At the end of the ride…

I love to ride my bike!  Even when it’s difficult, and even when it makes my legs hurt!  So imagine I’m riding along, thinking, “Man, this ride seems unusually tough today!  My legs are working a lot harder and I feel kinda slow!”  I slowly look behind me, and guess who’s following me in a big bright blue and yellow trailer?  Oh yeah!  It’s Zachary!  It looks like he’s sleeping, but he is propped up well and looks very comfortable back there!  Now it all makes sense! 

Could I really forget that I’m pulling him?  No, not really, but I wanted to tell you that pulling Zachary isn’t really all that different than going out for a challenging ride.  I mean, I’d be lying if I said it was easy.  It is hard, but not something I can’t handle.  It is slower, but not boring by any means.  I always love a challenge, and pulling Zachary challenges me to try my hardest.  It’s awesome and rewarding, too!  Here are a few examples to give you a better picture!

Challenges:

• Hoping I could keep up with Dennis and Nick, Sam and David – BA-HaHaHa!  Great job, guys!

Hey, wait for meeee!

• Realizing that the first support station was only at 9 miles, when I felt like it was about 15.
• Taking a wrong turn (My bad, I didn’t review the map before the race – it was pretty much a rectangle, for Pete’s sake!)
• Running out of water due to missing the second support station after the wrong turn.
• Sore wrists and elbows during the ride, sore neck for two days after!
• Angry man in his big white pick-up flailing his arms and shaking his head (I only let him mess with my bliss for about 30 seconds).
• Forgetting to unclip one shoe and falling over when I stopped to check the race map!  No worries, the trailer stays upright even if I fall over!

 See?  No big thing, right?  It gets better…

Awsomenesses: (yep, that’s a word according to a couple unnamed internet dictionaries!)

• Having the Athletes in Tandem “Cheering and Support Vehicle” (CSV) cheer us on and pretend to be our pace car!
• Seeing Zachary’s grandma Mary and mom Sandy at the first support station!

First Support Station with Mary and Sandy!

• Having my trusty cell phone so I could stop and look up the race map!
• Having Nick’s mom Susan and Sandy come to the rescue when we ran out of water!
• The mounds of food they offered me, but only needing a banana (only about four miles to go at this point).
• Seeing an entire family riding together on the 35-mile course!  WOW!  Now, that’s an accomplishment!

 Rewards:

• Have you heard Zachary laugh?  Yep, that’s number one!
• Observing (in awe) the joyous interaction that Nick and Zachary displayed after the race!

Nick and Zachary ROCK!

• Nick showing me his cool smiling skull bracelet!
• Discussion with Sandy about the sometimes-delayed benefits of fresh air, movement, and being outside!
• Hunger-Like-I-Earned-It, satisfied by delicious chicken gyro and coconut ice cream after the ride!

At the end of the ride Dennis said, “I knew you could do it, because you had the confidence.”  That meant a lot to me – thanks Dennis!  At the end of the ride, I felt like I had made new friends in Nick and Susan.  At the end of the ride, I was happy to hang out all afternoon with my Athletes in Tandem friends, and watch Nick and Zachary carry on and laugh together. 

What a Great Day!

At the end of the ride, it’s all about sharing life. 

Let’s ride together!