This weekend was the only weekend in October that S wouldn't be traveling for business. That seemed a brilliant opportunity to skip the races in CT (where I probably would have done ok given the small fields). The weather was freaky for October in Massachusetts. Bright blue skies, 70-75 degrees and the leaves were brilliantly decorating the landscape. What better conditions for back-to-back days of leisure miles on a bike, taking pics, drinking pumpkin ale and post-ride lattes.
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Despite the skinsuit woes, I did manage to have a couple of decent races at Gloucester. I'm not necessarily totally pleased with how they went but am trying look for the silver lining of any glimmer of progress since last year. You know the new Matchbox Twenty song "How Far We've Come"? That's pretty much been my theme song this season. What happens when you take a runner, take away her running shoes, and entice her to ride her bike every day instead of pounding out the miles? No marathons, no half-marathons, no 10ks, not even a 5k. Is it true? If you ride every day can you be a better bike racer? I think the jury is still out on that...
Saturday: had a nice front row start. Advice given to me was to make sure I was in the big ring for the start and given that I learned that pretty well this season, I was sure to follow it. My goal was to get a good shot, get as far up front as possible and then fade back over the course of the race. I was also hoping not to get lapped by any of the women. Pre-rode the course and while it was fun, I didn't like it. Doesn't suit me - definitely a roadies course with lots of straight-aways to power on. Not my forte. At the whistle, I punched it but I always forget how long that hill is! I was dying by the time we hit the dirt. I pretty much held my place until we hit the first quick uphill where two juniors had to hop off their bike and forced me to dismount as well. Not a happy camper. (Note to self: start racing the A race so you don't need to deal with Juniors - Oh to have a course all to my own field!) Tried playing catch up after that and eventually caught on to my teammate Lorraine's wheel. Hung on for dear life for two laps or so. On the last lap, was forced to dismount in the sand pit as some girl tried to pass me and crashed. Grrrr. Lost Lorraine's wheel but the race was pretty much done by then. 5 laps in 44:35. Ok, better than last year where I was pulled BEFORE the men's B race leader passed me. Good enough for 33rd place out of 52 starters.
Sunday: goals were to ride faster than Saturday and finish higher. And not to fade on the uphill start this time. During Saturday's race, a few of the guys from MRC were critiquing me each time up the asphalt hill (gee...that must be what friends are for.) I did take some of it to heart - "Teri - you're spinning too fast! Shift! More power!" so that was another goal along with riding the entire course in the big ring. Got a much better start this time (I did manage to sprint the entire way to the dirt and not die) and got into lots of bumping and shoving on the first few grassy turns. Lost touch with the leaders on the gravel path and then randomly hopped on someone's wheel throughout the race. Last lap, I was trading places with the one other woman back and forth. After the run up, she lost her chain so I was able to put some good distance on her along with passing one other woman in the sand pit (which I rode all 5 times on Sunday!). Finishing time: 5 laps in 42:21 for 24th place out of 42 starters. Way faster than Saturday but the course was also faster so that accounted for some of my speediness.
I'm consoling myself with the fact that I AM routinely finishing ahead of women who were beating me last season. But then again, there are those who were finishing after me last year who are totally kicking my butt. ~sigh
Oh - and I did get to watch the Elite Women's race on Saturday. Before that Lyne Bessette rode the men's 2/3 race for a 7th place finish as a warm up. Then she blew away the women's field. Wow. Just wow. I can't even fathom how that's humanly possible. Wow.
And second Oh! I'm so damn proud of my team. Lots of red/white/blue jerseys out there, lots of fun, awesome results!
Yes, today is my little sister's birthday. Someone please explain to me how I could possibly have a little sister who's 42 years old. I remember her more like this (the pic on the left).
Now, she's married, 3 kids, drives a mini-van, and will probably kill me for writing those details about her. She's taken up running over the past two years and I'm waiting for her to break all my PRs. It should happen soon at the rate she's going.
