It was not like any other ride I have done…no time-clock, no mass charge to be the first off the start-line…just a group of people doing what they love for people they love. This was my second time ever attempting to ride 100 miles in one day. I was extremely nervous that I would even be able to get started…you see the weeks prior I had a horrible head-cold which couched me for 5 days, then a vacation with all the food I could eat and little to no exercise, and to top that off on my return flight I caught another head-cold within days of the ride!!! I was not a healthy cyclist…this was not a good training record!

The day was gorgeous…sunny, cool, clear, and slight breeze! The crowd was relatively small for an organized ride in this area but it made for a quaint, family-like atmosphere. There were bikes of all statures…race bikes, new bikes, old bike, hybrids, and one tandem. I started out with what seemed to be the more “experienced” riders…meaning: they looked like racers when not riding for JDRF. I probably could have stayed with them for the day if I had not had such an issue with “pack” riding…riding with more than 4-5 riders in a group is just not appealing to me! At mile 10 I found myself alone…not new for me since I tend to prefer it that way on the road bike. For the rest of the 90 miles I was literally riding “my own ride”

Typically during a century there is what is known as the “80 mile wall” this is where a cyclist usually has a mild mental breakdown and questions everything from…”why am I here?” to “I hate my bike!” with a “I want my Mommy!!!” thrown in. For various reasons I never had any thoughts resembling “this is hard…I wanna quit!” It was almost surreal to not feel any pain!

I do believe the tranquility I experienced is due to the fact that this was one little day…not even 7 hours…of my life in honor of those who suffer daily. The pain was not something I had to force out of my head, it was simply NOT there! I thought of Cameron a lot during my ride…what a great kid he is! How he has brought such light to our family and how such a little time and/or contribution can hopefully one day take away his “80 mile wall”

With your generous donations we are that much closer…Thank you!!!

With Love
Laurie
And family!!!


P.S. Due to scheduling conflicts Cameron and his family were not able to join me on my ride as planned…but next year I will make sure he will be there to pedal across the finish line!

OH…and also…not a week after my ride Cameron took a digger on his bike resulting in 5 stitches on the chin! Healing wishes and a thought from his mtbiking cousin…
“If you don’t fall, you’re not riding hard enough!!!” wooohooooooooo