Quest for Knighthood

[Black wallnut]

Friends and members I have mentioned a few times I am sure that I am fighting diabetes. I've also mentioned that I ride my bike, lots. Cycling and diet has helped me control my disease. In the cold season I spend most of my ride time on a bike trainer sometimes doing Sufferfest Videos which is a series of cycling workouts set to professional cycling race footage and real rocking soundtracks. For me and many others they provide the motivation to actually ride hard, sometimes brutally hard inside.

Several years ago a cyclist for a lark decided to ride 10 videos back to back and that has spawned a small Knighthood movement. Currently there are less than 200 Knights of Sufferlandria world wide. Sufferlandria is the mythical country we go to while in our pain cave doing these workouts.

On January 17th I am going to do a Quest for Knighthood by riding 10 workouts back to back in my local bike shop as a fundraiser for my American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure effort. When I succeed I will be in the company of less than 100 others in the USA who have done this. I'll be posting updates during this Quest to Facebook.

Please consider making a donation on my behalf to my Tour de Cure effort. You can do so by clicking on the link below my signature.

[radhak]

Mark - I'm unable to hit your page. The site drops me to the login page and because I am not registered there, I don't have an auto-login to allow me to go further. How do I search for your page?

Interestingly, it does not allow me to register unless I am signing up for a tour !

[Black wallnut]

Thanks for the heads up. I believe the link is fixed now.

[radhak]

Yes, it is.

Best of luck, Mark!

[mschrank]

Fateful clicks...

Hi Mark,

I have no idea what made me click over to the BT3Central site today. I used to be very active here, but I see by my stats above that I haven't logged on since February 2011. It was around that time that I got a routine check-up and realized I was fat and heading towards ill health. The doc started talking about blood pressure and cholesterol meds. I said "screw that, I just need to get back in shape."

I haven't completely given up woodworking, but it's done out of necessity now more than pleasure. You see...about 90% of my spare time now gets devoted to cycling (in fact, my latest "necessity" was a small platform to raise my front wheel when my bike is on the trainer). And now that it's winter here in the NW, my garage workshop becomes my Sufferfest torture chamber. My planer now serves as a side table to hold my sweat towel, iPad, glasses etc. An my ever faithful BT3000 supports my fan. I even have it plugged into the outlet on the side of the saw so I just use the saw's switch to turn it off and on.



I recently participated in a Sufferfest Knighthood event (That's me on the left, with the sweat towel over my face) I'm nowhere near crazy, er...dedicated enough to grind through 10 videos. I merely sat in for a couple to support and motivate my fellow Sufferlandrians. Six finished, but only two were Knighted (the other 4 don't own the vids, so didn't qualify).

Anyway, just wanted to reach out to a fellow BT3'er and now cyclist. I've also followed you on Strava, where I see you did the STP in one day! Congrats...that's on my bucket list. Perhaps this summer. One of my favorite events is the CHaFE 150 out of Sandpoint, ID. I've done it 3 times, great ride...you might give it a look.

I've made a very modest donation (rough time of year right after Christmas) towards your Knighthood quest. Best of luck, and take lots of changes of clothes and sweat towels.

[Black wallnut]

Wow thanks Mike! I've not heard of that ride out of Sandpoint, looks great. I will think about that one. I've driven some of that route in a big truck, a bit past the weigh station past Bonner Ferry; we used to have a member that was a weighmaster there.

[Black wallnut]

Update, yesterday I started about 7:50 AM and completed my Quest about 6:30 PM.

I was joined by several friends for some of the videos. It was the hardest thing I have ever done on a bike.

[radhak]

Good to hear that, Mark. That's a long day indeed! Congrats for completing it - I can readily believe it was beyond tough; just the description left me cringing : 10 workout videos, back-to-back, and in public ...

But your cause is great, so hats off to you!

[twistsol]

I suppose we henceforth need to refer to you as Sir Mark! Congratulations, that is truly an amazing accomplishment.