Claire's Ride 2008 was another awesome RIDE!!!
We had an awesome
KickOff Dinner on the eve of the ride provided to by our Hosts Maryann and Don. It was a PASTA Extravaganza!
On Saturday morning all the riders (Don
Tomaszewski, Don Van
Teyens, Tony Van
Grouw & John Burke met at Claire's Garden. We departed at approximately 5:30 a.m. It had rained overnight so it was a little damp and cool which suited the riders. All in all the adrenaline was a pumping and everyone was anxious to get going.
The ride began and within the first mile or so
JB (John Burke) suffered a rear flat. Not a good sign but better to get it out of the way. The flat repaired the riders were on their way down
Ringwood Avenue. The ride took the group through the hills of Butler and
Boonton. A very scenic route but challenging due to the long inclines. But we all know if there is an incline there is a decline which was always welcome. It appeared as if
JB was the guy going to be roughed up this day. Leg cramps started around mile 15 for
JB but he continued on with the assistance of his fellow riders.
The riders were approaching the end of the first leg when the next incident took place. Apparently down near
Bedminister the Railroad Crossings have beautiful gates which they don't have to use unless they want to. The riders were approaching a
RailRoad Crossing when a Rail Service Car was approaching. The gates were expected to come down as the train slowed to a stop just prior to the crossing. In the confusion that followed Don
Tomaszewski braked and
JB didn't and
BAM!
JB crashed into the NEW TREK
MADONE and went flying landing on his head while knocking Don to the ground as well. Thankfully HELMETS are a must for our RIDERS and should be for all RIDERS. No major injuries other than a scrape, a bent spoke and a cracked helmet. Donnie questioned the brilliant rail employees who stated, "We Stop at All Crossings". Don questioned then why didn't the gates come down? No reply!
The riders continued on and connected with their SAG Wagons headed up by Maryann
Tomaszewski and Trish Burke. The rest of the support staff included Carly & Katy
Tomaszewski as well as Jenna & John Charles Burke. It was at this time our 5
th Rider Gene
Buonomo joined the ride. Better late than never (especially when you can avoid the hills of north Jersey...right Gene?)
The ride continued under Sunny Skies. It was a beautiful day for the ride. All was going well until the riders and SAG Staff ran into a Cycling Racing Event on Canal Road. The riders were allowed to continue on but the SAG had to detour...and the adventure began. The riders continued on without their support. Unfortunately, the SAG Staff was given poor directions for a detour and it was 1 hour and 30 minutes before they were able to meet up with the riders again around lunch time. This delay extended lunch and the day a bit longer than expected. The riders were able to get replenishment and even some home-made ice cream when they chatted up a store owner waiting for the SAG Wagon and lunch. When finally together again lunch was served and the riders off again.
The rest of the ride was incident free. There were stops at the Wood Shed where we met up with Don's Brother, Steve. The ride through Brendan
Byrne State Forest/Pine Barrens. Who could forget the 19 mile flat leg in the beating sun. Once across the
Mullica Bridge the riders were in the home stretch.
The riders arrived at the Cape May Lighthouse to a GRAND and WELL DESERVED WELCOME provided by The Van
Teyens Family, The
Buonomo Family, The
Tomaszewski and The Burke Family. It goes without saying but The ENERGY from STEVE
TOMASZEWSKI is AWESOME. Thanks Steve and we have to get you on a bike next year.
Claire’s Ride for A Reason 2007 Cycling Event was an AWESOME EVENT. The bike tour, a 207 mile ride, from High Point State Park to Cape May, was completed in just under 12 hours (riding time).
In all, 7 Cyclists participated in the event which left from High Point State Park at about 6 a.m. and arrived at the Lighthouse in Cape May, NJ at about 9:30 p.m. Don Tomaszewski, Gene Buonomo and Bladdymir Coronel made it portal to portal (the entire 207 miles). In all, the riders accumulated over 1075 miles between 7 of them.
There was a bit of a chill (51 degrees) at the start but not cold enough to diminish the spirit of our cyclists. The chill soon gave way to a beautiful sunny day for a 200 mile ride. The day was just PERFECT! We couldn't have asked for better conditions. It was as if our Angel Claire was looking out for us (and she was).
