Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Cycle Salt Lake Century and the Best Dam Bike Ride
Well, my bike spent the winter in the garage collecting dust. Should have spent time on my stationary bike but grad school and relocating and all the fun and wonderful things associated have proven to be more time consuming than I thought they would be. Two weeks ago (or so) I dusted the bike off and headed for the Cycle Salt Lake Century. I spent 20 years in Phoenix before moving to Ogden so the thought of sunscreen never entered my head. Since I have not been out of a hoodie since August, I was white as a ghost, at least til the Bike-B-Q set in. Most of the peeling is over with so I can venture out again to prepare for the next MS 150 up in Logan. Should be a pretty fun ride. I will be hauling an extra 20 lb around (bike in garage since November, remember?) so am happy that this ride will not have the mountains the Las Vegas ride had. I am still thinking about doing the Gambler's Classic again, though. That was a GREAT ride.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Update on Bob and the Gambler's Classic
I thought, about a month ago, I had better ride in an organized ride to be sure I knew what I was getting myself into. I entered the Heber Century in Heber Utah. WOW, what an amazing ride. I found out 38 miles into it (at the top of a hill that nearly KILLED ME) that the Heber Century is the hardest ride in Utah. Nice initiation into organized cycling!
Bob Ciapini passed away the Monday before the Heber ride and Patrick joined me. It was good to see him although he dusted me by well over 20 miles and was sleeping in the vehicle when my crippled, old, hiney reached the finish line.
Yesterday was day two of the Gambler's Classic. It was a fantastic experience and a fabulous ride. An amazing amount of hills and outrageous climbs, but oh so worth it! After the 8 hour drive home (did I mention I moved to Utah to go to Grad school in August?) it was difficult to walk. When I woke up this morning I could barely move but the more I forced myself (and gulped NSAID's) the better I could move until tonight I feel pretty good. No sore muscles, just the failing arthritic knees and bad spine objecting to the whole thing.
At times, I wondered if I hadn't taken a wrong turn because I was all alone out in the desert, no cyclists or support vehicles in sight. It was a peaceful feeling on flat land but I often asked myself what the heck I was doing out there on the hills! I asked Bob for help more than once and found the strength to continue.
I was dead last for quite a distance on Saturday til a second flat tire took me out a few miles from the end. Sunday's finish was a bit more glorious as I passed two GEEZERs (as they called themselves) about 20 miles from the finish and managed to stay in ahead of them and another the balance of the ride. I met some great folks! Many thanks to Tim for the extra tube for Sunday and to Reed and his dad, Herold (?? I am terrible with names!) the third guy I was able to stay in front of. Reed kept me company as we sparred for most of the ride Sunday, neat kid, I hope he makes it to BYU and finds his dreams.
Watching the father and son team was nice. I wished that Patrick had been able to join me for the ride but he is much more powerful than I am, it would likely have been a repeat of the Heber ride.
At this time, I am looking forward to Spinn class while the snow flies here at home and the MS 150 in Florence, Arizona in March 2010, which promises to have stable elevations! Woo Hoo
Maybe next year I will join Reed and Herold for the Gambler's Classic again. As it stands now, I am grateful that the weather was SO perfect, I only had two flat tires, I was not one of the unfortunate one's hauled back to Vegas in ambulances, and that I only have the few problems I have been given and not MS. Thank you, God, for as perfect a weekend as I could have had!
Bob Ciapini passed away the Monday before the Heber ride and Patrick joined me. It was good to see him although he dusted me by well over 20 miles and was sleeping in the vehicle when my crippled, old, hiney reached the finish line.
Yesterday was day two of the Gambler's Classic. It was a fantastic experience and a fabulous ride. An amazing amount of hills and outrageous climbs, but oh so worth it! After the 8 hour drive home (did I mention I moved to Utah to go to Grad school in August?) it was difficult to walk. When I woke up this morning I could barely move but the more I forced myself (and gulped NSAID's) the better I could move until tonight I feel pretty good. No sore muscles, just the failing arthritic knees and bad spine objecting to the whole thing.
At times, I wondered if I hadn't taken a wrong turn because I was all alone out in the desert, no cyclists or support vehicles in sight. It was a peaceful feeling on flat land but I often asked myself what the heck I was doing out there on the hills! I asked Bob for help more than once and found the strength to continue.
