn this summer and raise over $7,500 for the Arthritis Foundation and the People's Coast Classic bicycle ride. The videos of our 6 day trip down the Oregon Coast are still up.

One of the guests on the show today was Scott Weaver of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. I actually had the pleasure to meet Scott on the People's Coast Classic and he's a great guy.

The show also had on Nine-year-old Synnove Solberg who suffers from Juvenile Arthritis and I couldn't help but think of Brooklynn.

The segment was talking about the upcoming 26th annual Jingle Bell Run and Walk which benefits the Arthritis Foundation. The event happens Sunday, December 12th at Westlake Center in Seattle.

There's still time to register. You can visit the Jingle Bell Run/Walk site to sign up.

Hats off to Scott, the Arthritis Foundation, all the participants in the Jingle Bell Run and to the kids that keep fighting against this terrible disease.

People's Coast Classic videos

Here's the week of the People's Coast Classic in videos taken by the Northern Rangers. Thank you again to all who donated to the Arthritis Foundation. As at team we raised more that $7,500! Thank you again! Hope you enjoy.

(BTW Day 5 is probably my favorite)

Day 1: Astoria to Garibaldi



Day 2: Garibaldi to Lincoln City



Day 3: Lincoln City to Yachats



Day 4: Yachats to North Bend



Day 5: North Bend to Port Orford



Day 6: Port Orford to Brookings

People's Coast Classic: Day 2 and 3

Sorry for no post yesterday but the place we were staying at in Lincoln City didn't have wireless internet. So no update.

But here's how the trip has been going.

Yesterday was going to be the longest and have the most hills of the entire trip. It was just under 70 miles. We took off at about 7 AM and decided that since it was goign to be a tough day Team Brooklynn would "go postal." See the photo. USPS all the way!

We saw a number of sites including the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We took a tour. Ate some cheese and then went on our way.

We had some great views through out the day of the Oregon coast.

Near the end of the ride was a big big big hill that we had to climb. Once getting to the top it was nice rolling hills into Lincoln City.

At Lincoln City we camp in a baseball field. We claimed left field.

Today we took off at about 7 again and had a shorter day. We had hoped to stop and look for whales but the fog never lifted the whole day. However we did get to stop at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and view all they had. It's a pretty neat place if you ever get the chance to stop.

We arrived in Yachats after a little over 50 miles. The fog is still here and its pretty chilly with the wind. The mist swirls through camp.

Tomorrow is going to be about 65ish miles. And we'll be able to stop at the Sea Lion Caves.

Total miles is just over 178.

People's Coast Classic: Day 1

Today my dad, Jeff and I started on the People's Coast Classic.

We started in Astoria and boy was it cold. (See Jeff in blanket) He rode with the blanket for a ways, and it turned into a cape. I pretended that I didn't know him.

The ride today was a little over 58 miles. The sun eventually burned off the clouds and we rode the final part in the sunshine. Now it is sunny at our camp in Garibaldi.

Tomorrow is the longest and toughest day of the ride which should be about 70 miles and offers a number of hills. Here's to hoping that Jeff doesn't have to pull me up them.

We shot some Northern Rangers videos along the way and I'll get those up when we get back.

But for now I'm going to go find some dinner and then probably go to sleep.

The People's Coast Classic

I've been off the radar lately (actually I've been Hawaii). So I apologize for the lack of posts as of late.

Tomorrow I take off for the People's Coast Classic. If you've been reading the blog then you know all about how each rider had to raise $2,500 in donations for the Arthritis Foundation. There's still time to donate if you didn't get a chance before!

You can visit my donation page and follow the directions there.

Make sure to check back daily on the blog as I'll be updating along the way. Perhaps even some Northern Ranger videos!

Bicycle training update

Today I headed out on my final training ride for the People's Coast Classic before the wedding and honeymoon. I'll have one more training ride when I get back before the PCC. Just a quick ride the week before.

However on today's ride I felt great. A quick 40 miles and the legs felt strong. Some climbing, some flat, some rolling hills.

