I told you I would do one more post! All of a sudden I feel like I have so much more to say but I will try not to get carried away….but no promises. Lets start with a few questions from one of our favorite people–Mr. Tom Tierney–for those of you who don’t know Tom, he is a former Mr. America and Olympic Athlete and is currently one of the top 2 Hedge Fund Managers in the WORLD (Sorry Nathan is #1)!

TT–“Did you and Shred have any other issues requiring Dom to step in and take charge?”  Well actually we did TT! At mile 58 on day one we were just departing Shake Shack when we were attacked by the local street gang.  We assumed our greatest risk of attack would be in Wilmington (which is a really scary stretch)  so I think we let our guard down a bit and that is when it went down. Shred and I were minding our own business when out of the shadows a group of hooligans popped out and hurled throwing knives at us. I immediately took evasive action and avoided all contact but Shred was distracted by my singing and took the brunt of the attack. Luckily the knives didn’t hit Shred but they punctured his back tire and he had a NASTY blow out.  It would have been the end for most people but Shred was able to control his ride and power through until we reached safety–this is standard military protocol when you come under attack you push through the ambush to equalize the odds. Now many of you weren’t aware that there are Street Gangs in Newport Beach but there are–trust me. The gang used to reside in NYC but recently moved West in search of a more wholesome life style. Yes, I am talking about the Van Buren Boys:

It was pretty dang scary. But, just like before Shred and I remained calm and sent out the distress signal:

and within 18 seconds The Dom appeared out of nowhere and the situation was quickly resolved–Thanks The Dom!

TT: “What is the scoop with the Ryles Institute?” Well we are as busy as ever as we approach our 5th anniversary. We have picked up many new clients so some of the Senior Leadership had to take on additional roles which means more titles and new business cards. Here are just a few of the new positions we dolled out–

Nathan:  Consigliere. Amateur Tattoo Artist Semi Pro Race Driver.  Sunday Sermon Writer.  The Velvet Fog.

Shred: Expert Witness. Fixer. Pyrotechnician.  Motivational Architect.  Valedictorian.

Rylo: Minister of Propaganda. Party Planner/Think Tank CEO. Golden God.  Maestro.  The Chocolate Genius.

There are many more but those are classified.

TT: “What is the secret to making RR enjoyable for all?” Well we adhere to many rules and standards with the main one being–Staying in our lane and running our race. With the CAF there is absolutely a hurry up/speed element that isn’t common for Ryolrides.  Its not bad it is just different so we tried NOT to get too wrapped up in the rush mentality so we could enjoy the amazing scenery.

TT: “Do you have any words of wisdom”? Ok TT last question from you Mr. Good looking! Yes there are some phrases that I have been known to use often–some of which you may know–but I think they are worth repeating!

-Piss Poor Planning Produces Poor Performance OR

-Propper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

-Hard work brings good luck

-Think of me as a doctor

-Do you ever ignore what you don’t understand (yeah thats a good one a lesson formed as a question)

-Do you know why we are still friends?

-Keep whats important and KNOW who’s your friend.

-Its happening!

-If it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well.

-and here is one that literally changed how I looked at everything and it was given to me by one of the greatest people I have met–Butch Harmon (thanks Solly/Citi!): “If you aim at nothing Ryles you will hit it every time. ” I swear that one statement really impacted me and made me realize without goals how can you achieve them?  Solid.

Heck I think that is a lot to absorb so lets wrap this blog up for another year!  RR5 was much different from all the other RR’s which was a nice change of pace but fundraising isn’t something you can do every year so if we can manage the attendance RR6 will be just the team on our own again.  We really hope we can get Bobby out here again but the man has 11 kids and 14 grandkids (he looks so dang young!) so we will just have to wait and hope! A special thanks to The Dom/Maust and Nathan for helping us out along the way and hanging with us in SD–well done. And a super thanks to Shred who once again made the ENTIRE journey from Menlo Park to Moraga to LA to SD and BACK without one complaint. Thats pretty dang fantastic trust me and makes for a GREAT travel partner. Shred and I dont only get together once a year but rather see each other often during the year for monthly lunches in Oakland and multiple rides during the year–in fact, Shred and I started off 2018 the RIGHT way by climbing the beast–Mt Diablo–ON  New years Day!

