YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING...

I JUST KEEP READING IT AND STILL I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

Dear Luke,

Congratulations! You have hit the $10,000 fundraising mark, and we are thrilled to invite you to participate in the 2011 Ride for the Roses Weekend as a White Jersey member. We cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work and we look forward to celebrating your accomplishments.  

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH (a bunch of other cool stuff)

Again, we send our sincere thanks for your support of LIVESTRONG and the global fight against cancer. We are excited to welcome you to Austin and to celebrate your remarkable fundraising accomplishments.

We’ll see you in October!

SERIOUSLY!!

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!

This email got me thinking about why they hand out Yellow Roses to all the survivors at the end of the LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride. What did the Yellow Rose mean? And, this is what I found:

"The bright, sunny color of yellow roses evokes a feeling of warmth and happiness. The warm feelings associated with the yellow rose are often akin to those shared with a true friend. As such, the yellow rose is an ideal symbol for joy and friendship."

So, it truly is the most appropriate flower to hand those who have survived cancer! I noticed last year that those who had survived truly had an instant connection with each other. They were true friends with stories to tell. They had a joy for life and valued friendships. They appreciated life differently than before and were happy to share their stories with you!

As I ride in this year's LIVESTRONG Challenge I will carry those roses with me (even if it's just a picture on my jersey). I will think of those who have beat this disease and still have stories to share but I will also think of those who were not as lucky. Those people (their families & friends) have stories to tell too. They also have a connection with each other in a different way. And, then, there are those who are still out there FIGHTING to survive the weeds of cancer and become a Yellow Rose! I will be riding for all of these people! I will be riding for the Roses, the Fighters and the Angels!

I can't wait till OCTOBER!!! It's going to be EPIC!

I LOVE YOU POPPY

AND I MISS YOU!

LIVESTRONG

Tribute Wall



Jim Pemberton (my Poppy)-Angel

Scott Raffe-Angel

Mrs. Myers-Rose

Alex TeRuki (coach's father)-Angel

Don Cook-Angel

Christopher Parks-Fighter

Chad Kavanaugh-Rose

Susan Ringer-Angel

Grandma Pettit-Angel

Ronnie Slawson-Angel

Andie Ersman-Rose

Ida Yeager-Angel

Janis-Rose
John M-Angel

Alice-Rose

Lonnie-Angel

Jeff-Rose

Granddad-Angel

Charlene Mattingly-Angel
Shorty Thurman-Angel
John Calhoun-Angel

Lance Armstrong-Rose

Doug Ulman-Rose

Chris Brewer-Rose

28 MILLION-ROSES & FIGHTERS

Races-End of the Year

I finished out my racing season with some good results.

My next to last race was the Team Exfuse 9-11 Circuit Race. The Jr's distance was 28 miles (2 laps) and was out at Lake Stanley Draper. The back part of this course is hilly and the roads are a bit rough but after the last climb is was fast and smooth. I climbed really strong but I still need work on my downhilling skills. I will work on this in the off season, for sure! I had a 2nd place finish. I made some mistakes but I will use these to help me become a better racer.

The last race of the season was the Bison Bicycle Classic Oklahoma State Road Race Championships. There was a larger field in this race and I was feeling really good. I was aiming for my teammate and I to both end up with podium finishes. We had about a 2 mile neutral zone and then the race took off. I stayed with my teammate, Dallas, for a few miles but then began to fade a bit. I had another kid trying to draft off me and I wasn't going to drag him to the finish line. So, I picked up my speed and dropped him. I loved this course and really rode my race. I had max speed of over 34 mph but set an average over 18! My coach and I were pleased with my numbers for this race! The best part is my teammate and I both took podium spots! Dallas took 1st and I took 3rd! I was really proud of my effort!

Luke 3rd, Dallas 1st, Austin 2nd

Teammates/buds wearing some hardware!