Also, on my ride outside of Issaquah I saw these two cute little mini horses.

Biking over Snoqualmie Pass

Figured I'd give you guys an update on how my training for the People's Coast Classic has been going.

This week I rode up Snoqualmie Pass. It was 71 miles round trip and hot, hot, hot.

Now I'd never ridden on Interstate 90 before. And now that I can say I've rode over the pass, I don't think I'll ever do it again. Or if I do I'll bust out the mountain bike and head up the John Wayne Trail.

I didn't like the Interstate. Too loud. There was just a constant noise and cars flying by. Most were pretty good though and gave extra room on the side. Others weren't so good. Also there was construction going on the side on the way up, so I had to watch for cars and cross over the left.

But now I can say I did it. Sure hope I'm ready for the ride in September!

Bicycle ride today

Any town that has a market is awesome in my book. This is the Ravensdale Market in Ravensdale, Washington. Please note the inner tube tied to the post, the logo of lanterns and the DUEL satellites.

The reason I post this is I went on a 50 mile ride today and wound up in Ravensdale. Now I'd been through there as a kid, but I had no idea that the roads connected to Issaquah. Until today.

I took off down the road this morning just going to ride an out and back. In my opinion out and backs are the WORST types of rides. I hate them. They are nice for the fact that you know to make 50 miles, ride 25. Then turn around.

But they stink in the fact that you have to see everything twice. I prefer a loop. A giant loop is more fun in my opinion. But since I didn't know a 50 mile loop I figured I'd just ride for 25 miles then turn around. Boring.

But I did find that the winding and hilly road out of town lead me to Ravensdale.

That's the best part about these training rides. Is just riding and exploring. Going places I would never just get into my car and drive too.

For the ride itself I did 50 miles. Averaged 16.2 mph and it took just about 3 hours exactly. I was excited with the results and the whole ride my legs felt really strong. Hopefully this training is working so I'll be ready for the People's Coast Classic.

Bike training

While Lance Armstrong, Tyler Farrar and Alberto Cantador are getting ready for Stage 4 of the Tour de France, I've been doing some training of my own.

I'm still training for the People's Coast Classic.

This week I decided that since the weather was finally nice I'd do some back to back days of training.

Four days of 30 mile rides.

Today was day two. Yesterday I did the loop around Lake Sammamish and through Issaquah. Today I rode the Issaquah-Hobart rode out to Hobart and back.

Tomorrow, I'm not sure where I'll go.

But I'll tell you one thing, I am loving this nice weather! Thank goodness summer seems to finally be here.

Biking Snoqualmie Falls

Today was another beautiful day in the Seattle area so I decided to continue my training for the People's Coast Classic with a bike ride.

I headed out of the Lake Sammamish area up to Fall City. From there I headed up to Snoqualmie Falls.

There is a lot of construction going on up there. But don't worry, it's on the generators and not the visitor area.

Seth Truscott wrote an article about the Snoqualmie Falls upgrades for the Snoqualmie Valley Record.

After snapping a few pictures up there and getting asked if I bicycled up the road (keep in mind I'm wearing biking gear and pushing a bike) I headed back down the road.

The toughest part was the climb out of Fall City toward Klahanie. That hill kicked my butt coming up it. If you know the area it's the one by Duthie Hill Mountain Bike Park. (Jeff and I still have to head out to Duthie Hill. Just been busy with training for other hikes but we'll head out there and get a video up soon.) However, my buddy Paul over at Washington Adventures wrote a review a few weeks ago so check that out.

After much determination, I made it up the hill and headed on down through Issaquah and out to Poo Poo Point. I turned around there and made my way back home.

The ride ended up being 41 miles with lots of climbing. It took me a little over 2 1/2 hours to complete. So I was happy about that.

And I couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. It was awesome.

Wii Bowling Tournament

This weekend was very productive around here on Just Northwest.

Saturday Jeff and I hosted a Wii Bowling Tournament with the proceeds going to our ride with the People's Coast Classic.

Here's our site if you couldn't make it but would like to donate.

