Training Ride #3 - A Day with Heroes
This is my first double-decker weekend on the training trail as I
planned to ride the Tony Serrano today in Monroe and the BMBA Ride for
the River in Newnan tomorrow. The mileage is about 60 in each ride, so
great training for what's ahead.
As I rode today - two things drummed away on my heart: Heroes and the song "Never Alone." I'll share a bit about both.
First, the ride today was in honor of Tony Serrano, an avid athlete who
was struck by a car and killed while on his bike in August 2004. I learned by
reading his bio that he was more than "just a cyclist" as he was an
incredible person who accomplished much to make the world better in his
short 35 years of life. You may say, "Well, I never heard of him." And
that's my point. The bio showed how he was the world to his friends
and family and he obviously made the world better.
Second, I
was passing a guy in a hand cycle with a Shepherd's Center jersey on.
He had no legs but he was ripping the road with his upper body strength.
As I struck a conversation with him, I learned that he is training for
a race on May 4th in Alpharetta. Last weekend, he trained on the GA
mountains. Such a friendly, outgoing and wonderful soul he had and I
had the honor of meeting him today. His picture is now a permanent
image in my brain bucket for "heroes met on the road."
Third, I know lots of heroes now
that I didn't know a year ago. I was briefly able to chat with 3
awesome guys who fall in that category today - Ken, Leon and Frank (who I
call "Cutie" because he is!). I also had the honor of riding with my
friend and colleague, Stephen, for the first 30 miles. All four of them
have fought longer and harder than me for an AIDS vaccine. I'm always
humbled when I'm with them. Again, they are the world to me. They are
also in my brain bucket for "heroes met." And then - while being passed
today, 2 guys paused and commented on my AIDS LifeCycle jersey because
they ride in it also. They work for Deloitte, a large accounting firm,
but I refrained from talking about new accounting rules while we rode -
which required a lot of restraint on my part.
Today was also a
lot of firsts for me. I was given a big hug at the registration area by
new new cycling coach, Robert Wilhite (myCyclingCoach.com), rode with a
new hard as a rock saddle which was wonderful (trust me, you don't want
a goose down soft saddle after mile 20!), used my new Infinite
Nutrition drink for the entire ride (my magic potion now), rode without a
CamelBak (LOVED it!), and found that my car was not one of the last in
the parking lot after the ride (double LOVED it!!)
Although my
work week was challenging, I ended up on the road with Jamie and being
reminded of how important family, friends and colleagues are in the
journey. Every one reading this is a hero to at least one person - so I
hope you know who sees you that way and that you will also make sure
someone knows they are a hero to you.
And perhaps most importantly today and every day - remember you are never alone.
If you are reading this, I hope you will feel a big hug from me - right about now.
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