Overall, I've had a good year of racing. My results for 2011 are as follows: 16 races, 3-1st place, 3-2nd place, 2-3rd place, 3-4th place, 1-5th place, 1-9th place, 1-11th place, 1-15th place, 1-DNF (crash)

After the crash (didn't take pictures of the worst parts)
 but I did race the next day!

I'm already training for next year! I can't wait!

HAPPY RIDING!

USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE

THE BIRTHDAY TRIP

Artwork at Denver International

A couple of posts ago I told how my parents gave me a trip to Colorado to go see the USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE! I couldn't believe it! I was going to Colorado to go watch some of the stars of my sport do their thing!

Artwork at Denver International

The morning of our trip started early. Our flight left at 6:00am and we landed in Denver at 6:30. Mom and Dad had asked what I wanted to do on Friday since we were in Denver so early. They gave me many choices but I told them "I thought we were here to watch racing and I want to watch them climb. I want to see their form when they are climbing!" So, we got our rental car and headed to the mountains!

Look closely...SNOW on the Mountains!

I picked our spot on the mountain between Wolcott and Steamboat Springs. It was a great place because we could watch them come around two curves on the climb before they would pass us. I loved all the amateur cyclists, the caravan of team buses, team cars and swag mobiles that came passed us before the pro racers made their way. We met the nicest couple, Joe and Susan and their chocolate lab Cassie.

Here they come and see the BREAK!

When the racers made the first curve a breakaway started to form. It was so awesome! My dad was on one side of the road taking pictures and my mom on the other! They got some great shots of this stage of the race! It was great seeing them riding up that mountain and I had time to study their body position as they were climbing! After they passed us our new friends, Joe and Susan, invited us to come to their house so we could watch the race on Versus! It was great making some new friends and share our love of cycling. Stage winner: Elia Viviani Yellow Jersey winner: Levi Leipheimer

Sergio Henao, Tom Danielson & Tejay Van Gardener in the break

Gesnik, A. Schleck & Leipheimer

Day 2 found us getting up early and heading to Breckenridge. Today we were going to see a finish. So, we had lots of time to spend taking in all the sponsor's booths and checking out the swag! I even got my picture taken with Buzz the Honey Stinger bee! I love their organic chews, waffles and gels...yum! I also met some very interesting spectators! We even ran into some of our riding friends from Oklahoma! It was a great day of racing with a break that had formed with Ivan Basso, Andy Schleck, Laurens Ten Dam and Thomas Peterson. We kept up-to-date on the race with all the mega screens and mom's USA Pro Cycling app.

It looked like Andy Schleck would win this stage and I was so excited but they started playing games and slowed way down. They ended up getting caught with only about 700 meters to go and none of them even placed. The Breckenridge stage was won by Elia Viviani! Andy Schleck was not a happy camper but he was awarded the Most Aggressive rider's jersey! Yellow Jersey: Levi Leipheimer

Here's your winner: ELIA VIVIANI

This should have been the winner: ANDY SCHLECK

Post race interview with Laurens Ten Dam

Well, after this stage we went back to the team buses to see the bikes, riders, etc. This was pretty cool! We saw Cadel Evans, Jens Voigt, Christian Vande Velde all being interviewed. I got to see Andy and Frank's bikes on top of the team car. My mom met a man who was working security for the race. They visited and he told her for us to find him at the start of the final stage and he would get us positioned so I could get lots of autographs from the riders!!! I couldn't believe it! Go Mom!

Cadel Evans--AWESOME!

Day 3: The final stage started in Golden and would end in Denver. We had already decided to take in a start on this day but now we had even more of a reason to be here...AUTOGRAPHS and photos of the riders. We got to the start line super early and got in the best spot! When the riders came to sign in prior to the race they had to walk right past us! I got over 50 autographs on the back of my LIVESTRONG jersey. I was right there with some of my favorite cyclists--Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer (still in yellow), Ivan Basso, Jens Voigt, etc. I even got BOB ROLL aka Bobke's autograph! It was a total party atmosphere!

Big GEORGE HINCAPIE signing my jersey!