For me, I will go back to my normal routine of riding/volunteering for The State Parks and Loaves and Fishes along with my many many other hobbies and continue to try and be a good person who does good things while always remembering my #1 Job is to be a GREAT Husband and Father which I have decided I really am because well I am the Rylo! Thanks again for your fundraising support! Here we have Shred and I cheering another successful ride but now I must go work on the calendar! How much do I ride? Just the right amount!

Until Next year so long from Team Rylo!

The End.

 

 

Howdy! Sorry for my absence we have been moving back into our house after 7 months in the rental so I am way behind but luckily I don’t have any sort of deadlines to meet and I am sure the news has kept you plenty busy since my last post!

The toughest post for me is always the last one.  Believe it or not a LOT of work goes into the planning and implementation of Rylorides. We have a group of riders from as far away as Jersey and Brooklyn and we start where none of us actually live so it takes quite a bit of time and effort to plan all of the various aspects of the trip. I am not complaining cause I obviously love the event but trying to boil all of it down for the final post always takes a bit longer than I anticipate so thanks for your patience!

I think I need to start with a heart felt THANK YOU to all of the people who supported me and Shred by donating to Team Rylo! We had a goal in mind when we began the process and I am happy to say we handily exceeded our goal and raised 25k for the CAF on their 25th anniversary no less!

Not only did the 25k exceed our goal , we also raised over 3 times the funding minimum which is FANTASTIC.  Fundraising is always an interesting process and my wife commented repeatedly on how amazing and generous our (Me/Shred) friends were in supporting our efforts on behalf of the CAF. I had a target list of donors–some of whom I haven’t seen in over 10 years–and I had nearly a 100% hit rate from them. That is really amazing.  AND, I must give a special shout out to all of my friends from my days at Solly/Citi who were beyond generous in supporting us on this journey.  This includes the people who hired me and who I worked with at the firm along with old clients! I am blessed to have worked with some fantastic people over the years (1993-2013!) and the ones I really liked/considered my friends not only gave they gave generously and almost immediately upon receiving my funding request so THANKS to all of you it really meant a lot to me and Shred. Although I want to give a special shout out to our Platinum and Gold level sponsors, I want everybody who gave at every level to know that you are solid and Shred and I will love you forever.  So, you have that going for you which is good.  For those of you who didn’t support us well you don’t get a calendar. I know that hurts but we do have standards at the Institute and we make sure they are applied to all.  Here are the final stats from the CAF of what was raised on the epic journey this year:

“What an incredible week, thank you! As we reflect on last week and your final ride into La Jolla, we hope you were moved by the transformational moments during your MDC. Thank you for an amazing week of riding, camaraderie, and support to the mission of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. You helped change lives, and as a peloton, you pulled together to alter the perception of people with physical challenges.

You were a part of the journey of 166 riders, including 19 challenged athletes, who cycled more than 620 miles and raised over $1.8 million dollars, a new MDC record! Your efforts and time made a difference!”

Now that is pretty dang amazing.  Not only did they raise a ton of money they did it in a way that really impacted a lot of people from the Challenged Athletes to the participants to all of the people who saw a group of 165 riders cruise down the coast.  Its a pretty impressive sight to see 165 riders coming down the road all wearing the exact same outfits with 10 support vehicles/challenged athletes and of course our inspirational leader–Bill Walton!  How much sunscreen did he apply?

I strongly encourage everybody to visit the CAF website to see more of what they are all about because the number of people they help/ support is shocking. When we all ride into La Jolla Shores with a giant police escort we are met by literally hundreds of people who are cheering for us and a LOT of them are missing limbs and WAY too many of them are kids. And, I mean small kids.  During one of our dinners we heard the story of Zach who had both of us his legs amputated when he was 18 months old (he is almost 5 now) due to a rare rare disease.  His mother (who is a high end nurse) told of the desperation they felt when they had to go through this horrific situation and she told us how the CAF literally saved them by providing not only a support system but also a myriad of resources that helped them realize that Zach could lead a great life. Zach was bouncing around the room on his artificial legs with the biggest smile you have ever seen and if u asked him he was just the same as everybody else in the room.  Yes we all shed a lot of tears during this talk with Bret and I pretty much setting the tone for those who wanted to weep openly and loudly–yes we made it clear its fine to blubber in public.  I could go on and on but the CAF helps THOUSANDS of people like Zach and provides him with a support system that he can have with him his whole wonderful life.  You can see Zach in the front row of this picture ( and me and Shred in the back!–just click to enlarge)

Thats some pretty powerful stuff so hats off to a wonderful charity that impacts thousands of people (they have raised over 76mm by the way) and thanks to all of you who supported us/them!