So let's see - Pluto trivia. 1) Where did the nickname Pluto come from? She was the littlest member of our family. When she was about 5 or 6, she was SUPER tiny and my mom desperately tried to get her to drink milk, eat veggies (none of us would do that given how she steamed the poor things beyond recognition), eat ice cream, consume anything to grow/gain weight. In retaliation to all the forced feeding, Pluto would pull up her shirt, suck in her stomach and parade around with protruding ribs that brought to mind horrible images from Life magazine and made my mom absolutely crazy.
For a little sister, she never drove me crazy. At least not to the point where I was hoping she'd disappear. When we shared a bedroom in our apartment in NYC (she was around 1, me 4) I would have to move her crib away from the wall because she'd flick the light switch on/off until she fell asleep. The floor in our bedroom was hardwood, the crib had wheels, and she'd just rock the crib so it scooted back over to where she could reach the light switch and attempt to trigger epileptic seizures in me.
I don't remember ever wanting to avoid her or not hang out with her. I did want to steal her hair. I couldn't believe I got the brown, curly hair gene and she got the silky, straight, blonde hair gene. It's still not fair! I also was not happy that she got the I-hate-food-gene combined with being naturally thin. Eating her leftovers was never a hardship for me. It was a happy day in my world the day I gave her a pair of hand-me down pants that were too small for her. Only took me 38 years. ;-)
On the flip side, I know I haven't been the best big sister. One of my favorite pasttimes was scaring the living daylights out of her. I still get tons of grief for the time I hid in her closet with pantyhose on my head. When she found me in there, she screamed so loud and so real that it made me scream because I thought Michael Myers must be standing right behind me with a bloody, dripping knife. Geez! Give me a break already! It was a joke! ;-)
There are tons more stories which will be saved for next year's birthday post. Happy Birthday, Pluto! Hope you're having a fabulous day (and make sure you check your closet before you go to bed!) ;-)
This weekend was the Gran Prix of Gloucester. It was also the first weekend it's been chilly enough for me to wear my brand new skinsuit. I was told this would make me one of the "Cool Kids". ;-) Now, I'm more inclined to wear baggy mountain bike shorts, loose downhill jerseys or at the very least, shorts and typical 3 pocket jerseys. Let's just say that this new one piece, extremely clingy piece of lyrca has required a total change in my entire pre-race routine.
I warmed up Saturday with four laps on the course in the early morning before the racing started. After that, I thought about changing back into my street clothes but because I didn't drive the Fat A$$, I had to change in the "Comfort Castle". So I figured, why not just do it once and throw on the skinsuit. Dumb, dumb move. I throw it on and because it's still a bit on the cool side, I throw a jersey and jacket over and head out to watch the races with my super, giant sized Dunkin' Donuts coffee. After drinking the entire gi-normous cup of coffee and watching a few races, I head back to the Comfort Castle since my bladder is about to explode. Dash in, pull down my sweat pants and ....!!!!! realize I have to take off all my upper layers in order to pee! Oh geez! So now I'm taking off massive amounts of layers and desperately trying to figure out which is the driest, cleanest area of the Comfort Castle to place them. Here I come to the realization why I always see riders walking around with their bib tops/skinsuit tops hanging down. Duh.
Later on, I picked up my number and realized there was no way in hell I could pin it on unless I got totally undressed again. ~sigh. Thankfully, Cathy was sweet enough to pin it for me and careful enough to neither stick me with the pins or pin my undershirt to the skinsuit.
On my way to the start line, I picked up my usual GU and water bottle. As I reached around to throw them in my back pocket, I realized I had none. :( Hmmmm....improvisation...GU packet under the leg band of my shorts, and the bottle, well, I guess I'd just have to figure out how to ride with it in my hand to the start.
So, besides all I learned on the course (more on that in the next post), I also learned skinsuit protocol.