I was dead last for quite a distance on Saturday til a second flat tire took me out a few miles from the end. Sunday's finish was a bit more glorious as I passed two GEEZERs (as they called themselves) about 20 miles from the finish and managed to stay in ahead of them and another the balance of the ride. I met some great folks! Many thanks to Tim for the extra tube for Sunday and to Reed and his dad, Herold (?? I am terrible with names!) the third guy I was able to stay in front of. Reed kept me company as we sparred for most of the ride Sunday, neat kid, I hope he makes it to BYU and finds his dreams.
Watching the father and son team was nice. I wished that Patrick had been able to join me for the ride but he is much more powerful than I am, it would likely have been a repeat of the Heber ride.
At this time, I am looking forward to Spinn class while the snow flies here at home and the MS 150 in Florence, Arizona in March 2010, which promises to have stable elevations! Woo Hoo
Maybe next year I will join Reed and Herold for the Gambler's Classic again. As it stands now, I am grateful that the weather was SO perfect, I only had two flat tires, I was not one of the unfortunate one's hauled back to Vegas in ambulances, and that I only have the few problems I have been given and not MS. Thank you, God, for as perfect a weekend as I could have had!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Background
They said it could not be done, they said it should not be done. But in true Teri form, I am out there doing it.
Many thanks to Pablo for showing me a way thru the pain and to Dr. Susan for making the pain so much less.
This is my blog, my chronicle of the preparation and execution of the Gamblers Classic MS 150 bike tour in Las Vegas Nevada.
I was supposed to undergo spinal fusion surgeries this summer because the pain had gotten so bad, walking was unbearable. I have extruded disks between C6 and C7 and between L5 and S1, along with a bunch of spine doc alphabet soup that means my vertebrae are grinding on each other.
Pablo is a great physical therapist who was able to teach me that the pain wouldn't kill me if I would just put air in the ball and begin. I spent several months at White Tanks Physical Therapy with him and his wonderful staff working on muscles that had long since atrophied due to my fear of causing more pain.
Even with the progress I had made with Pablo, the spine docs said surgery was necessary but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Fear won out!
I live less than a quarter mile from Dr. Susan's office at Total Life Chiropractic and have driven past for a year without ever stopping in. Not sure why, but one day in June, I did just that. Dr. Susan is a wonderful and compassionate professional and she has helped to relieve an incredible amount of my pain.
Family friend, Charles, brought a bicycle over for my 16 year old daughter, Rachael, to ride and she was blessed with sweet freedom. At that point I was riding my bike very little. There was a short period where I was riding pretty slow every other night to exercise my dogs but I hurt a great deal after and just quit. Rae's excitement with her bike and some teenaged behaviors (naughty, naughty!) led me to dust off my bike again toward the end of June. Just to get some bonding time in with my daughter.
Working with Dr. Susan made me feel so much better that I was able to increase my rides to 5 miles and I set a kind of date with Rae to go riding every Tuesday and Thursday night. It felt good, for the most part.
I knew of Bob Ciapini way back when, but I don't know that I have ever met him formally. He owned the McDonald's in Ely Nevada and befriended my son, Patrick, when he was very young and very ill with leukemia. When asked how he was doing, Patrick would always answer, PERFECT! This answer so impressed Bob that he started calling Patrick his hero. Any kid who could be so sick and still say he was PERFECT should be someone's hero! As it turns out, Bob was once a cyclist, a long distance rider. Patrick was drawn to BMX riding and became highly ranked in BMX racing. Now nearly 18, Patrick is a bit big for the tiny BMX racing bikes but still kicks serious butt when he hits the track.
Bob has MS and is nearing death. A sad, sad thing for anyone but especially for a long distance cyclist who was in exceptional physical shape and quite active for most of his life.
In Bob's honor, I have created the cycling team "Bob's Hero" for the Gambler's Classic MS 150 bike tour from Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Mesquite, Nevada and back. It is actually 167 miles, but who's counting? Bob will likely be gone, if there is any justice in the world, Bob will be gone, before the tour begins November 7th, 2009. We will ride in his memory and his honor.