Well I really got into the CAF portion but I have more to say but think the post is going long SO I am going to do another post over the next few days that will be more like the way I normally end the blog! Many of you are wondering did you have a post ride gala? Did anybody famous come? Did you and Nathan get to hang out at Halloween? Have you ever danced with…….Well here are some hints for those questions and YES there is another fantastic blog post coming which will conclude Ryloride5–I guess I just don’t want it to end!

See you soon!

 

I’m back sorry its been a while but the recent chaos that has dominated the headlines over the last few days has led to quite a bit of new activity for the Institute so I have gotten side tracked from the Blog but time to fix that! After arriving at LJS we enjoyed the festivities the CAF organized and then got picked up by The Dom and Nathan and headed north.  It was quite a reunion with many people asking to take pictures with us because well we are quite popular as you all know.  Nathan and I were happy to oblige but the line of people wanting our photos was just too great-

so we had our PR department prepare a photo of us which we then autographed and handed out en masse-it was much easier for us. For the photo shoot I wore my fanciest duds with Nathan going a bit more classical for the photo -and despite the FAKE NEWS making the rounds, we were together during the photo shoot!!  I did NOT use my high tech Photography knowledge (as you all know I did matriculate at Stanford in the Graduate School of Photographic Arts Department)  to splice them into one seamless image so IGNORE the FAKE NEWS.  Nathan looks dashing, of course, while I ROCK my Puffy Shirt Military Prince Uniform.

From then on it was all about getting back to Del Mar, cleaning up/organizing and going to Robertos! Many of you probably wonder how many Robertos tacos I consumed while we were there–I think I did a solid job consuming 7 Robertos Tacos in 24 hours and keep in mind only 3 of those were an actual meal (lunch!) with the rest being snacks in between meals.  After arriving at L’Auberge the entire STR met us to watch game 6 of the Dodgers game vs Milwaukee and yes even our incredibly busy rock star friend Mr. Maust made the journey down south which was fantastic and greatly appreciated by Team Rylo.  We never expected Maust and Dom to be able to make it so a heart felt thank you from Team Rylo! Here we have the group at the bar and robertos–You can see Maust carefully studying the menu before walking up to the window and declaring: “I will have ONE OF EVERYTHING DAMMET!”  Well done Mr. Maust.

and of course Dave and I congratulating ourselves on a JOB WELL DONE!

Yes, here we have Dave and I enjoying a lovely Drakes beer at a place SO fancy they give it to you in a chilled glass….ummmm doesn’t that sound good an ice cold Drakes (blatant product placement for our sponsor)? I think so…….(sorry the angle makes us look like we have freaky large hands…man hands?)…

Since the Dodgers lost there was a momentary moment of sadness but then we realized this meant we could watch game 7 and drink more Drakes the next night–I like beer-I drink beer-do you drink beer?– why is that stuck in my head? So in no time we were happy as could be! Shred and I spent the next day doing all of our favorite things in Del Mar and I must share…

Isn’t Del Mar beautiful! Although I could go on and on I think everybody gets the point and I have captured the main themes of the ride-charity/inclusion/understanding/love/friends having fun and doing a great thing/coolness etc.  I still have one more post where I will discuss the specifics of how much Team Rylo and the CAF raised along with lessons learned/new responsibilities for members of the Ryles Institute and whatever else I feel like discussing its my blog I can do what I want. BUT before I sign off lets get a few questions from one of our favorite people Mr. Tom Tierney!

