70 miles. Driving 70 miles is hard to do, but on a bike? This kind of organic, Godincident opportunity arose and it's funny the way things work out. Now I have a new challenge in front of me and it's as exciting as the running opportunities that have come my way.
It all started a few years ago when a friend (Rob Duffield) posted about the Livestrong Philly Challenge that he was going to ride in. He wanted to celebrate his victory over cancer, but also fight cancer through the research and other services that the Lance Armstrong Foundation supports. He decided this was the best way and, though the idea piqued my interest, I wasn't much of a cyclist so I just kept running.
Not long ago, I decided that I wanted to cycle more as cross-training, so I bought a new bike and started riding. I build up my distance to 40 miles and there was that post on Facebook again. I started thinking that I would like to join him and was considering how I would breach (sp?) the subject, about a second later there was a notification that someone had posted on my wall. To my surprise it was Rob inviting me to join his team (Team Fish). Um, God? Can I have SOME sort of sign that I should join Rob on his team? I accepted the challenge, but with one month from the event the 100 miler seamed a bit daunting, so I decided that I would decide how far to go as the day progressed.
During this month, I was able to get two 50 mile rides in- along with some longer runs to build endurance and strength.
Finally, the day came- that would be today- and I met Team Fish. Rob, his brother, Pat, and me. There was another, but he got ill and was unable to join us. We raised over $3400 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which is pretty awesome!
Once we gathered and I got my bibs, we had an opening ceremony which included an encouraging word from Lance Armstrong and the Star Spangled Banner, then we were off. Everything was going fine, even through the first few hills. At some point there was a turn for people who wanted to go 20 miles and stop, but we kept on. I got to hear all about Rob's story of surviving cancer and doing these rides, we caught up on other areas of life, then at around the 20th mile, there was a split for those who wanted to go 45 miles and those who wanted to go 100 miles. Rob and I went the 100 mile way and his brother went the 45.
At some point in the ride we got our glimpse of greatness as Lance Armstrong rode the course in the opposite direction, which gave us all the opportunity to cheer him on and thank him for his work. It probably sounded something like this, "thweio"... but he looked pretty cool and now I can say that I passed Lance Armstrong On his left!
It's hard to describe the hills we were working through, but I can tell you that I used every gear on my bike, a lot. I learned a lot about shifting, safety, and riding etiquette. Our legs were really feeling the hills, but it wasn't anything that I hadn't done before... until Rob and I split for the 100 miles.
At some point, and I don't remember when, I started to envy Pat and his 45 mile journey. I was having some minor cramping issues and my right knee bothered me a lot, but it wasn't anything that I was suffering through alone... poor Rob got to hear me complain about my knee a lot, but everyone was suffering, just all in different ways, and there is something comforting to know you are not suffering alone- and that's what keeps you going.
The hills after the 45 mile split started increasing in grade and length. There were sharp curvy uphills which turned into sharp curvy downhills, which turned into long steep straightaways. Sharp, long ups that turned into longer, less steep hills then some fast, joyous downhills. But wherever there is a downhill, there is always an uphill and wherever there is an uphill is always a down. The longer we rode, the more this course consumed me. I have never experienced such challenging hills for such a long duration.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, the obvious struck me like another blow to the right knee or cramp in the groin... this is what cancer is like. I made the comment to Rob and he told me about one of the times that he didn't quite finish the race and really down on himself. He said that he had some comfort in knowing that it was a shared suffering among the cancer/survivor community. For some people, Rob said, they mentally want to win the fight and fight hard, but the body just gives out, and that's what happened to him when he didn't finish the race.
That's happened to me in marathons, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We were fighting those hills, which is both a mental and physical. People with cancer and those who love them fight these fights every day. Some days it's an uphill fight, twisting and turning through mountains fighting physical and mental strain and fighting to keep their eyes on the finish line. Other days it's a smooth downhill when they can coast and rest their weary legs, but even on those days, sometimes, those downhills can be quite scary and dangerous as they twist and turn down around blind curves.
At some point at the top of a really long hill, there was a sign that read "Tired? Take a 30 mile shortcut". We took the shortcut and covered 70 miles. Neither of us were trained nor prepared for 100 miles. This whole event was not about racing, it was about challenging oneself to push beyond one's limits and to fight. In fact, the motto is "Pick a Fight". Fight cancer, which is a fight that used to end in death, but now, because of money raised through events like this one, and the American Cancer Society, and the Susan G. Komen foundation, etc. victory against this horrible disease is more achievable now than it ever has been.
The best thing you can do to fight cancer is to live a healthy, active lifestyle and keep control of your weight. This alone drastically reduces your chances of getting a myriad of cancers. I thank everyone who supported this effort by their prayers and financial support. God bless you all!
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