A Promise September 10, 2008
Posted by anton in : Life , add a commentWe go through life and make all kinds of promises. Some are important. Some are not. Some we’re able to keep and others, despite our best intentions, we can’t.
My parents, Tony and Stell, made a promise to me when I was a kid, that they would see me through many hours in the hospital and time in bed at home.
My sisters and I kept our promise to them …that we would take care of them while they battled Cancer. When they died, however, I realized that a promise can be kept to someone even after they are gone.
Several times a year I take part in running events or bike tours or triathlons and raise some money to help fund cancer research..it’s not much, but it’s what I can do to keep alive a promise to help others.
This past weekend The 24 Hours of Booty (Columbia, MD version) was to be held to help raise funds for the Ulman Cancer Fund and the Lance Armstrong Foundation…Past tense here, as along came something no one could control. Tropical Storm Hannah. In what I am sure was a tough decision, the folks at Booty canceled the event..an eye on the safety of those folks who would be riding.
Now, I’ve been around awhile and I know that things happen that you can’t do anything about…but I knew I could do something about the event not being held.
Some great people opened their hearts and wallets to sponsor me. I owed them. I would keep the promise.
I would ride on my own.
I’m no fool mind you (some folks might disagree!) so I had no intention of riding in heavy weather. Well, ok, I’ve been known to do that but not for 24 hours!
The 24 Hour Trainer Ride for Cancer was born somewhere in the twisted depths of the endurance sports section of my mind.
For those reading this who don’t know what a trainer is, it’s a device for riding indoors, or in this case, the carport.
Starting at 9:15 on Saturday (Hey, this is MY event now! Why wait till noon.) I started riding. No fanfare, no balloons, just, “Ok! Let’s go!” Hoping to make the whole 24 hours I kept the pace easy and ate and drank early and often.
With the bike computer moved toward the back of the bike and the sensor placed on the rear wheel, I could keep track of my miles.
I had a TV and would watch some DVD’s of “The Tour.” Since some of the money was going to the LAF, it seemed only fitting…but honestly, I didn’t get very far with it…
Too much else going on. Wonderful conversation with my lovely wife Mary Lou, (Very supportive, that girl!) Watching the rain fall and snacking.
It goes like this:
Ride for an hour. Get off the bike, take a bathroom break, coat my crotch with Chamois But’r, stretch, get back on the bike. Eating and drinking are for on the bike, not off.
At one point I cover my feet with Body Glide and fresh socks as I start getting hot spots and fear blisters.
A good friend of ours, Janet, comes by and brings Burittos! It is the right food at the right time…I’m at 100 miles and eating like someone twice my size. The squirrels just off the carport are starting to look good…fur and all.
The ride continues and at 150 miles I stop for a 15 minute break and change shirts and pull on a second pair of shorts for extra padding. This helps immensely as my “nether regions” are feeling it…not bad mind you, the But’r is helping with that, but it’s got my attention.
All through the day the rain pelts down and the wind picks up.
Mary Lou brings hot tea and soup and hugs and makes me warm from the inside out.
Night comes on and she reads to me by head lamp…working our way through “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
Finally she goes off to bed and I’m alone in the dark spinning and listening to music and thinking of all those I’ve known who have suffered with Cancer… I hope that someday someone will ride for me.
I read an article about long rides sometime back..”After 200 miles, nothing changes.” That came true for me at about 180. For the whole time after that my discomfort level never changed, and as long as I ate and drank, my energy level stayed about the same.
During the night a paranoia grips me and I turn the bike so I’m facing the street, my back to the wall…shadows in the night disquiet me… a fox stops by and cocks it’s head as if to say…”What the…?”
The pattern continues…Break, But’r, bathroom.
Finally about 4am I am in need of some down time. I flop onto the couch and am gone till my alarm goes off at 5.
Up and back on on “Aluminium Maiden.”
Mary Lou is out at dawn and sits with me as I plow through the miles…finally, I’m done. At 7:40, at 22 hours and 40 minutes I hit 300 miles and call it good.
Promise kept.
No comments on how bad I may have felt…my complaints would mean nothing. My Parents suffered through much worse.
If your into nuts and bolts: On bike average speed, 15.6mph. Average speed including time off the bike, 13.1. I didn’t keep track of my time off the bike, but I kept it to a minimum.
The trainer was Cyclops Fluid, the bike a Specialized “Aqua Sapone” zebra stripe.
I ate 6 bananas, 10 gels,3 bags of blocks, one bag of sports beans,2 Peanut Butter Sandwiches, An egg sandwich, a buritto, a coke, Hot tea, water,Succeed! Amino and a little humble pie.
24HOB is a great idea and if your interested you can visit them at www.24hoursofbooty.org