Who is Coast 2 Coast?

Liddy with the Baby Cheese!

The ride from Cali to Maine is essential a solo supported ride. Supported means the wife, Liddy, will be close by in the RV if I need something. I might need a milkshake, a cold Gatorade, a back massage, someone to put chamois cream put on me, on just someone to yell at me to pick up the pace. She very good at "motivating" me.  Just so you know I will get hit for even suggesting she'll be my butler on the ride... Ouch!  Liddy is a great support for my "ideas," and just rolls her eyes when I come home injured.  It's love, I think.


The downside of this being a solo ride, is being by myself for extended periods of time.  Most people can't tolerate me for short periods of time.  I'm not sure if I can handle myself on the open road.  I'll start telling myself jokes, which I will in turn laugh at.  I may mentally write a romance novel in my head.  I hope I don't start crying from it.  Or I may just get distracted ... SQUIRREL!


I have an open invitation for people  to come out and ride with me for a day, a week or a state or two. The more riders the merrier, the faster the miles fly by and the more mischief I usually get into. Let it be known mischief will happen.

My kids, Anna Victoria and Zach, are a huge part of Coast 2 Coast. Without them tagging along we wouldn't be scheduling time to sight see and making sure there is something fun to do. It's going to get tiring for two kids in an RV for 60 days, but we'll made due.

Kid Stew!

Everyday while out on the ride I will be riding for individual people who have or did have cardiovascular disease.  If you know someone who does let me know an I will ride for them.

THIS WEEK'S LESSONS:

1) As many of you saw on Facebook I wrecked at Trinity Trails, I found one of the cardinal safety rules of cycling: WEAR YOUR GLOVES, DUMB BUTT!  This is what happens if you don't:

Needless to say, I have gloves be shipped out.

2) Thanks to the help of Megan Brooks, PR Extrodinarie, I did interviews with The Star-Telegram and the Cleburne Times-Review.  The message of heart health is getting out and persistence is the key.

3) Ouch!  The ground is hard at Trinity Trails.

When is Coast 2 Coast for Heart Health?

Over the past two weeks you found out about the what and why of Coast 2 Coast.

This week is the big question of "WHEN is Coast 2 Coast?"

I'll be setting off from San Ysidro, California in June of 2013 on the 2nd or the 9th.  You may be asking yourself, "Why is God's green earth is Rob taking of in the heat of the Summer?"  The answer is my daughter is starting kindergarten this year and for the first time in our lives have to work around her school schedule.

This is a good time to introduce my crew chiefs.

This is Anna Victoria (we call her by both names).  She is the Crew Chief and resident elephant trainer as you can see.

Here is Zach drinking a large protein shake at Texas Health Burleson Gym.  He is a crew chief in training.  He mainly eats all our food and sleeps.  I wish I had his gig.

Liddy, my wife, is the Chief Financial Officer.   You don't want to cross her, just look at her sweatshirt.

Back to the WHEN:

The trip will take anywhere between 50-60 days depending on weather, injuries, mechanical problems, interviews/lectures, and rest days.  Interviews/lectures and rest days are fairly easy to schedule as we know where we want to sightsee and will know by the time we leave where we will have interviews.  We are definitely at the mercy of Mother Nature and I'm not crazy enough to be riding in a storm.

I'll be carrying extra bike parts to change out if there is any failure.  I'm expecting a dozen flats along the way.  (I say this to psych the bike out.  If I take a dozen tire tubes I'll only have to use one, where if I take one extra I'll need a dozen.  I'm smart like that.  Please don't tell the bike).

As for injuries, we won't have any, but will be taking plenty of medical supplies and meds along with us to take care of them on our own.  We'll keep a physician available by phone just in case we need some extra help.  This will be a great ride, but will not be pain free.  I wish it was, but that would be just fooling myself.  I'll have to push through and get her done.  Resting along the way will be key to keep my joints and muscles in top shape.  This is a marathon, not a sprint.  I'm going for distance, not so much for time.

The ultimate goal would to have national media coverage of Coast 2 Coast in NYC as I pass through.  A opportunity like this would serve as a platform to educate people on a large scale than I can by myself on my bike.  Handing over a check to the American Heart Association in NYC on TV would be a great accomplishment.  I'm shooting for the Today Show, David Letterman, The View or anyone else that will help.

I will have a time constraint due to my work.  I'll be taking two months off of work, and will have to be back at the end that time.  With driving time back to Fort Worth, I'll need to finish in 58 days.  This is doable.

This next week, I'll start blogging twice a week.  One post will start giving health tips, interviews with people (medical types, people with heart problems, families), and photo tours, with the second continuing to talk about the logistics and training of the ride.

Thank you to all who read my posts.  I appreciate your support.

Why Coast 2 Coast?

What does this picture show?

Other than a cute 1970's family it shows heart defects, heart disease and death.  I bet that caught you off guard.

Yes, you're right.  That little chubby baby is me.  I was born with hole in between two chambers of my heart.  It wasn't caused by anything outright, I was just born with it.  After birth I spent several months in the ICU at Navy Balboa Hospital in San Diego until my heart was cleared to go home.  Annual check-ups with the cardiologist continued until age 8 when the hole healed on its own.

The lady there is my mom.  She died at the age of 29, four years after this picture was taken.  Yep, it was related to her heart.  A blockage in the circulation to her lungs and a subsequent stroke caused her death.  Morbid obesity, smoking and birth control pills led her to have a blot clot in her legs dislodge and block oxygen to her lungs and heart.  I found her having trouble breathing in bed and called my grandparents, who called 911.  She died several days later.

And my dad passed away at 42 from a heart attack.  He was overweight, ate poorly, and didn't take care of himself.  He too was born with a heart defect that was operated on when he was a boy.

Cardiovascular issues and poor health habits decimated my family at a young age.  This is why I am a cardiovascular nurse, so I can make a difference in the lives of those who have heart disease.  But I find working with patients in the hospital is too late.  They are already set in their ways and mostly will not change.  We do damage control to what has already been done.

I am tired of sitting on the sidelines and decided to make a difference in the lives of younger people so they can learn early on the causes, risk factors, treatments and healthy choices and help them live longer healthier lives.

This is the mission of the Coast 2 Coast for Heart Health endeavor is.  Carrying the message of lifestyle change to better oneself and their family.  Had my parents know differently in their 20's and 30's they may have been around now.  It is my hope to plant the seed of change so people will think about what can help them in the long run.

This is WHY I am taking on the United States next year.  Together we CAN and WILL make a difference.

What is Coast 2 Coast?

What is Coast2Coast for Heart Health? It is a personal challenge and adventure that I am embarking upon.

The Adventure: It kicks off next summer, 2013, when I leave the Pacific Ocean at the Southwestern corner of the United States and cycle to Lubec, Maine in the extreme Northeast of the United States.  It'll take 50 days, with an average of 95 miles per day.  I'll be going though the deserts of the Southwest, the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, through the Appalachians and on to New York and into the Northeast.  IT WILL BE AN ADVENTURE.

The Challege: To raise money for heart health education and research through the American Heart Association and to raise awareness of heart health to the public through the media before, during and after the adventure.  I'm planning on using local radio and tv, with the hopes of capturing national attention along the way.

How can you help?:
1) Like the Facebook page for Coast2Coast @ http://www.facebook.com/Coast2CoastHeart
2) Tell people about this Blog so they can learn more about heart health and Coast2Coast
3) Donate to the American Heart Association, where 100% of your donation goes directly to them @ http://amha.convio.net/goto/coast2coastheart
4) Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/Coast2CoastHH