“Hey Rylo how was the CAF vs the normal Ryloride?” Great question Tom and before I answer I have a quick question for you–I assume that your family knew at a young age that you would be dashingly handsome and quite studly but at what age did they discover that you were one of the 10 smartest people in the world? I look fwd to the answer TT but for my question–Both are fantastic and we REALLY liked doing something great for a wonderful cause and the CAF people couldn’t have been nicer (and the rooms/food/support were FANTASTIC) but we did miss just having the normal Ryloride team for the whole trip…well I guess in the end we did get everybody to join but Bobby…hold on major crying situation……almost…hold on….oh wait another wave of tears….BUT Bobby PINKY SWORE he would attend Ryloride 6!

AND Bobby is ALWAYS on our mind as we ride for some reason…

Wait, TT has another question–“Rylo–why not more of a focus on Mr. Walton?” Another great question TT we love you! The reason I took the Walton focus down a notch was because we have already focused a lot on Bill. Don’t get me wrong we love him and he is our inspirational leader (I assume everybody has read his book…) but with 165 riders and 31 of them joining in RPV the demands on his time were high. We did chill with him and have some great chats at breakfasts/dinners etc but I refrained from trying to capture it all this year. We did get invited to his house for dinner again BUT we didn’t go because we all wanted to watch the Dodgers game/its over an hour each way AND we had just spent 3 days with him.

One more post is coming I better make it good!

 

 

Howdy! After a fairly mellow evening at Dana Pt we were up EARLY again to get day 2 rolling as people were very anxious to get to the end and OFF the bike although for Shred and I this was the best part of the ride so we tried NOT to get caught up in the HURRY UP mentality that was prevalent amongst the riders who had been at it for over a week at this point. To accomplish this, Shred and I headed out on our own a bit before the official ride groups so we could take in a little more of the scenery on the route as this part of the coast is really what the ride is all about and it was a GLORIOUS day.  It was literally 75 degrees and sunny all day which made me so happy I wept off and on throughout the ride.  The ride begins with a straight shot along the PCH until you head inland to ride through Camp Pendleton which is always a highlight for us cause we are just guys who wished we were tough enough to be Marines…but, we weren’t….look away we are hideous..

Sidenote–to make up for our lack of toughness in our youth ALL of the members of The Executive Committee of The Ryles Institute got their TOP SECRET security clearance last year. We did it for a few reasons: 1) We really wanted to hear Dom tell stories from HIS days in the Special Forces (yeah he WAS tough enough to take this path-see below)

but all of those discussions are classified so The Ryles Institute required all members of the Executive Committee to get their security clearances so we could hear all Dom’s stories and it was WELL worth the effort let me tell you 2) The Ryles Institute has expanded our footprint by taking on some “official” high profile clients and to get those contracts in place we needed our clearances anyway so the Head Of Govt Affairs hooked us up on both fronts. Who are these new clients? I am not allowed to name these new clients but I think its fine if I give you all a hint….FB_,  C_A,  NS_…..But, I digress, so we arrived at Pendleton where many were turned away but Shred and I sailed through as the guards immediately recognized us and waved us through-here are some pictures of the group heading to the gate (see how they funnel u into a narrow gap with high fences on either side and lots of guns at the end…classic military planning. Here are some pictures of the morning and the arrival at Pendleton:

..

. 

Once we made it past this rather large Marine we cruised through the base where we did see quite a bit of activity on base.

After we got through Pendleton it was a spectacular ride through all the coastal towns (oceanside/Carlsbad/Encinitas/Leucadia/Cardiff/Solano Beach/Del Mar) until we arrived at Torrey Pines for a Champagne reception prior to the big ride in to La Jolla Shores:

Now many of you are wondering if we stopped along the way at Robertos to get a taco….well I sure did!

And I also conducted business during the ride.

Once we arrived at Torrey Pines I took some time to reflect upon the journey-

Before we did the last 2 miles to finish the ride. Now this part was really cool because we had a big police escort from all these Motor Cycle Cops who literally shut down TP road for our group which actually was quite massive and impressive:

We rode in as a huge group to LJS where they had a huge party and the ride concluded. Tears were shed. Hugs were shared. Shred and I gave speeches and signed autographs and well then we met up with STR……Im going long lets leave it with a few more pictures and I will conclude the annual blog shortly.

More Later including STR and questions from the fans!

 

 

 

Hello again lets get to the actual CAF ride!

