Okay, so after an 8th month layoff of not riding and not working out I got back on my bike today. I refuse to let skin cancer force me to give up one of my favorite things to do. Yes, I will have to be more careful with my skin care but I will still ride.
I started riding back in 2004 when a co-worker who lost her Dad to brain cancer convinced me to give it a try. Now, like most of us I had a bike as a kid and rode it quite a lot. I remember having my first 10 speed and riding the 1.5 miles to the base of the mountain we lived near in Tennessee and always turning around. Back then, Breaking Away was a hit movie and Greg LeMond was becoming a household name by being the first American to win the Tour de France. I always thought someday I would tackle climbing the 4.5 miles up to the top but never did.....life got in the way. After college and a stint in the Army we moved back to Tennessee and I looked at bikes but never bought one....then I started moving with my career. In 1999, I became interested in cycling again, as did a great many Americans, watching Lance Armstrong reclaim his life and his stature as a truly competitive cyclist by winning the first of 7 consecutive Tours de France. I bought a hybrid bike and rode a little but still didn't put a lot into riding.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I wasn't around to help Mom through her cancer and that is why I took the challenge from my co-worker to get a bike and ride in the 24 Hours of Booty. I bought a bike off of the community bulletin board at work which was 4 cm too small, even with the seat post elevated as far as it would go, and I only managed to ride 30 miles. What was embarrassing was having to get off and walk the bike up the little incline on the back side of the course after 10 miles. I missed the 2005 and 2006 rides. In 2005, I chose to focus on training for and riding in the MS 150 and decided to go back to Tennessee the weekend of the ride. In 2006, I just didn't ride.
By 2007, I had found the miracle that is Facebook and had reconnected with many of my old high school band mates. Unfortunately, reconnecting with these friends brought me closer to cancer, again. Two of my good friends passed away from pancreas cancer between 2007 and 2008 so I was determined at that point to never again miss another opportunity to rasie money for cancer research and support by riding in the 24 Hours of Booty.
Fast forward to now.....I am on my 2nd year volunteering my time for the Booty Organizing committee, helping ensure that this event is truly world class and riding! As long as I can swing a leg over a bike and keep my balance I will ride a bike.
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