Outside of a minor cycling collision (unsure if things got a little competitive between our lead cyclists), an 8 mile detour as the result of a missed turn, 5 flat tires and the sun going down leaving us in complete darkness, the event was an awesome experience with all cyclists posting personal bests for total mileage. The three cyclists who rode the entire distance averaged 17.4 mph while the others were not far behind at about 15.6 mph. That is an awesome pace for the number of miles put in. To all our riders....Congratulations for a job well done!!!!! Don Tomaszewski
Gene Buonomo
Larry Sigua
Bladdymir Coronel
Ryan Roskilly
Laura Haftek
John Burke
The success of the day would not have been possible without the support of our "SAG" Wagons and staff. To continually ride around checking on all our cyclists, making sure they were hydrated and fueled and most importantly keeping us on route. A SPECIAL THANK YOU goes out to: Maryann Tomaszewski
Carly Tomaszewski
Katy Tomaszewski
Ron Roskilly Thank you to Tracey Buonomo and Steven Tomaszewski for being at the Cape May Lighthouse to welcome all the riders as they completed the High Point to Cape May in a Day Ride to Raise Awareness to SUDC in the name of Claire Tomaszewski. Another Special Thank You goes out to all our sponsors who unselfishly supported our cause in a variety of ways. Please visit our Sponsor Page to see who they are and don't forget to patronize those establishments.
Please don't forget that although this year's cycling event is completed we ask that all our website visitors and friends continue to RAISE AWARENESS to SUDC in the name of Claire Elizabeth Tomaszewski and if possible, forward any donations to
Claires Ride for A Reason/CJF
and mail to
Claire's Ride for A Reason
c/o 27 Pequot Road
Ringwood, NJ 07456
Everyone arrived at the Comfort Inn in Port Jervis in tact. After settling in we all went to a local country style eating establishment and loaded up on some CARBS. For future reference shrimp should not be allowed to be sold more than 5 miles from the ocean. Just ask Katy.
Well it is 10:30 p.m. and most of us are too wound up to sleep but we have hit the rack. Probably won't hear from us again until halfway through the ride. Look for us at the local WAWA's who have been gracious enough to replenish us with food and fluids.
It is the eve of our NJ Jaunt. At this very moment our riders are sitting down to a energizing meal and going over the details and logistics for tomorrows ride. And what a ride it will be.
We will try to update you as we crank it down to Cape May. May the wind be at our backs.
Well, High Point to Cape May...In A Day is almost upon us. Should be very interesting to say the least.
We should have some interesting stories and events to tell you about during the one day excursion. We'll get an early start at around 5 a.m. from the monument at High Point State Park near Port Jervis. Our riders will be split into two groups of 4 each. Group 1/Team Claire is our more experienced group. Group 2/Team Lady Bug are our up and comers. No matter what the 200 mile trek in about 14-15 hours will be intense. Well gotta run...but check back. We'll have more to tell you about prior to our departure on June 30th.
Well Our 2007 Event is almost upon us. Time to limber up those legs, inflate the tires and oil the chains.
Before we do that though we have our 2007 Comedy Show to Raise Awareness for SUDC.
If you haven't already surf on over to www.clairesride.org and download a Ticket Form to be mailed in for the show. It promises to be a great time.
Hope to see you there!
The Claire's Ride Team
Hi Everyone! We are so grateful for all of the love and support from all of you during this journey. Thanks for helping to make the homecoming celebration so special...the bike parade was SPECTACULAR!...a beautiful show of support! Thank you to everyone who brought food, helped set up and break down! Special thanks to Phyllis, Trish & John, Chris, Richie & Carolyn, Terry & Joe & Meems, Kathleen,Ryan and RonR.,Mr.Art, Jen & Dean, Jim A. Thanks to Rebecca and Quentin for painting "The Ringwood Rock" and for coordinating things down at Little Beach. The decorations were beautiful!Thanks to our kids who helped with preparations and decorations..Carly, Katy, Kaylin, Jenna, JohnCharles, Will & JohnJophes. Thanks to all of Erskine Lakes. You've always been so kind to us. Our Ringwood Police Dept. was awesome to help us out! Mayor Atlas, we thank you, as well for your show of support. Thanks to "The Road Crew"...Laura, Ryan, John, Louie and Jim for biking in and our Motorcycle Support, Jim, John and Wendy (Dubs). I don't want to leave anyone out who helped us...
Many thanks to all! Love, Mare!