We witnessed this strange behavior while sitting on Tunnels Beach on Kauai. These people did this for hours and I'm sure their skin was complete sand rash from being dragged around by the waves. Whatever. It provided hours of entertainment for us.
Killer dress from Ann Taylor - $188. Gift for the happy couple - $250. Sunless tanning creme to fix visible tan lines from Hawaii - $35. Leaving your camera unattended while celebrating a wedding with 8 of your best, closest, oldest friends and uploading the pics the next morning - priceless (I think!)
After 20+ years of riding thousands of miles, it finally happened. I was hit by a car. :( Headed out Wednesday morning to do my 'cross workout. I decided to warm up for 15 min on Mass Ave so headed from home to Arlington Heights and back. Shortly after Wilson Farms a woman passed me and then made a sudden right turn right in front me as she turned into a school driveway to drop off her kids. No signal, nada. I was ALMOST able to stop in time and tried to jump the curb but couldn't quite make it. My front wheel made it up but the back of the bike got whacked good by the high, granite curb.
The driver and a few others stopped. Once I reassured everyone that I was fine (skinned elbow) I told them I was way more worried about my new bike. They, of course, thought I was totally nuts, but watched me put Orange Crush through a thorough inspection. Shifted fine, levers looked good, brakes - fine, wheels - true - it all looks good! Happy dance! The driver and I didn't even trade info since it appeared to be no harm no foul (lesson for next time - take info anyway!)
I continued up Mass Ave to do my 'cross workout at a small park near my house. About 40 minutes into the workout as I jammed on the pedals on an uphill section, I hear "CRACK! CLANG!" and the pedals lock up. Apparently, a piece of the derailleur snapped, the pulleys broke off and contined around the chain. Noooooooooooooooooo! Guess it must have taken quite a shot against that curb.
Hiked the 1/2 mile home pushing the bike, wondering if I was going to have race Saturday on Mr. Surly. Fortunately, the great guys over at the Loft had a Force derailleur in stock and threw it on in 15 min while I waited.
Happy ending but damn, that was too close for comfort. Ride smart out there.
Today was my first 'cross race of the season. Good thing this sport so is so much damn fun because I apparently forgot how painful it is. And this race was only 30 min long! God help me when I start upping the torture to 45 min in a few weeks.
We flew back from Hawaii Friday night/Saturday morning. Thankfully, we were able to use miles to upgrade to first class. This meant I didn't have to be mashed into a middle seat with some random snoring and drooling on me. Thanks to a glass of red wine, one Sominex, and lots of legroom, I was actually able to get about 4 hrs of sleep on our LAX -> BOS flight. Saturday was a contest to see who could stay awake the longest - I did a bunch of errands (picked up my new skin suit so now I'm one of the "cool kids" - now if only I could ride like one!) and S mowed/raked/trimmed/pruned the yard so well it looked as if we had a team of 20 landscapers working the whole weekend out there. Anyway, we both managed to stay awake until 10pm or so. Pretty amazing. When the alarm went off to get ready for the race, I felt like I was getting up in the middle of the night and that's because I was. It was 2am Hawaii time but dammit, I was going to race.
