My First Bike Rally

I woke up this morning a little hesitant to embark on today's cycling adventures. It was 5:30 a.m. and in the 20s this morning when my alarm went off. I hit snooze once, but then remembered what I'm riding for so I didn't continue to snooze like I could have.

Daniel and I rode today in our first bike rally ever. At the starting line it was 29 degrees outside with about 25mph winds. The rally is the Aledo Ride for Heroes. It benefits all of our local heroes in the area - police, firefighters and EMTs. We took the 40 mile race route today. Though, it didn't feel much like a race when those headwinds were beating against us most of the way.

Today was a real eye-opener. Aledo was a pretty hilly route and I was battling a lot of leg cramping. Tahoe, I imagine, will be Aledo times ten. What does this mean for me? It's time to step it up with the hill and leg training. There were a couple of times today where I wanted to give up. At one point we hit two long climbs right in a row and my legs almost gave out. But, I didn't give up. I was in pain. I admit. But, what keeps me going is when I think about what the long-term goal is for all of this: to find a cure for cancer and to help those who are currently battling the disease. I think it was Coach Albert that said the other day: when we think it is tough out there cycling and we want to quit, just think of all of the people who are undergoing chemo. They don't get to quit. We shouldn't either. And, that helped me get up those hills today.

I hope you enjoy these pics of us at the finish line!