If today is MONDAY, this MUST be MAINE!

Today was a gorgeous day for a bicycle ride....65 degrees

and sunny as the group set out at 9:30 AM and 75 as a high

this afternoon with no humidity. Glenn is hoping for a repeat tomorrow!

Glenn, Craig and Kevin set out from Odiorne State Park in

New Hampshire and had an incredibly scenic ride up the coast with

stops in Portsmouth, NH,  Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine and 

Oqunquit, Maine.  The bridge from Portsmouth to Maine will reopen 

this Thursday so we were just a few days early for bike 

travel across the river.   Deb Buckley and I provided 

shuttle service across the Rte.95 bridge so that the riders

could continue on their course. 

Glenn really enjoyed having "locals" lead him up the coast...No need for 

cue sheets and GPS on this leg. Thanks to Craig and Kevin!  Deb and I met up 

with them several times during the day.  It was a great day for all!

We arrived at our hotel in Kennebunk, ME at 1:40, an early day by

Glenn's standards.  That gave us time to explore the area and relax.

The stats are in for today:

2:51:47 of riding time

41.19 miles

2171 calories burned

1982' ascent despite the fact that it is fairly flat!

Deb (showing her support with her ICICIC t-shirt!), Craig, Kevin and Glenn
Ready to take off from Odiorne State Park.

Just after I snapped this photo, Glenn realized that he had a problem with
his bike.....he couldn't go more than 9 miles per hour!  He wondered if
it was his energy level or if he did something irreparable to his bike.
When he stopped to check it, he realized that the rear brake pad was
rubbing against the wheel.  Once he adjusted it, all was well!

There were many East Coast Greenway signs along this route.   

A stop for a photo op at the beach along the Maine coast near York.
There were actually people in the water which we hear can be
62 degrees at this time of the year!

These next four photos are what I like to call "drive by shootings".

When the traffic slows to a standstill, there is always a photo to be taken!

This is the view near the Nubble Lighthouse in York, ME.
The rocky Maine shoreline is beautiful and very different
from the Jersey Shore of our youth.

  In 1874 Congress appropriated $15,000 to build a light station at the "Nubble"
and in 1879 construction began. Cape Neddick Light Station, known as the Nubble,
 was dedicated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service and put into use in 1879.
It is still in use today but is inaccessible to the public. 

The rocky Maine coastline provides much fun for those
who enjoy climbing around on them. We can't wait for our
grandsons to arrive to experience this!

Snack stop at the Lighthouse!

Crossing the bridge from Kennebunk where we are staying
to Kennebunkport, the summer home of Bush family of presidential fame.
  Cute shops and restaurants line the streets.

The Bush compound...just a little summer cottage on the
Maine coast!  We hoped for a dinner invitation but none arrived.

This is just a taste of what we hope to see as our journey up the
Maine coast continues.



As always, on days like this one, our thoughts go to our nephew, Ian.
We began this incredible journey in his memory and to
raise funds for I Care I Cure.  Every mile is dedicated to him.

Thank you for the many generous donations that we have received thus far!

Bicycle Mechanics 101

We made it safely to Portland, Maine then to Derry, New Hampshire 

 for the night.  Plans are being made for a great first day tomorrow from

Odiorne State Park, NH to Kennebunk, Maine.

The first, and most important, task today was reassembling Glenn's

bike. Amazingly, this was accomplished quickly with the help

of Craig Bulkley.  I know you have all been waiting
patiently to see if this puzzle was successfully put together!

"I think this wheel goes somewhere!"

Part L fits into Part M
Would have been great to have directions to follow!

Thought that the derailler was bent.
Not a good thing.....but all was well

A seat would be good!

We're Good to GO!

Max is hydrating for tomorrow's ride.
Sadly, he doesn't realize that he isn't joining the guys on the road.

Thanks to our hosts, Deb and Craig Bulkey!
Craig and his friend, Kevin, will lead Glenn through Portsmouth
and Southern Maine tomorrow!


The "Maine" Event begins in 12 hours!

All our bags are packed.......

We are all "geared" up for the last segment 

of this ride up the East Coast!  