Here's the race report I threw together for my team:
Since I had been on vacation and off my bike for two weeks along with being totally jet lagged from taking a red-eye the day before, my first goal for the race was simply to get to the start on time and be somewhat awake. ;-) Second goal was to finish and enjoy my first 'cross race of the season on my brand new 'cross bike. Did a pre-ride of the course after hearing about how it was sort of technical and difficult. Score one for mt biking - I thought the course was a piece of cake and way more suited to me than those long, boring grassy courses. Also did the pre-ride with too much air in my tires (50 lbs in Maxxis Larsen Mimos). Took that down to 40 for the race which eliminated some of the bouncing over all the roots. Got a nice place at the start line, first row and good line for the first corner. Decided that one thing I really learned and worked on during mtb season was starts and I wanted to really go for the hole shot. Adjusted my gearing for the slight downhill start (46 front/25 rear) and punched it at the whistle. And yes, got the hole shot! My first ever in a 'cross race! Wahoo! I led for about 1/2 lap then was passed by Roz (Luna and eventual race winner) and then passed by tons and tons of people over the rest of the race. During the second lap when I was still in the top ten I decided to ride the steep short hill after the 180 turn (had seen lots of guys ride in the previous race). Almost made it to the top....thought i was going to break my chain as I basically did a track stand right before the top, couldn't turn over the pedals and basically did a reverse endo (flipped over backwards, bike fell on me, skid backwards down the hill...a 9.8 from the Checkoslovakian judge) ;-) Three women passed me during that bright maneuver. Anyway, fun race. Looking forward to improving over the season. Hoping to see a bunch of you at Casco Bay Saturday.
Time for some cross training (as in not riding bikes, not 'cross). Off to paddle the Na Pali coast, mtb some Kauai trails, hike a volcano or two, snorkle with some turtles, catch a few waves and have a few drinkies with little umbrellas in them.
See you all at Amesbury. I'll be the slow, but tan one. ;-) Aloha!
Wah! This was my last mtb race of the season (~sniff ~sniff) and the last one I'd be doing in the beginner division. My goals: 1) finish so I received enough points to win the series 2) don't get hurt and screw up my cross season 3) ride more of the technical stuff
The course was fairly flat, 4 wooden bridges, numerous logs and a few killer rock gardens which reminded me of Mt. Snow except they weren't muddy or on a 20% incline/decline. ;-) Unlike all the previous races, this course would be one 11 mile loop which meant no pre-ride on the day of the race so I decided to pre-ride on Saturday to check it out, see what Wompy State Park was like and just get back on my mt bike. Saturday was HOT and humid, I rode around noon, didn't eat lunch and pretty much set myself up for a bonk-fest. The course was super dry and dusty and on the first small downhill section with left turn I skidded out and went down hard on my left side. Hmmmmm....wrong tires? Have my skills really degraded in 3 weeks off? Was I simply spacing out? Similarly, on a small downhill section with tight left turn that went onto the bridge, I went in a little hot, couldn't hold the line I wanted and yes, flew off the bridge (3-4 ft drop into branches, brambles, weeds). As I went off the bridge I thought, "This is going to hurt." but oddly enough it wasn't so bad. One gi-normous bruise on my thigh, a few scratches, a 4" diameter stick through my rear wheel (no broken spokes!) and fortunately, no witnesses. ;-) The last 3 miles or so, I was entering the bonk zone - wasn't sure where I was in the woods, couldn't wait to be done, and pretty much walked through the rocky sections since I didn't think being so tired and handling technical stuff was wise. Was so happy to get back to the car and probably at least 5 lbs lighter given how much I had sweat out there. :(
Race day I was still feeling pretty tired but kept telling myself all I had to do was ride conservatively, finish, get enough points and win the '07 season series. Funny how all that flies out the window when the whistle blows. One thing I have learned is that it's really important for me to be out front. I don't ride as well in back of others (something I need to work on next year). The first mile was flat, fast and not technical. I wanted to be out front after that section. Three younger women flew out off the front and I let them go. Then one woman from my age group who was also super fast flew by and I let her go. At the end of that first mile section, I started running into the 55+ men and juniors. The juniors were really good about yielding on the trail where there was space but I think the older guys really weren't happy about getting "girled". Really super frustrating as I was going way slower than I knew I was capable was and felt my lead just melting away.
