The Fire is Flat!

Training today and Aerelle skidded to a stop.

That stop wore away the last layer of rubber on her front tire.  You'll never guess the cost for fixing that tire.  It seems that the front tire on a racing wheelchair is made especially just for racing wheelchairs.  Who knew?!  For the tire and installation: $120.00.  We can get the whole wheel (tire included) for $195.00.  We need a pit crew.  Can you give and help her get back on the road?

She's hooked!  I knew it would happen.

Aerelle received a cycling computer for Christmas thanks to family who chipped in.  We wired it up to her wheelchair and got her going with it.  The computer tells her, among other things, her SPEED.  More importantly it stores your maximum speed.  She started pushing really hard in a parking lot and got it up to a pretty good clip.  What do you suppose was next?  . . . the Hill.

Let's just say that the hill in front of her grandparent's house is steep and a decent enough distance to get that little orange flag "flapping in the breeze."  I blocked traffic and let her take off down hill . . . this time without using her brake.  (I have been waiting for Aerelle to lose some of her inhibitions about speed in that chair.)  I could see her from the back when she came to a stop at the bottom of the hill.  Both hands went up as she shouted "Woohoo!" at the top of her lungs.  By the end of the day Aerelle had pushed her max speed to over 22.4 miles per hour.

Aerelle’s Wheels of Fire Christmas Wish List

If Aerelle gets a flat … the fire goes out (at least for a while).

Here’s the situation: The tires that are on Aerelle’s racing wheelchair are special racing tires. Just one tire costs $120.00 for the tire and its installation. The installation process alone takes 5 days of work. If Aerelle gets a flat, she loses time and money.   During a consultation with professionals at a cycling store, they suggested getting “clincher” wheels and tires, which are built much like standard bicycle wheels, to use while practicing. Clincher wheels are heavier so they would act like training weights.  With her much lighter racing wheels on race day, Aerelle can go like a lightning bolt.  Here is the advantage: If Aerelle pops a tire now, it costs $120.00 to replace. With these “clincher” tires, the repair costs $15.00. Flat tires are part of racing.  Aerelle is so afraid of damaging a tire that she is holding back and picking gravel off of practice parking lots.  We need your help to "set this girl free."

• Pay off the rest of the racing wheelchair - $250
• Left Rear Clincher wheel with everything - $459
• Right Rear Clincher wheel with everything - $459
• Front Wheel with Tubular Tire - $195

Thank You to those who have given.

To those who want to give you can use the link to the right or contact us for a mail-in option.

Thanks,

Raymond

Aerelle practicing downhill steering in front of our house.

As I get ready for my second 5K, and I've had time to muse over my first race, I realized that I really learned a lot. Here are the important things I learned from my first race:

1. Always bring the tire pump!

Racing wheelchairs and specialty bicycles have these special air valves that, when unlocked, allow the air to escape with only a slight push.  Just before the race, while I was inside the building warming up, my finger knocked the valve and, since the cap had fallen off, all the air went out of the tire.  Guess what piece of equipment we never even thought to bring along?  You got it: the tire pump!  Dad flew out the door, across the parking lot, and raced to our house in his van.  After snatching up the tire pump, he sped back to the park, called mom to let her know where he was, and then ran past the playground and over to find me.  (He had to use the parking lot on the other side of the park because the race had already started!)  Meanwhile, Mom and I had eased my chair down to the starting line, and I had tried to make it at least part of the way to meet Dad.  I had to stop, though, about twenty feet past the starting line for fear of ruining the tire since it was completely deflated.  My friend, Rachel, stood with her foot in front of my chair to keep it from rolling and save my arms from having to hold the brake until Dad returned. Then comes Dad, my knight in shining armor, carrying his trusty sword, er, tire pump.   In no time flat (pun intended) I was off.  To my friend, Rachel's, best estimate, I was about six minutes behind the starting whistle.  At the corner of Miles and Williams, I caught up, and sped past the last of the pack! (Of course, it helped that much of the first part of the race was downhill.)

Here's my knight and shining armor flying to find me:)

2. Have a training partner (or twelve).

I was a part of a running group from the Jessamine County Public Library. We met each Saturday to practice and to build up stamina for the 5K.  Some of these men and women had run before; and some, like me, were just getting started.  Although no others were in a wheelchair, it was still nice to run in a group in order to have the accountability and encouragement.  We first met together in mid-September and trained specifically for our local 5K (The Turkey Strut).  It was great fun to see all of them cross the finish line as well!  We gathered for a picture before the race began, and we were all still alive and kicking when it was all over, and we took another photo op with our many trophies.

Also, I had a friend who practiced with me the week of the race and decided to run herself.   A second friend actually waited for me near the bridge on the big day and ran the last half of the 5K without leaving my side—even the huge hill near the end!  Thanks friends and training partners for all your encouragement.   I hope I was just as encouraging to you.

3. Make sure you bring another mode of ambulation with you to the race.

We left the house without my braces, crutches, or standard wheelchair.  Never again! I was left stuck in that racing chair until the very last trophy was awarded and we were headed home.   Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my electric teal wind machine, but it is long and cumbersome in hallways and between tables and chairs. I definitely want to be a bit more mobile once the race is complete.

4. Don't race until you stretch!

This includes legs! I warmed up my arms a bit as I tooled around the parking lot waiting for the race to begin, but my legs didn't get a workout since I was not in my braces all morning.   I learned that my legs get sore from being in one position so long. I also have learned much about protecting my rotator cuff and whole shoulder area. I want to be doing this for a long time, so I'll remember to warm up all those muscle groups next time in order to insure no injuries.

5. I love this!!!!!

The wind in my hair is like nothing I've ever felt. The joy of enduring and then finishing. . .   Passing snails like nobody's business. . .  The wind in my hair. . .  The hum of the wheels turning.   Many say that it is the endorphines that keep you racing.  I say it's the wind in your hair. . .  Did I mention the wind in my hair?  I LOVE THIS!!!!

Here is Aerelle checking out the chair she wants to buy.

Welcome to Aerelle's Wheels of Fire.

Aerelle Jones was bored one day. Those little wheels on the front of her wheelchair were just way too slow. So she decided to pull out the "big guns." (Que theme music now.) She longed for the rush of wind in her hair, the sound of the cheer of the massive crowd and the taste of bugs between her teeth. (Racing wheelchairs don't have windshields.) See her now poised on the starting line. The official raises the starting pistol. Get Ready. Get Set ... The alarm clock blares on the side table. Aerelle wakes in her room. Was it all a dream? No. It is a vision, a pursuit, a passion.

You can be part of the cheering crowd. Help me launch my wheelchair racing adventure.

What do I need?

• Racing Wheelchair
• Replacement tires for wheelchair
• Air pump (Made for racing tires)
• Push gloves (They are specially made for wheelchair racing.)
• Helmet