We are all packed and excited to begin this adventure!

Here is Glenn's bike before the packing began last night.
 I wonder if it will ever look like this again  :)

Here we go.....the dismantling begins.
First use of this bike case which was purchased on Craigslist!

Packing was very puzzle-like.  Good thing Glenn
enjoys puzzles.  The reassembling tomorrow could be interesting!

All packed up and ready to roll!  
The only thing Glenn forgot to enclose was his helmet.
 Would not have been good to forget that important item!

Good thing we each get one free checked bag!




Tomorrow we fly to Portland, Maine, and will
spend the night with friends, Deb and Craig Bulkey in
Derry, NH.   The ride begins on Monday AM!


Get ready for the "Maine Event" of our journey!

Be prepared for trivia questions about
how many days this journey has taken,
the total number of miles traveled and
 how many days of rain Glenn had to endure!
We promise prizes!!!!!

The Last Hurrah

The Countdown Has Begun! 

14 Days Until the Final Leg Begins!

It is amazing that we have almost reached the end of this journey!

Feel free to look back at the ride by going back through this blog!

November 2009
First Day of the Ride in Key West, FL

On Monday, August 5, Glenn will return Odiorne State Park in New Hampshire to

complete his adventure on the East Coast Greenway.

Here is our itinerary just in case you are near our route and want to

ride with Glenn or catch up with me:

Monday,  August 5 -  Odiorne State Park, NH to Kennebunk, Maine

Tuesday, August 6 - Kennebunk, Maine to Brunswick, Maine

Wednesday, August 7 - Brunswick, Maine to Camden, Maine

Thursday, August 8 - Camden, Maine to Ellsworth, Maine

Friday, August 9 - I will drive Glenn north within reach of the border

and he will ride south back to Ellsworth for the night

Saturday, August 10 - the family joins us in Bar Harbor

Sunday, August 11 - In Bar Harbor for some R & R

Monday, August 12 - The entire family heads north to

finish the ride with Glenn in Calais, Maine with

a celebratory lunch in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada

on our 40th Wedding Anniversary!

Samantha Edwards, a reporter for WLBZ TV in Bangor, Maine will

do a story on I Care I Cure and the ride and we hope to post a 

link here on the blog after the 12th!

Thanks, Samantha!

We hope to raise $5000 for I Care I Cure on this segment of the ride.

Help us reach our goal while supporting an incredibly important cause.

The I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation supports the development of, and raises public 

awareness about, cutting-edge, targeted therapies for childhood cancer, 

so that the treatment of childhood cancer will be gentler and more tolerable.

                                                       CLICK RIGHT HERE TO DONATE

The MAINE Event!!!!!

It is hard to believe that we'll embark of the last segment of the ride

up the East Coast Greenway in less than two months.  Plans are being made

for the trip and Glenn is busy training for the "Maine" Event!

Dear Family, Friends and Loyal Supporters,

As many of you know, we lost our nephew, Ian Besner, to Leukemia seven years ago.  Ian was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in January 2006, one week before his 11th birthday and he passed away on May 31. Ian was an extraordinary boy who shared his joy and love of life with everyone who met him.

Lynn's sister and brother-in-law, Beth and Brad Besner, founded the I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation.  The organization supports the development of, and raises public awareness about, cutting-edge, targeted therapies for childhood cancer, so that the treatment of childhood cancer will be gentler and more tolerable.  For much more information, please check out http://icareicure.org

 
As in the past, in September 2009, Glenn decided to get on his bike to pedal for an important cause.  Since he first heard about it's development, Glenn's goal had been to ride the full length of the East Coast Greenway (http://www.greenway.org).  The Greenway runs from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida, approximately 3000 miles.  It seemed that he could combine his desire to do this bicycle ride with the worthwhile challenge of raising funds for a cause that is very special to our family.

This summer, after traveling from Key West, Florida to Rye, New Hampshire in segments over the course of 47 months, Glenn will hop on his bike to complete this journey. We will depart from Rye, NH on August 5 and will be joined by all of our children and grandchildren (and some surprise guests) on August 12, our 40th wedding anniversary, to complete the ride as we reach Calais, Maine and cross over the Canadian border.   It will be a momentous day!  