For about 1/2 the course, I fought for second place with another woman. We were pretty well matched and traded back and forth between 2nd and 3rd perhaps 3 or 4 times. The last time she passed me I was pretty wiped but thought I still had a chance if I didn't make any mistakes and so that's what I drilled in my head. No mistakes, ride EVERYTHING and if you need to get off, use your 'cross skills to get back on fast. Amazing what you can ride when you tell yourself that. That helped me catch up to her, had to jump off in a uphill rock garden but at the top of the hill did perhaps my best 'cross mount ever and took the lead back. Now I knew I just needed to push it and not wipe out. The pre-ride helped here as I remembered there was one large log, then flat and fast twisties to the grass and then finish. I thought that if could ride the log (way bigger than any I'd done before) and then sprint, I had second. If I endo'ed on the log, race over. Push...push...push...where's the log? where's the log? holy $^%$# it's bigger than I remember....hope that dirt's tasty in case I bite it big time... popped the front wheel...chainring hits the log...pedal...over! And still upright! Such a rush of adrenaline that I was still riding that I had a good sprint for the 1/4 mile to the finish. Took 2nd by 6-8 seconds or so. :) Won the race series for the season. More importantly, really improved my bike skills this season. Stuff that scared me silly in the spring is totally doable now (with a little guts and much trepidation). Looking forward to taking it to the next level next season.
I'm off for two weeks now - but when I return, it's full throttle on 'cross (Amesbury should be my first 'cross race of the season. So psyched!)
This weekend I went to visit my family. August is always a month of family celebrations and this time it was a month of milestones - M turned 12 (almost a teenager!), my dad and my mom turned 70 and my folks celebrated their 49th anniversary.
I find it hard to believe my parents are 70. I can remember being asked how old my parents were and answering 35 (10 years younger than I am now! Yikes!) They don't seem 70 to me. They're still active, still doing stuff, and usually stay up later than I do. Scary.
A while ago, I wrote a post for Father's Day where I tried to describe my earliest memories of my dad. I never did the same for Mother's Day so given it's the day after Mom's birthday, I'll try now.
And it's SO hard. My dad worked super hard when I was growing up - came home late, in the office on weekends, so when I actually spent time with him, it was usually pretty memorable. With my mom, it's totally different. I don't seem to have any discreet memories - my mom was (and is) simply ALWAYS there. I can see her at the stove in our NY apartment (I'm sure making another pot of pasta) when I was about 4 or 5, I can see her at the stove at our CT house while I did my homework at the kitchen table. I remember her dropping me off for school in the parking lot of my grammar school, watching our old Ford Fairlane pull away and me trying not to cry. She froze her butt off sitting in the bleachers during my ice skating lessons (ok, I really wanted hockey skates but I still had fun). She sat threw numerous softball games and I can still hear her voice echoing in my high school gym, "Shoot! Shoot!" She had way more confidence in my basketball abilities than I did.
I love shopping with my Mom. I have her to thank for my love of shoes and jackets. She has this great gift for picking out clothes - she'll find something on the sale rack, "This would look cute on you!" I'd look at it horrified, NFW I'd ever put it on but she'd make me try it in the dressing room and damn, she was usually right. And if she wasn't, we'd get a good laugh at how ridiculous I looked.
She sent me numerous care packages when I was away at college, taught me how to make ravioli, apple pie, and how NOT to cook veggies (I like mine lightly steamed, she boils hers so they no longer resemble their original likeness.) She even took the blame (and wrath of my dad) for a fender bender where I was actually the driver. During my most recent move, she was surrounded by boxes in my kitchen, wiped out all the cabinets, unpacked the boxes and organized every drawer. Of course, 3 years later, I'm still finding stuff I forgot I had in some obscure back corner of a cabinet but that just makes life more interesting.
Now, if I could just get her to go bike riding with me.....
Sometimes you need to ride with a 6 year old to remember the real reason we ride bikes in the woods. My usual goal is to get from point A to point B as fast as possible, choose the shortest route, the line with the least obstacles, the smoothest part of the trail. Yesterday I rode with E and he reminded me that oh, yeah, finding your favorite rock, gnarliest root or tallest log can be the most fun. And doing it over and over is even better. Why go down the middle of the trail when you can skim the sides and hit the rocks less ridden? Why do it once as fast as possible instead of trying it again - this time with both feet off the pedals Good questions.... Pretty damn smart for a 6 year old. Turned out to be one of my best rides this summer!