For Day 1 of the ride they started us out with the normal giant breakfast-I had 4 servings of bacon….

then they had a big group photo of all the riders and then they fine tuned to the “2 day riders” with the Challenged Athletes which is below:

In this picture we have only 50 of the 170 total (i.e. its a big group) and u can see shred and I in the back row (Thats where Rylo always has felt most comfortable)  in the center! After the Photo ops they corralled everybody into the starting area and sent us off in 2 large groups vs the normal daily 4 group ride options.  Which group you joined depended on which of the 2 ride options you chose for the day–they had the Epic, which Dave and I chose (74 miles), or the Classic for those wanting a bit less at the very end of the journey down the entire state (55 miles). The difference was the epic route  rode back up and around RPV–sort of a giant loop way up to the top of the hill where you get up high enough to have a great view of the entire Valley Of Death–Wilmington.

You then cruise down these fantastic winding roads and go back down into RPV before heading back to the PCH and due South. I had never been that way and it was really a nice ride. Here are some pictures of the morning:

Dom made sure we had a Destroyer following us along the coast in case we needed any extra “support”!

Instead of the normal route through the Valley Of Death we went along the water front for most of the way but there is no escaping it you have to go through the main trucking route across the bridges which is always exciting! Shred and I took every precaution but despite that we were nearly run over by a bus. Yes somebody apparently hired a bus to run us over and they made their move in Wilmington!  We were riding along minding our own business singing show tunes when the bus tried to run us over by abruptly cutting into our lane which forced Dave and I to take evasive action, which we did, by riding  up onto the sidewalk on our bikes and praying which luckily worked well. The funny thing is this guy on the sidewalk started giving us a bunch of crap about riding on the sidewalk and it started to escalate quickly so Shred and I sent Dom the prearranged signal for We Need Chuck :

And literally 30 seconds later Dom was on scene and the situation was resolved:

That was the only difficultly so for the rest of the ride we enjoyed the coast and made our way through Newport/Laguna and into Dana Pt where we stayed the night. Here are some more pictures of that part:

Our serious pose at the Shake Shack-

We finished off the day with a formal dinner program and LARGE dinner which was quite yummy.  Next I will cover the quick ride into LaJolla where we met up with Nathan and STR! I hope to get to that tomorrow!

 

Sorry for the delay there was no service in Dana Pt and we were quite busy anyway as the CAF is all about top notch service and keeping you busy! The drive down was very uneventful and it was actually a lovely day on the 5.  Dave and I pondered the plight of those who farmed the land along the 5 and we were BOTH sympathetic to their difficult lifestyle AND thankful for what they do. We can be quite thoughtful when we choose to be.  We were prepared for a difficult journey over the 5 and through LA but the commuter lane afforded us with a speedy option through town and we pulled into The Terraneo around 3 and it was go time from that point on. The CAF MDC is a BIG operation. This year there are 165 riders doing the ride. They used to have it capped at 100 but they said that rider feedback requested a larger group and a HARDER course SO they added mileage to days 1-5, added an extra optional day (day 0) and moved many of the hotels in order to add elevation as well. These people I tell ya! I would have voted to make it easier after 2014 BUT we have some amazing athletes on this trip and they wanted harder so harder it was!  130 of the riders did the entire 7 day and then there were us “2 day riders” who joined in RPV. This was the first year they offered the 2 day route and they had 31 riders sign up for this option. The CAF ride is top notch on the rider comfort side so there are a LOT of people supporting the 165 riders with the mechanics/logistics/masseuses/food/hotels/events etc–its a LOT of people but they do a great job. Here are some pictures of our trip and arrival at RPV:

Bill had a new look this year he went for the full on heavy application of sunscreen and didnt wipe it in all the way….more later.  And, yes we did get thirsty after such a long day on the 5–so, well, I like beer?  I drink beer–do you like beer? That sounds so familiar…

We got to know the lay of the land at the resort and then we had a program/food event from 6-9 and YES the programs are all tear jerkers. They have several of the challenged athletes speak/tell their story and boy they never leave a dry eye in the house but in a good way.  Shred and I were soaking it all in when our good friend Bret Barker arrived!  This is one of his publicity photos so its quite professional:

Despite being a busy father of 2, Bret found his way to meet us after another 14 hour day in the office (this is not unusual for Bret who often works 7 days a week). As a Platinum sponsor Bret was able to enjoy the receptions and interact with any and all of the Challenged Athletes and Staff.  I think he really liked it and we sure liked having him there even if there was a lot of crying at our table! Thanks for coming Bret:

After dinner that was about it for the official events but we had a ton to do anyway as we got all our CAF gear when we arrived so we had to get all organized etc and be up for our 6 am breakfast. After you eat you run to the room get dressed and haul your luggage to luggage drop off/take your drop bags to their respective locations/retrieve your bike get her all ready and head out! I will throw up some pictures from that and get to Day 1 next.  I wanted to be more on top of this but after you ride for 6-7 hours you immediately have options at the ride in area/then you shower and boy its right on to the cocktail party/dinner/show we were busy!  Here is all the gear I got!

  

And they are off!

I will leave it there for now as I must catch up on some of my other writing obligations and I have lots of good pictures for the full riding days coming up!

Hello again! The excitement is building as we are just over 12 hours away from our departure to meet the CAF crew in RPV.  Our scout vehicles,  which drove down ahead of us to clear a path, report MASSIVE crowds lining the streets waiting to catch a glimpse of Team Rylo as we drive through their various towns. 

Don’t worry we will honk and wave as we pass by! I can only imagine how many people will be lined up when we ride by on our trusted bikes….But before we get to the good stuff of meeting the Challenged Athletes and reconnecting with the CAF staff and our dear friend and biking mentor Bill Walton, we must schlepp down the 5 so we have an early departure tomorrow morning to get this event going! As has become a Ryloride tradition I will present each riding member with a fantastic treat bag and since its only me and Shred this year on the bikes I REALLY outdid myself and created a treat bag worthy of being copied. ….Check it out:

WOW! I created quite a nice collection of fantastic items that every person should have! We have 5 of my favorite books–a Handlebar bag for the longer rides–an extra charger (aka The Logan Went Missing) given the length of the ride and electronics we run during the ride–some well needed beverages AND of course the ultra cool classic VW Bus Igloo cooler….and guess what….it all fits in….

You guessed it the cooler! I was inspired by the coffee table book which also was a multi use item.

Now I am sure you noticed the Drakes Beer and yes I am pleased to announce that RR5 is OFFICIALLY sponsored by Drakes Brewery! Holy cow it just gets better by the minute.  There will be more on this sponsor and others as we move down the coast along with plenty of product placements but now that you think about it aren’t you a bit parched?? Maybe a nice ICE cold Drakes IPA would be the perfect solution!  Anyway, more later…

Shred will be so excited about the treat bag please don’t tell him he hasn’t seen it yet!

Once we arrive in RPV we will synch up with the potentially LONE member of STR (this isn’t confirmed yet we may still get Maust to come stay tuned–he does have Rock Star stuff to do) The Dom! Yes! Although some may find it hard to believe we were able to get The Dom to run the transportation for RR5 given his immensely busy schedule but we did and he will be driving the highlander from RPV to Del Mar where he will meet up with Mr. Rose and then retrieve us in La Jolla. I know you are wondering who will be portraying The Dom on the blog this year? Once again this was an easy one–Ladies and Gentleman I give you STR 2018/RR5 The Dom!

As head of weaponry acquisitions The Dom requested that we upgrade some of our “equipment” to deal with the scary conditions in Wilmington so The Executive Committee of The Ryloride Franchise approved The Dom’s request and we have some fantastic new toys for RR5!

The Dom assures us he has the appropriate licenses to operate the new equipment so we are ready to roll! You really can get anything on Ebay.

During our last Strategy session for Team Ryloride we were discussing ways to get through Wilmington safely when Shred told us that back in the day he was QUITE the kickassss dude so between him and The Dom and our new “equipment” we are feeling much more comfortable about that portion of the trip:

Ok take a minute. I mean the boots alone….well ok there is MUCH more going on but well done Shred thanks for sharing that picture from the old days. Additionally, given my background I am also able to help out if it gets really gnarly as I too am a well trained former military pilot:

