Nineteen cyclists from Nashville recently completed a Team in Training sponsored century in Lake Tahoe, the ride being billed as "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride". The 101 mile ride was held June 1st and followed a course winding around Lake Tahoe, challenging riders through two states, two cities, seven communities and five counties. An aggressive and challenging course for the fifteen in the group completing their first century, the course begins at altitudes above 6,000 feet and climbs at points to over 7,000 feet, with one mountain pass including a climb in excess of 8 miles in duration. Coach Lynn Greer, owner of Gran Fondo Cycles, has coached for Team in Training for years and feels that Nashville riders have a great advantage in preparing for such a ride "The "rolling" hills in Tennessee can be quite the training ground for a ride of this nature. We all felt great sympathy for our Team in Training peers from Florida as we spun past them on the climbs."

  

Team in Training is a program successfully organized and run by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America which combines training and fundraising for marathons, centuries and triathlons, giving meaning to the miles. This program combines training and support to see committed participants to the finish line by using qualified coaches, a mentoring system, training schedules and group workouts. Each participant raises dollars for research parallel to their training; the Nashville riders going to Tahoe alone raised in excess of $75,000. Harpeth Bike Club members participating in the ride included Rebecca Wingard, J. V. Crockett, and Chuck Dunn.

A repeat participant in the group, Leukemia Society board member John Baird, summed up his feelings about the ride and program, "It's a gas. You get excellent coaching and instruction, get to train with folks from a variety of backgrounds and callings, and then ride with them in a gorgeous setting, and you get the bonus of funding research that will eliminate blood borne cancers. It's well worth the effort."