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Far be it from me, "Habit Girl", to make fun of someone with unusual rituals. Probably my most precious routine is my morning one. And one of the things I love about it is how George makes it all that much more interesting.
Here's how it starts off:
Yeah - you read that right. Little George has the habit of putting his favorite cat toys in his feed bowl. Usually this is limited to what we refer to as "Monsters" (look like fuzzy octopi) and "Flats" (flat fake mice).Sometimes he expands his collection to include fuzzy slippers, bikini tops and headless real mice. Every night, he puts 2-8 toys in his bowl and every morning I take them out and put them in his "toy box". The cat is just plain nuts but it puts a little zing in my morning routine. |  |
I've really been falling behind in my posts - work has been picking up (loving my new project, though), a little PTO, a little travel, it all adds up to no posts. But better late than never.
August 12 was the Hodges Village Dam Root 66 Race which was also the MA State Championship. My goals for the race: 1) beat Hammer girl 2) finish 3) don't get hurt. A little explanation for the first goal - Hammer Girl (nicknamed that since she rides for Hammer Nutrition) beat me in the previous 2 races we've competed in. Since she wasn't at Mt. Snow, I didn't want my "title" to be tarnished by the fact that she didn't race there and yet beat me in every race we met this season. So I HAD to beat her in this race.
I had a good omen before the start of my race. A very cute grasshopper, pictured on the left, attached itself to my bike and would NOT let go. No matter what. I figured he'd be my good luck charm and I'd remember to hop all the rocks and roots with him around. I think after my first crash he decided I was too sketchy and left to search for a calmer perch.
The course was flat, fast, dry, 5.5 miles. Some rollers. The strategy was to see if you could ride the course without touching your brakes, use momentum from the downhills to carry up the next hill. Nothing technical, a few bridge crossing you had to be somewhat careful on, a few logs to get over, one double log crossing that made life interesting and a few sections of long fire road (gotta watch out for Hammer Girl on the fire road - she's fast on that.)
There were more women in this race than usual - so many in fact that I had a second row start. I didn't worry too much about it since the first 1/4 mile was on wide fire road and I thought I could pass everyone. Bad idea - I did pass everyone except two women in the younger age group who proceeded to crash on the first, short steep hill with very dry, sandy, loose dirt. ~sigh. Took awhile to get around them as they got tangled together and blocked the trail. 
Since I knew I'm better than her on the technical stuff - I floored it on the single track. I had my teammate Cathy in my head saying, "Remember, momentum is your friend." as I pushed hard through the rock gardens, tangled root fields, etc. I hit all the big berm turns as fast as possible (I LOVE that!) and just kept pushing so I could put as much distance as possible between me and Hammer Girl (didn't want her to catch me on the flat fire roads where she was super quick). About halfway through the lap, I got stuck behind another guy going up hill. He crashed, I couldn't get my foot out of my pedal in time and fell hard, smashing my left kneecap into a rock, and a handlebar into my....ahem...chest. ;-) Owwwww...knee hurt worst - saw stars, caught my breath and thought, "Gotta get back on!" Took me a couple of minutes to get back on pace as my knee was really hurting. Settled in, continued on, pushed hard on more single track, threw it in the big ring for the last 1/4 mile of fire road to the finish since I had no idea how far back Hammer Girl was. 1st place, and MA State Champion. 1:16 (40 min first lap, 36 min second lap) with Hammer Girl back around 18 sec. Still have the race series leader jersey. :)
One more race for me as a Beginner (just to finish out the race series) then on to the Sport division next year!
