The day started with meeting at DeAnza Cove at 7:30 am for the Coaches talk. Coach DJ did a sexy striptease peeling a seemingly endless number of clothing layers to demonstrate how to dress for any type of riding weather. He started with three jackets, multiple shirts, even a shower cap and plastic poncho. He was down to a base layer T-shirt, bib shorts and tube socks before he stopped. We were all very thankful.
Next was the Mission Moment. This is a short talk given by one of the Team members or guest speakers that explain why they are doing what they are doing. It's a reminder of why we are participating in the program. The Mission Moment talk today was given by my buddy, Mark Rosenberger. Mark is a professional speaker and it really showed. He told his story about how he joined Team in Training about 6 years ago with a goal of getting in shape. He did a couple of marathons with the Team and then took a year off. During that year, he was diagnosed with cancer. He is a self-employed consultant/speaker and didn't have adequate insurance. His family hit hard times and eventually lost their home as he was getting treated. He also told how his neighbor across the street died of cancer and his next door neighbor also is fighting it. After a few years of treatment, he kicked cancer to the curb and a year later, he rode Tahoe as part of my Mighty B3s group in 2007. I rode with the guy an entire season and I didn't know that about him. I guess he didn't volunteer the info and I never asked. The day of this years Tahoe ride (June 7th) will be 5 years to the day of when his doctor told him he had cancer. Wow.
He left us with two main points:
1) This program isn't about us. It truly is about finding a cure for blood cancers. We get hung up on asking for donations because we are embarrassed or shy. The money goes to provide real services that generate real results and makes people's life better.
2) Enjoy the ride and celebrate life. When we are having a tough day, where the miles are too long and the climbs are too high, think about the good we are doing, take a deep breath and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. Really look at the ocean, the countryside, the trees, the flowers, breath in the fresh air as we ride past. Feel the corporealness of our task. Appreciate that we are physically able to do this. There are many people who can't.
Awesome talk.
The ride was the same as last week, only this time with most of the group being present. Only Kent was MIA. I was happy to see that we are really starting to gel as a group. The pacelines were nice, tight and steady. Everyone was very focused and we really hit our stride a couple of times. We were lucky with streetlights and rolled off a nice 7-mile stretch at 18+ MPH. It ws a thing of beauty as we just gobbled up the miles with machine-like precision. We had a couple of really good milestone achievements today. Natalie cracked the 30MPH mark going down Torrey Pines. She has been very apprensive about going fast downhill but has been feeling more comfortable with the control of her bike with each ride and has been testing her boundaries. The 53 miles we rode today was the furthest that Tammy had ever ridden. She's a marathoner and is in great running shape, but cycling is an entirely different type of physical labor. She pulled through like a champ today and did very well.
It's a really gratifying experience to see the group conquering personal challenges and having fun. I'm having a great time as a mentor for this team.
Totals for the day were 53 miles, with 2388 feet of climbing.
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