July 14, 2013.
That was the last time I rode my bike. I know that
for a fact, because for nearly five years, that date stared me in the face
every morning as I made my way through the laundry room and to the garage to
get to my car.
Stored in the laundry room all those years was my
Cannondale F7, the bib with my rider number from the last American Cancer
Society Bike-a-thon still attached to the front handlebars. I never removed it,
because when I returned home from the bike-a-thon on July 14, 2013, I stood my
bike in the corner of the laundry room, and hadn’t touched it since.
That ride was, if I recall, a disaster. I was out of
shape and did not properly train. I believe I may have ridden 30 miles or so of
the 65-plus-mile route. Instead, I gave up every time I got tired, and used the
bike-a-thon’s SAG (support and gear) cars to take me to the next rest stop …
then the next … then the next.
I returned home, put my bike in the corner of the
laundry room, and left it.
And it sat there for nearly five years, just gathering
dust.
And I got lazier and lazier, heavier and heavier.
•••
Riding in the 2018 Bridge to Beach Bike-a-thon was
important to me for multiple reasons.
When I started my journey in April 2017 to lose
weight and get healthier, I had several very specific goals in mind. One of my
main goals was to get into shape to return to the ACS Bike-a-thon in 2018.
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| The 2018 version of The A-Team, ready to roll! |
I had originally started dieting and exercising in
hopes of not embarrassing myself in the Philadelphia Half-Marathon last
November (click here to read about that). I’ve never been a runner, and never
really enjoyed running. But I always loved speeding down a big hill on my bike,
cruising around the neighborhood, or riding the Schuylkill River Trail to the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. So looking at a return to the bike-a-thon this year
was a logical target. Training for the half-marathon would give me a big
kick-start, and hopefully set me up with a routine for exercising regularly
through those dreaded winter months when it often seems too dark, or cold, or
snowy, to get outside or go to the gym.
It was a bit of a harsher winter in Philadelphia this
year, and between lingering snow and frosty weather, it was mid-April before I
was able to get out on the bike. But first, after five years of sitting
abandoned in the laundry room, I needed to bring it over to my local bike shop
to get it tuned up and inspected to make sure it was still in riding condition.
So I loaded the bike into my car to take to the shop.
My first order of business was to remove the rider number bib that adorned the
handlebars, a literal and figurative gesture that those five years were now in my
past, and this would be a new beginning and a time to move and look forward.
I trained where and when I could. I brought my bike
into work with me at least once a week, and when the working day had ended, I
would head over to the Valley Forge National Park to ride several loops around
the 5-mile path. On weekends, the Schuylkill River Trail or the local Power
Lines Trail in Horsham were my destinations. I rode whenever I could, because
while returning to the bike-a-thon was the goal, I would not be satisfied with being
able to complete only a portion of the ride. I remember how embarrassed I was
in 2013 when I could barely make it from one rest stop to the next. I wouldn’t
allow that to happen again.
If I was going to participate, I was going to ride
the full 65.9 miles.
•••
The other major reason why returning to this event
was so important to me is that the way cancer has affected me and my loved ones
over the years. When I first began riding in the bike-a-thons in 2007, it was a
way to challenge myself while also raising money for a good cause, albeit a
cause that really had not been a personal one to me.
As the years went on, more and more people were
affected. A cousin lost his battle with cancer in 2010, leaving his wife and
two young daughters. Two former colleagues at a newspaper I worked at were
taken soon after.
In 2012, we formed “The A-Team,” in honor of my
mother-in-law, Arlene, who had been diagnosed with cancer in February of that
year. My wife’s family showed up en masse for that bike-a-thon, some
participating in the ride, others volunteering at the finish area in Buena, NJ.
We had hoped someone would be able to bring my mother-in-law to see the team
cross the finish line and witness the assemblage of family and friends who
participated in the ride for her. Unfortunately, that never happened. The
bike-a-thon took place in July. She lost her battle with cancer two months earlier.
What had been planned as a ride to honor her, became a ride to remember her.
And as the years have progressed, the disease continued
to hit close to home. My mother and my cousin have both successfully overcome their
battles with cancer, and I had a small scare with a melanoma in situ that was
found early and removed. And while I would never compare my situation with what
my mother and cousin and countless others have endured, I do have a permanent
reminder of my encounter with cancer, a two-inch-long scar over my heart where
the mole and a surrounding patch of flesh was removed.
•••
A few people I want to call out to thank them for
helping make this event a success.
First and foremost, those who came out to revive The A-Team:
Rob, my perennial riding buddy, who has been with me
through two MS 150s and all my ACS Bike-a-thons.
Katie, my fellow editor at work and one of my main
accountability buddies during the last year. Despite very limited training due
to a hectic schedule, Katie did an absolutely amazing job during the bike-a-thon,
and I am utterly in awe of her willpower and determination to battle through
the exhaustion and pain, the headwinds and hills, to meet and overcome the very
daunting challenge of completing a 65.9-mile ride (I say this for two reasons:
first and foremost, because it’s absolutely true. But also because I don’t
think she’s all too happy with me right now for getting her involved in this
ordeal, so hopefully this smooths things over a bit).
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| Four riders on The A-Team, four riders who successfully completed the ACS Bridge to Beach Bike-a-thon. |
Holden, who somehow completed the ride on a
three-speed bike (yes, THREE-speed, you read that right) that might have been
older than I am.
Our friends and family who donated to The A-Team.
Thanks to their generosity, our humble four-member group was able to raise more
than $2,000 for the American Cancer Society.
The many, many New Jersey police officers and all the
volunteers who gave their time directing traffic, manning the rest stops and
finish line, and patrolling the route searching for bikers in need of repairs,
water, or a ride.
To the American Cancer Society, for putting together
another outstanding, challenging bike-a-thon. Next time, though, consider
putting the AC Expressway and bridge into Atlantic City closer to the midway
point of the ride. It’s brutal to put that at the end! Thanks as well for taking
care of a problem we encountered leading up to the ride (two of us did not
receive our rider packets) and doing so quickly and with thorough communication.
•••
June 10, 2018.
The rider numbers have changed in the five years
since I last rode in the ACS Bike-a-thon. Instead of a large bib attached to
the handlebars, the rider numbers are now much smaller and wrap around the top
tube or down tube of the bike. Adorning my bike now is a rider number dated
June 10, 2018, the date of this year’s ACS Bike-a-thon.
Sixteen months ago, the thought of riding my bike at
all—let alone riding 65 miles in one day—was not something I would even
consider. Now, I’m 60-plus pounds lighter. I’ve competed in two half-marathons
(I didn’t do well, mind you, but I did them), and I’ve successfully returned to
and completed the ACS Bike-a-thon.
That rider number is no longer a reminder of my
shame, the way the old one used to be. This one is a sign of pride, pride that more
people (including my mom and cousin) are triumphing over cancer … pride of how
far I’ve made it back and continue to check off goals I’ve set for myself … and
pride in knowing that if I can get back into shape to bike 65.9 miles, then I
can achieve the next goal on my list, too.
And while it will serve as a proud reminder, that
rider number is not going to stay attached to my bike for five years. At most,
it’ll be there for five or six days. Because the weekend is coming up, and I
have more dates with the local bike trails.
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