One of my favorite Yankees passed away yesterday (on my Dad's birthday, of all days). Phil Rizzuto's running stream of consciousness (a.k.a. calling the Yankees games on WPIX) is the soundtrack of my childhood. As a kid, I tormented my little sister. So much in fact, that she was afraid to go to bed. My mom and dad figured the best way to avoid Pluto's screaming from the bedroom and in turn teach me a lesson was to send me to bed with her.
So here I was on summer nights, heading to my room while it's still light out. Hot summer nights, trying to sleep with what little breeze from the open windows, a radio under my pillow tuned to the Yankee game. I fell asleep to the sound of Phil's voice, crickets, and the bounce of a basketball as my friends continued to play on the court in the street out front.
I never got to see him play as he retired before I was born but he was still legendary around my house. Being somewhat "vertically challenged", it was encouraging to hear all that he accomplished despite being told by Casey Stengel that he should get a shoeshine kit instead of trying to be a ball player. Like him, I was never going to be a homerun hitter. But damn, I was going to be able to bunt like him, have a great on-base percentage, vacuum up anything hit in the infield and just be the best lead off hitter I could.
I spent a lot of nights with The Scooter. His candor and propensity to say whatever came into his mind just made listening to the ball games so personal. Almost like just sitting in the stands with your favorite uncle, watching the game, and shooting the breeze. I've never enjoyed listening to another announcer as much.
Yesterday, it was St. Peter's turn to call the game. I'm sure he came out with, "Holy Cow! I think he's going to make it!"
Ok, it is now official. I drink way too much coffee. Starbucks actually sent me a thank card along with a halfway decent CD. Funny thing is I'm really a Peet's girl (ok, and even sometimes a Dunkin' girl And not just because pink and orange are two of my favorite colors). Only do Starbucks while traveling on business to San Jose. But hey, the CD is pretty good.
Two weekends ago was the Pan-Mass Challenge - a fundraiser for Dana Farber's Jimmy Fund. This was my 9th year riding it and my first year riding it without S due to her knee injury from Mt. Snow. I'm not the chattiest person on the bike (or running for that matter). I tend to just keep the pace, listen to the conversation around me, and contribute the usual, "Yeah" , "Uh-huh" or "On your left!" Without S there, PFFC, Gary, and I chatted a bit but there was a lot of time to simply "tap out the tempo" (as Phil Ligget would say), listen to the tires hum and think.
I thought a lot about why I do this ride. A lot of people don't do it because the minimum amount to raise is somewhat daunting. But I don't mind hitting people up for the cash since almost 100% of the money raised goes directly to Dana Farber. No other charity comes close to that. And that money directly translates into advances in cancer treatment and who knows, perhaps a cure. And that, in turn, made me think about the people I miss, those who'd still be making me laugh and smile if cancer hadn't swept them away.
My Aunt Fran passed away a few years go from lung cancer. She wasn't a smoker but apparently that didn't matter to the lung cells gone bad. She was my dad's younger sister, with a great sense of humor and a totally contagious laugh. A perpetual optimist, she always saw the best in everyone and I think that perhaps that's where I get my tendency to always give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I visited her in Arizona a few months before she died. She told me then that her memory was failing but certain things she remembered and true to form, many of her last held memories were of events that made her laugh. We reminisced about the time she, my parents, my sister and cousin stayed at the Battle Green Inn. She told me how furious my mom was that her daughter subjected her to spending a night in such a place, how my sister slept all night with her clothes on, etc., etc. A family story that has gone down in infamy (but really, it's all my friend Amy's fault!) and I will never live down. We sat on the couch that afternoon, sharing stories that she remembered and me reminding her of a few she forgot. We capped off the evening with smokin' hot Mexican food at a local restaurant and some margaritas. Made us even sillier. Those were the last hours I got to spend with her and I was still smiling all the way back to Boston.
My little cousin Stevie died when I was about 4. I don't remember him all that well - there was always an air of mystery around him, probably because he was sick and we were told to be nice to him. Oddly enough, my cousins and I, usually rough and rambunctious, always turned it down a notch so Stevie could keep up. 40 years later, there's a cure for what killed Stevie. I wonder how my life, my aunt, uncle and cousins' lives would be different if Stevie were still around.