We hope that you will come along on the ride with us!  As always, Lynn will blog every day. You can expect contests, trivia and lots of photos!  If you want to receive a daily update email, sign up on the left side of the website where it says "Sign Up to Get Email Blog Updates" or you can just save the link below and check back when you have time.

http://icareicureicycle.blogspot.com/

It is our hope that we can break all of our fundraising records with this final ride on the East Coast Greenway.   If you would like to make a donation online, you can do that at:

https://www.icareicure.org/donate-step-0/  

Be sure to note that the donation is in honor of Uncle Glenn's Ride!

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement,

Glenn and Lynn Hirsch

"New" Bike, "New" Support Vehicle, New Hampshire!

We departed Atlanta on Thursday AM for Glenn's conference on

Martha's Vineyard but the real adventure began as we headed

 for Boston to begin this short leg of the ride!

Departing Martha's Vineyard by Ferry on Saturday afternoon

Windy Day on the Ferry

Since the bike shop where Glenn had reserved his rental bike
didn't open until Noon on Sunday, we decided to stay on Cape Cod
Saturday night in the town of Hyannis.

A Tripadvisor.com #1 Inn in Hyannis!  Great location and nice hosts!
It had everything we needed....free WiFi, free parking and free breakfast!

This is the "New" Rented Support Vehicle.  Similar to ours but we
were missing our I Care I Cure I Cycle sign on the rear window!

We departed from Hyannis on Sunday morning and headed to Boston to 

pick up Glenn's rental bike.   We had no idea that we were headed to a

bike shop that was directly across the street from Boston University on

graduation day!    Mobs of students and families were everywhere, roads

were closed and we were right in the middle of it all!

Busy corner on Sunday morning!

Glenn's "New" rental bike turned out to be an even better bike than
his own.....hopefully, he will not feel like he has to upgrade after
using this carbon bike for this one day ride!

This was the price tag on the rental bike!   I asked if we needed
to take out insurance on it!   Needless to say, it did not stay in the
car Sunday night.   It had a comfy corner of our room at the Inn.

Glenn departed from Commonwealth Ave in Boston at noon 

on Sunday heading to Newburyport, MA which was to be a short 

45 mile ride for the day.  I went straight up on the highway as he 

meandered through the countryside and I explored this lovely, quaint 

New England town while waiting for him to arrive.

Our "HOME" in Newburyport, The Compass Rose Inn.
Thanks to Gloria, the Inn Keeper, for a wonderful stay in this beautiful Inn.  

At 3:20 PM, Glenn pedaled into the Inn in Newburyport but it was a short stop!

It was early, he wasn't tired and he was just itching to get to New Hampshire.  

Off he went to log a few more miles!

Glenn added a new state to the long list
on this ride, New Hampshire!
He took this photo from the seat of his bike!

The New Hampshire Coast as I drove with a college friend to
find Glenn to bring him back to the Inn in Newburyport!
Beautiful scenery and very different from the Jersey Shore I know and love!

The rocky coast just north of N. Hampton, NH

We finally found Glenn near the entrance to Odiorne State Park north of

Rye, NH.   He rode 68 miles and was relieved that the predicted

rain never found him!  I was lucky that I found him!

Oops...what happened to the front wheel of that pricey bike?
No worries, it is safely packed in the car.  No flat tires and no falls today!

We were so happy that our college friend, Deb Bulkley, drove from her home
in New Hampshire to spent the evening with us in Newburyport.  Her husband, Craig,
is planning to join Glenn for the next segment of the ride in New Hampshire in August!




This was a leg of minor technical difficulties.  I couldn't do the blog on my
Ipad and Glenn accidentally erased the data from his bike computer....no stats for this ride except for the mileage  - 68 miles!  



Mark your calendars for the final leg of
Uncle Glenn's ride up the East Coast Greenway!
It will be the exciting conclusion of this adventure.
We take off on August 5 and our family will join us
on August 10.  We'll all ride across the border into
Canada on August 12, our 40th wedding anniversary. 
  He will join the elite group of riders called 
"End to Enders" having ridden from 
Key West, FL to Calais, Maine!
It will be an exciting end to this excellent adventure!



