Taylor Feda was a beautiful young lady of 17 who dealt with ulcerative colitis until one day nearly three years ago; she stepped into the shower and suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism. A flower picked before she could truly bloom. Only God knows why.
To memorialize their daughter, Jim (an avid cyclist)and Michelin started a fundraiser bike ride, now in its third year. The monies raised are used to give scholarships to two Dutch Fork High School seniors who will attend a South Carolina college or university, one for nursing and the other for literature. What a cool way to let a person's memory live on!
I am happy to say that nearly 90 people turned out for today's ride, and a beautiful day it was. Clear and warm with lots of sunshine! And pollen toward the end, but the day was too much for that to ruin.
Besides contributing to what I feel is a very worthy cause, I had a great day on the bike; finished a metric in 3:35 at 17.8 mph! I know that's not special to a lot of cyclists, but here's the deal: I did this event two years ago and suffered! At the end of a very long ride, I was coming through the parking lot, which was by then nearly empty, with a lady that was older than me behind me. She sprinted on me! She passed me in the parking lot, making me the last to come in! Now, I know my limitations, and I know I am not going to beat these hammers that are out here, so not being first is a NON-ISSUE. But I HATE HATE HATE being the last one in.
I'm not bitter.
But I can be hard on myself. So, I work on it and try to make improvements where I can, such as losing weight, technique, strategy, etc. That's why the ride was special to me. That, and my family was there waiting for me when I rolled in. It was a good day.
I wanted to wait around a little while and see some other folks roll in, but had to go. I had a 3p meeting for a medical mission trip I am participating in this summer. I'll tell you more about that next time.
Be blessed, be safe.
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