Then there's Brian, S's "second" dad. Handsome, quick witted, super dry sense of humor. I spent an afternoon touring vineyards in Sonoma, Napa, etc in a limo with him, Carol and S. We had to convince people he wasn't a celebrity, then we gave up, accepted the fact that he really must "be someone" and enjoyed the perks that his celebrity status was conferring on us. We finished off the day with an awesome dinner in Healdsburg, with yet more wine. We talked about cancer - I had just finished my treatment and he seemed to be doing well. I just knew he'd be like me. It would be a little inconvenience and then he'd be back out tearing up the golf courses just like I was planning on tearing up the 'cross courses. I still can't believe it didn't turn out that way. A year and a half after that wonderful day, he was gone.
The miles on the bike flew by thinking of all this and a few other stories. I didn't notice the heat, the headwind, and actually didn't even notice the route markers and got lost for a bit. ;-) Thousands of riders, each with their own stories and reasons, raising over $25 million. 25,000,000 more chances that perhaps will someday keep someone else in my life a bit longer to make me laugh. After all, it's all about me. I'm selfish. ;-)
Yesterday while hiking back from the beach, we passed this car parked near Dyke Bridge. Since I'm always checking out bikes, I glanced up at this one and thought, "Huh....is that fork on backwards? WTF? Weird bike.....OOOOOH!" Yeah, someone else did what I told TCB every cyclist does at one point in their cycling career. And to be totally honest, we almost did exactly the same thing with the Merlin while getting on the ferry last Friday. Ouch.
It's been over 10 years since I've ridden on the Vineyard. Last time was a metric century fundraiser. I don't remember much about that ride except for a killer head wind and the guy who sucked my wheel the entire time then with a burst of energy dusted me in the last mile. Ass&^%#.
Anyway, today's ride was way more pleasant. First tricky part was negotiating the 1/4 mile or so of sandy, dirt road from the Chappy Shack to the main road. Yes, I tried riding and while my bike handling skills are vastly improved, deep, loose sand and 20mm tires don't mix well. (Wish I had my 'cross bike....Wish I had my 'cross bike...).
Rolled up to the Chappaquiddick ferry trying to figure out the protocol of who gets on first, when I need to pay, how much, etc. without looking like a tourist (peds and cyclists get on first, $6 for a person with bike round-trip but you only pay going from Edgartown to Chappy). Walked on the ferry, they loaded up the max load of 3 cars and we all attempted to stay as far right as possible so the cars wouldn't either roll over our toes or the hit the bikes. Felt like it was going to be a tight squeeze but there was actually more room than I expected. The ferry shoved off and did its little ballet across the channel with the current trying to pirouette the little barge. There are actually two ferries, and they leave their respective docks simultaneously. I don't get tired of watching the two boats do their dance across the channel - almost looks like they're about to spin uncontrollably and at the last minute, the captain guns the engines, I brace for what I'm sure will be a hard impact into the dock, and a reverse thrust gently nudges us up to the car gangplank (albeit with a hard "thunk!" into the wooden walls funneling the ferry into the slip).
It was early morning in Edgartown, the crowds still eating breakfast, sleeping, anything but being out on the streets so I had the downtown pretty much to myself. I pedaled slowly through town, love the architecture here and then headed up Beach Road to Oak Bluffs. I was doing a good 25mph, patting myself on the back, "Hey! Rest days work! Look at me fly!" And then I saw the flags pegged in the direction I was headed. Ok, so I had a nice tailwind. Hmmmm...I'm not as good as I thought AND I was going to have a killer headwind on the way back.
Ended up spinning for a nice 30 mile ride through Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and West Tisbury. The beach routes were super pretty, not too much traffic and lots of cute coffee shops to stop at. Only problem - missed my riding partner. :(
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