-wait, where do the keys go?  Ok, enough about Wilmington (you can see how scary it is) we must move on. Well I wanted to get to the Ryles Institute to tell you what we have been up to but I need to go do the final preparation for the trip so I will have to get to that at a later time but before I go I am THRILLED to report that we added some senior female leadership to the Ryles Institute!  When we did RR last year I thought the world was inane but the insanity has only gone up a few dozen notches so we staffed up accordingly at The Institute….Given the chaos in the legal community we decided to go after some of the greatest legal minds of all times and I am happy to report that after a LOT of convincing we were able to add our NEW Head of Legal at the Institute:

She obviously needs no introduction…when I asked her what she thought of the new Supreme Court Justice she refused to answer…with words…

OK….moving along….I am also THRILLED to announce that we have also added one of the most powerful women in America to our ranks…now this one wasn’t easy but when she reviewed all of the fantastic and worthwhile work The Ryles Institute has done she immediately agreed to join so ladies and gentlemen our new Head of Global Initiatives :

OPRAH! Who DOESN’T love OPRAH? I do.  I look forward to working with her and know she will teach us all so much! I have a LOT more to say but I really must go so until tomorrow–SO LONG!

Rylo.

 

Yes it is getting close to go time with the ride less than a week away for Shred and me. In fact, the people doing the entire Sausalito to SD ride officially started their trek at 7:15 am today! Thankfully I was sound asleep but still planning strategy while I slumbered.  Dave and I have officially committed to driving the Highlander (no it is NOT named after the #1 movie of all time but good thought) to Rancho Palos Verdes this year. I wanted to take a spryer vehicle but I couldn’t get 2 bikes onto the back of the car so the Highlander it is.  They have a new start location for the ride this year (vs. Santa Monica) as they switch it around due to road closures etc.  Normally that would slice 15 ish miles off the ride but not for the CAF they now have the official route taking a hard left in Newport Beach (mile 40) and going inland over the 5 and up into the hills until you pop back down in Dana Pt. at mile 95! 95 Jerry that is a big number!  Because this route lops off some of the best coastal views of the day Dave and I consulted with our logistics team and they mapped out an alternative route which we will follow on our own—Staying in our lane and running our race!—because well we want to ride the coast so the coast we will ride! Click on the picture to make it bigger:

Enough of the logistics, who is coming and who is not AND if not WHY not is the big question.

–Bobby J: Our good friend was planning on coming but then somebody wanted to throw down and well Bobby threw it down and violated his parole which means he cant leave the state and hence was unable to make RR5. Yes we are sad. Tears were shed.  We considered cancelling the ride but then Bobby GENEROUSLY came in to sponsor Team Rylo at the Platinum level so ALL is good we still love Bobby with our whole giant hearts and wish and hope to see him next year! Don’t worry he will make guest appearances on the Blog its in his contract.

–Rob Rowe: As some of you know Rob went missing a few months back. Just completely fell of the radar. We became worried and used some of our resources from the Institute to search for our dear friend and I am happy to say we now know where he is and what he is up to.  Rob is a thespian, not that there is anything wrong with that, and his heart has always been with the theater….Side note and this is 100% true—Rob appeared in THE HIGHLANDER—well, part of his arm did, but this is still super amazing as this movie has been widely recognized as the Greatest Movie of All Time. Anyway, Rob was offered a part in an Off Off Off Broadway Production of “Kats”. Kats is the story of a man who believes he is part feline and lives in Central Park as a Cat sleeping in the trees etc. I hear it opened to rave reviews.  Since Rob takes his roles very seriously he decided to try and live as the character in the play did so off he went in full costume to spend a few nights in Central Park.  Since Rob is busy with the show he wont be able to attend RR5. More tears are shed.

–Nathan:  Mr. Rose wont be joining us on the bikes this year but will be participating in the latter half of the ride as he is residing in Del Mar (I know isn’t that awesome) and will be meeting Team Rylo as we ride in with the CAF fanfare to end the event in La Jolla Shores.  Nathan wanted to make the journey but pressing business at the Institute prevented his attendance–yes  he is busy opening up the Del Mar Branch of The Ryles Institute. More on that later.  So don’t worry you will all get to see plenty of Nathan during the trip.  Deciding on who would portray Nathan on the blog was just super simple this year so here we have Nathan:

Shred: Obviously Shred will be in attendance as my ride partner so he will be well represented on the blog. We are doing the drive once again so we are REALLY hoping the 5 isn’t closed this time! Shred has decided to renew Sean’s contract for another year so there you go.