As we near the 7th anniversary of our nephew Ian's death,
it is important to remind everyone what motivated us to
begin I Care I Cure I Cycle and why we are so appreciative
of your continued support!


 The I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation, founded by Lynn's sister, Beth, and her husband, Brad, supports the development of, and raises public awareness about, cutting-edge, targeted therapies for childhood cancer, so that the treatment of childhood cancer will be gentler and more tolerable.  This is a cause that is very close to our hearts.

Boston Strong!

We made it to Boston this AM and Glenn pedaled his way to

New Hampshire today.  I'm having some technical

difficulties doing the blog on my IPAD so this is a 

quick post to be followed by lots of details and some

great photos after we return home tomorrow night!

Day Tripping!

And the ride continues....only for one day this time!

May 19 at Noon

Beginning at 890 Commonwealth Ave in Boston

This photo was taken in September 2012 in Cambridge, MA as we
finished up last fall's ride from Trenton, NJ to Boston, MA!

  

Glenn is attending a conference on Martha's Vineyard next week and,

of course, that was just too close to Boston to not do another leg of the ride.

There will be two "firsts" on this trip.   It will be the first time that we will fly

to our destination instead of driving our trusty support vehicle!  Also, this will be

the first rental bike that Glenn will use since it is more economical to rent for one

day then to check his bike as baggage on the plane.   We'll see how all of that works out.

We will start in Boston on Sunday, May 19 and Glenn will head up the 

East Coast Greenway to Newburyport, MA and the New Hampshire border.

This will be a little tease for the big finale in August when Glenn will

ride from the MA/NH border to Canada at the Maine border!  

Watch for posts next week!

As always, your donations are appreciated but feel free to save up

for the big push in August.  It is our hope that we will surpass all previous

fund raising efforts with the culmination of Uncle Glenn's East Coast Greenway

Ride in August.    The next goal for I Care I Cure I Cycle is a West Coast ride

from Seattle to San Francisco in 2014!   Will keep you posted!

Thanks for your continued support!

Don't forget to sign up for email blog updates on the left side of the page!

We'll be posting updates from Massachusetts!

A Possible Cancer Cure Touches Our Lives

Our purpose for this blog is to focus attention on the need for targeted

therapies for childhood cancer so it seems right to share this story here.

Cancer touches all of our lives at one time or another.  We 

feel helpless when we have friends and family members who

are suffering.  We can support them and love them but how often

do we have the opportunity to save them?

How many of us have had our mouths swabbed or had blood drawn to 

be placed on a bone marrow registry?   Do we ever actually expect to be

notified that we might be the match that is needed to save a life.

About 6 weeks ago, our son, Neil, got just such a call from 

Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.  

It seemed that Neil might be a match for a 30 year old man with 

Multiple Myeloma. It was Neil's stem cells that would help this young man 

survive. After more blood tests and a physical, he was declared a match and 

he left today for Northern VA where the procedure will take place.  

Lynn and Neil celebrating his departure to VA today.

Off on this adventure.  Hoping that all goes well and that Neil's
stem cells bring good health and strength to the recipient.

For more information of how you can register to

be a donor click on this link below:

Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation

Watch for info next week about Glenn's next leg of the ride 

from Boston to the New Hampshire border!

Special Announcement!

A one day ride from Boston to Newburyport, MA

is being planned for May 19, 2013

Anyone want to join Glenn for this 45 mile leg of the ride?

Should be beautiful weather in Massachusetts at that time of the year!

The final leg from Newburyport to Maine at the Canada border

will begin on August 3rd or 4th with a big family celebration

at the end of this long journey up the East Coast Greenway.

Looking forward to a big push this summer but this "short" segment will

increase the excitement for the final leg.  As we plan for the end of the

ride north on the East Coast Greenway, Uncle Glenn is already 

formulating his next bicycle adventure for I Care I Cure!

Click here to donate!

Don't forget to sign up for email blog updates on the left side of the page!

We'll be posting updates from Massachusetts!