We had a number of great prizes that local businesses had donated or Jeff and I picked up in our journeys.

Here's the prize table from that night:

Everyone seemed to have a great time (I know I did) and enjoy the "all you can eat" taco bar that we provided.

Sunday I headed out to my parents house for a 20 mile training ride with my dad. It was beautiful weather with mid-70's and sunny. It was perfect riding weather.

Thanks to everyone who made the Wii Tournament a success! And congrats to all our winners.

Bicycle training

I'm still training for the People's Coast Classic and figured I'd update you guys on how it is going.

Fund-raising

First off let's start with fund-raising. We've been hitting the fund-raising trail and right now our team is sitting at just over $2,000. Keep in mind we need to raise $7,500 as a team. To all those who have donated THANK YOU! And if you haven't and have a few dollars to spare, please consider doing so.

The funds go to a great cause and are TAX DEDUCTIBLE. The funds are broken down pretty simply and again, we are riding in honor of my niece who went blind in one eye at the age of six due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

For each dollar that I raise, 49 cents goes toward funding research, 19 cents goes to public education programs (such as camps for kids), 8 cents goes to patient and community services (such as Lifestyle Improvement exercise programs, 4 cents goes toward updating medical providers on the latest in arthritis treatments and 20 cents goes toward fund-raising costs.

So please donate and SUPPORT our ride! You can visit my ride site to donate. Thank you.

TRAINING

As for training I am slowly adding the miles. On Tuesday I rode into Seattle for a round trip 25 miler.

So far I've put on just over 200 miles of training. I know, I know. Not a tone. But it's been raining like a monsoon for most of the summer so far and to compensate I've been hitting the gym.

My bike has been holding up nicely. The tires however have not. Haha.

I got my first flat with it on a 50 mile ride two weeks ago. Glass on the trail. Since then I've had two more flats for a total of three. And you know what they say, "bad things come in threes." Let's hope that is true for flat bicycle tires!

On Sunday I'm meeting up with my dad for about a 50 mile ride. If the weatherman is correct should be a beautiful day.

That's all I have for an update at this time. Tune back in for more soon!

Garage sale donations

You may have noticed that there was no Outdoor Photo of the Week this weekend. The reason was I had a very busy weekend running a garage sale. I was able to make $200 for donation toward the People's Coast Classic.

Here's a picture of my lovely mom who was the organizer of the event. Thanks Mom!

The People's Coast Classic

In addition to all of my trips this summer (backpacking, kayaking, mountain climbing, hiking) I decided to undertake one more adventure.

This one is for a charity.

I will be participating in the 363-mile People's Coast Classic bicycle ride. This ride will be along the entire Oregon coast and its all for a great cause. The funds that I raise will be going to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.

"I read somewhere... of how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once."

I am riding for a number of reasons.

Many of my loved ones are affected by arthritis. Both my mom and dad have it. My niece was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age four and eventually went blind in one eye. I have aunts that have it, and I'm sure a few uncles. Pretty much most of the people I know have it in some way, shape or form.

And then this opportunity presented itself for this ride. My dad is big into street bicycling. I'm more into mountain biking. But this was something that I could share with him.

Then the other half of the Northern Rangers, Jeff, decided he wanted to come along. And I couldn't think of two guys I'd rather do this ride with.

I always talk about how I want to do certain things, well at some point you have to stop talking about what you want to do and you have to do it.

I am blessed enough to have the ability to do this ride for those I love. And for anyone that is affected by arthritis.

And since I already had a summer full of hiking, backpacking, kayaking and mountain climbing planned. So I figured, might as well add in biking.

I invite you to follow as we train for this great cause. Please donate if you can. If you can't please say a prayer for us. That's just as good in my book.

If you are able to make a donation, please do so at my site: http://tppcc.kintera.org/caseyknopik

Also, any donation is tax deducible.

But mainly you'll be helping the over 46 million adults in the US that suffer from arthritis. Think about it, I'm sure you know someone in your life who has it.

Thank you for your thoughts and donations. I'll continue to update the blog with how my training is going.