Me? Yes I will be in attendance for RR5! Only question for me was whom should I choose to represent me on the blog? In the end it came down to 3 choices:

–#1 was solid the Dread Pirate Roberts/Farm Boy but alas I have already been portrayed by a character who carried a sword (see below) so I went another direction.

 

–#2 was in strong contention up until I saw him in some roles that frankly scared me so once again sorry not this year John.

–#3, and here we have the WINNER for RR5!!  It was a difficult choice but we decided to go with the person who I looked the most like and indeed we found my doppelganger.  Yes soak it in a spitting image, no?  Prince Harry will be playing my part this year and agreed to let us call him Harry!

I think that is quite a bit to absorb in one reading so I will sign off for now and get back to STR soon. It’s Happening!

Hello its Rylo I am back. Sorry for the delay I had to do famous person stuff–its not always easy. But, the break has given me time to reflect on the trip which was such a whirlwind of drama/fun and epic new highs. The Ryloride Series is becoming very popular amongst the Celebrity Crowd–as you all know–so we might even get some new High Profile Celebrities to join us next year. It would be pretty hard to beat this years team, I am well aware, but I always strive to better the experience for all so lets just see what happens for Ryloride 5 The Anniversary Edition!

Quite a few of you noticed on my post of the Paparazzi photo that I was recently in Beverly Hills….why you ask? Well the Mayor of Beverly Hills hosted the Executive Committee for Ryloride in order to try and get us to move to BH from SM….Given the popularity of the Ryloride Franchise many cities are eager to host us due to the tourist dollars we bring in. We agreed to meet but have NOT committed to the location of RR5..other famous locations are bidding for our event…Milan..France..Barcelona..

I am getting ahead of myself, lets finish up RR4 and not day dream too much. All of the participants of RR4 agreed that this ride kicked butt in every regard EXCEPT for me smacking into the pavement on mile 8 and bouncing along the asphalt leaving behind chunks of skin and my pride….however that was the ONLY bad part and it was mainly bad for me! Yes, I still hurp in certain places–my wipeout 3 months ago was the same thing only I landed on my left side vs my right this time so I gots all sorts of hurts going on but I muscled through with the support of my teammates and friends…the All Star Edition Cast. Here Bobby Prepares my leg for a few “field” stitches and then he forced me to give him a thumbs up even though I didn’t feel so great I think he did it for liability reasons…

On the ride we brought together a new Father and a new Grandfather (not the same person!), a Rock Star/Artist, a Hedge Fund Titan, the Worlds Best Stratergist, The Worlds Greatest Rates Boss, 2 Famous Money Managers, a former Elite Soldier/Pro Athlete and current Entrepreneur, and, Me, The Rylo. Throughout our journey we preached what I addressed at the beginning–love,  acceptance and inclusion– some of the main mantras of the Ryloride Franchise and The Ryles Institute:

Dont hate, love! Remember the Black and White Cookie! We loved our time on the ride as it gave us a chance to do a cool thing, act like children, eat too much,  hang with a great group of interesting people and overall just have a dandy time from LA to Del Mar.

I could go on and on because we had such a great time on the trip but I think that would be repetitive at this point so lets get to some of my favorite pictures from the ride (and beyond) along with whatever interests me and call it a day! First I start with Shred and I at the Canary Challenge a Charity Ride where we were the Celebrity Guests of Honor-Here we are coming across the finish line first   sporting our RR Jerseys (they use the same blowup thingy for start and finish) :

Some animals up on Diablo I saw doing my work for the State Parks: A family of 4 Bobcats and Mandango which is a rare creature that is part rat/part kangaroo and part wild boar.

Wait that last one  is me in 8th grade! I was one heck of a good dog in the school play.

Here we have Nathan telling me I am up for the Pulitzer in the Blogumentary category! I wasn’t surprised but acted so:

You can see Bobby’s mirror reflection which seems like a sign from the Big Fella…it sort of felt like a Greater Being was watching over us the whole trip (except when I bit it and bounced along the pavement)…mabye I am just imagining it…..wait

And look what some of my Team left on Bill Walton’s Bar that night…I wonder if he will call me? Wait, I am unlisted! DOH!

And lets not forget our other Pulitzer Entry:

Until next time.  The End.