Each day when I load my bike up to go ride with my wonderful friend Leslie, I feel the pain and discomfort my own body has and I think about Bob. How he can barly whisper now and has to be fed because he can't do it himself, cannot do anything for himself, and the bike gets loaded and I ride. Most days I feel pretty good. Now that the monsoon has kicked in here in Phoenix my arthritis is pretty painful and lately it is difficult just to get out of bed. But I think about Bob, and I ride.
I am hopeful that Patrick will join me for the ride to honor his friend. Leslie, though very well intentioned, has a wedding to attend and will not be in Las Vegas but has comitted to Team Road Kill for the Florence Arizona MS 150, and so we ride the Arizona Canal system in preparation. Her friend, Duff, may join Team Road Kill. Can't wait to meet him, Leslie says he is quite a guy.
Many thanks to Pablo for showing me a way thru the pain and to Dr. Susan for making the pain so much less.
This is my blog, my chronicle of the preparation and execution of the Gamblers Classic MS 150 bike tour in Las Vegas Nevada.
I was supposed to undergo spinal fusion surgeries this summer because the pain had gotten so bad, walking was unbearable. I have extruded disks between C6 and C7 and between L5 and S1, along with a bunch of spine doc alphabet soup that means my vertebrae are grinding on each other.
Pablo is a great physical therapist who was able to teach me that the pain wouldn't kill me if I would just put air in the ball and begin. I spent several months at White Tanks Physical Therapy with him and his wonderful staff working on muscles that had long since atrophied due to my fear of causing more pain.
Even with the progress I had made with Pablo, the spine docs said surgery was necessary but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Fear won out!
I live less than a quarter mile from Dr. Susan's office at Total Life Chiropractic and have driven past for a year without ever stopping in. Not sure why, but one day in June, I did just that. Dr. Susan is a wonderful and compassionate professional and she has helped to relieve an incredible amount of my pain.
Family friend, Charles, brought a bicycle over for my 16 year old daughter, Rachael, to ride and she was blessed with sweet freedom. At that point I was riding my bike very little. There was a short period where I was riding pretty slow every other night to exercise my dogs but I hurt a great deal after and just quit. Rae's excitement with her bike and some teenaged behaviors (naughty, naughty!) led me to dust off my bike again toward the end of June. Just to get some bonding time in with my daughter.
Working with Dr. Susan made me feel so much better that I was able to increase my rides to 5 miles and I set a kind of date with Rae to go riding every Tuesday and Thursday night. It felt good, for the most part.
I knew of Bob Ciapini way back when, but I don't know that I have ever met him formally. He owned the McDonald's in Ely Nevada and befriended my son, Patrick, when he was very young and very ill with leukemia. When asked how he was doing, Patrick would always answer, PERFECT! This answer so impressed Bob that he started calling Patrick his hero. Any kid who could be so sick and still say he was PERFECT should be someone's hero! As it turns out, Bob was once a cyclist, a long distance rider. Patrick was drawn to BMX riding and became highly ranked in BMX racing. Now nearly 18, Patrick is a bit big for the tiny BMX racing bikes but still kicks serious butt when he hits the track.
Bob has MS and is nearing death. A sad, sad thing for anyone but especially for a long distance cyclist who was in exceptional physical shape and quite active for most of his life.
In Bob's honor, I have created the cycling team "Bob's Hero" for the Gambler's Classic MS 150 bike tour from Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Mesquite, Nevada and back. It is actually 167 miles, but who's counting? Bob will likely be gone, if there is any justice in the world, Bob will be gone, before the tour begins November 7th, 2009. We will ride in his memory and his honor.
Each day when I load my bike up to go ride with my wonderful friend Leslie, I feel the pain and discomfort my own body has and I think about Bob. How he can barly whisper now and has to be fed because he can't do it himself, cannot do anything for himself, and the bike gets loaded and I ride. Most days I feel pretty good. Now that the monsoon has kicked in here in Phoenix my arthritis is pretty painful and lately it is difficult just to get out of bed. But I think about Bob, and I ride.
I am hopeful that Patrick will join me for the ride to honor his friend. Leslie, though very well intentioned, has a wedding to attend and will not be in Las Vegas but has comitted to Team Road Kill for the Florence Arizona MS 150, and so we ride the Arizona Canal system in preparation. Her friend, Duff, may join Team Road Kill. Can't wait to meet him, Leslie says he is quite a guy.
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