LEVI LEIPHEIMER overall WINNER

ANDY SCHLECK

After the race started we walked down a couple of blocks and could watch them climb Lookout Mountain and then they were going to come back through Golden before they headed into Denver. It was so much fun! When they had all come through Golden we ate lunch and then took a drive up Lookout Mountain so I could see this climb! I sure wished I had a bike and could have tried riding up that mountain. There were lots of amateur cyclists doing just that and it was a great view when we got to the top!

Looking down from Lookout Mountain

On top of Lookout Mt with my family & jersey!

Garmin-Cervelo won the Team Competition and Americans took the top 5 places overall! The crowds at every stage were massive and the riders all talked about how much the crowds rivaled those at the the Tour de France! Stage winner: Daniel Oss (he'd placed 2nd or 3rd in the two previous stages and was a teammate of Elia Viviani)!

Just a taste of the crowds!

Before we left Denver to head back home we drove out to Red Rocks Park and saw some amazing sites! They also have an amphitheatre there...would be a great place to see a concert!

Well, I think this was a pretty amazing way to celebrate my birthday! BIG THANK YOU to my mom and dad for giving me these memories that will last a lifetime! GREAT TRIP!!! I sure hope this race continues every year!



READ THIS!

I know I said my next post would be about the USA Pro Cycling Challenge but you gotta check this out first! I was shocked when I saw this on Twitter today! I feel so honored but really I'm just a kid who wants to help others and help STOP CANCER! I just think every little bit will help the 28 MILLION LIVING WITH CANCER! LIVESTRONG!

http://bit.ly/oQ7pJ2

Is August Already Over??

OK...another month went so fast! I had a great August! Let's see I had a birthday, I had a photo shoot for the Edmond Outlook magazine, I raced and went to THE RACE and continued to raise funds for LIVESTRONG!!!

I had a couple of birthday parties to celebrate me turning 14! The first was my family going to visit my Grams. We had so much fun! The best was our bowling match...I even got a few strikes. No one in my family is a really good bowler which is probably why we had so much fun. I can't remember anyone's scores but I can tell you we did LOTS of laughing! It was cool because they turned off the lights and we all glowed under the black lights!

Me, Grams and Dad (mom's taking the pic)

My second birthday party found my Grandma and Grandpa coming to my house. We went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (Red Rock Canyon Grill) and I opened my gift from mom & dad. At first, I thought I just got a t-shirt but under the shirt was the rest of my gift. A TRIP TO GO WATCH THE USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE!!!!! I was totally shocked!

TdF podium pic "Want to see them race? We are going!"

I was chosen to be featured in the September edition of the Edmond Outlook. So, I had to go for my first photo shoot! It was super cool and Marshall (the photographer) was really nice! Take a minute and read it! It won't take long...PROMISE! Check out pages 6 and 35! http://www.edmondoutlook.com/digital-edition/

I also raced, this month, at the Owasso Criterium and I could really tell I have been training. I got a really good start off the line and lead everyone through the first turn. I can tell I'm getting faster and feel really good on my bike. I took fourth so just out of the money but I did my best and I will just keep working to get even faster! I still got a medal and it was pretty cool. I thought it looked like a Greek fire caldron!

Well, I want to tell you all about my trip to Colorado to watch the race but I think it will be a separate post because I have so much to tell you and some great pictures! I will just tell you this...I got some pretty cool autographs!!!

As for my LIVESTRONG fundraising it has been going really well. I set a goal of $5,000 and I know I am going to go WAY over that amount! I held a LIVESTRONG garage sale one weekend and another weekend I set up a table at Schlegel Bicycles (pro shop)! I also sold several things on Craigslist! I know this is posting in September so I will tell you my current amount is $4,666 but I have sent in some more donations so stay tuned for my new totals! My buddies, Noah and Biju, are helping me by hosting a BBQ/Auction in September! I am getting really stoked! I think I will really blow my initial goal out of the water! STAY TUNED!