I was thinking about how I'll prepared I may be and how hard this will be, Bubba Ride is very long, hot, unsupported, barely mapped and a bit remote.
Then I figured I could use additional inspiration beyond Bubba, Glenn, Robert, James, Graeme and so many others..
I found this:
http://cancerguide.org/stories.html
Holy cow, a ride will not compare to these challenges or stories!
I'm still so excited.
Sergio
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Why ride for Bubba?
I'll be honest that I'm sort of a newbie to this endurance cycling thing. However, cycling has providing some of my fondest memories in life and stress relief during some of my darkest moments. I remember vividly the moments of my much older cousins teaching me to ride my bike by pushing me down a large hill and screaming, "It's all about keeping momentum!" It was a special moment the first time I stomped on the pedals of my bike and rode in front of my grandmother and it was up hill of all things. Cycling was comforting in May 1998 right after I was informed I had cancer. My brother joined me for that bike ride while I tried to wrap my head around the fact I had cancer and what that meant for my future or lack there of it.
After having endured three significant surgeries and chemotherapy over the course of two years, I eventually felt a sense of empowerment that I never had before. I decided to create a bucket list of ten things that I wanted to do. Each was vastly different, but would challenge me and make me a better person. One of the things was to race the Leadville 100. I didn't know why other than it was the hardest cycling event I could think of and I wanted to do something that I couldn't imagine I could have done even before cancer. My personal philosophy was that "I wasn't gong to let cancer beat me and I was going to be even bigger and badder after it."
I was forwarded nine years and into lifting weights fairly intensively and balancing a teaching career and a growing family. I remember being in our local Lifetime Fitness gym and starting a set on the bench press when an announcement for a essay contest for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race was stated. I felt it was fate at that time and made my mind up to enter the contest. My essay must have been convincing and I gained entry into the race. I was really excited and then reality set in that I was muscular and heavy and hadn't ridden more than 45 miles off-road at a time and that was years ago.
Ready and willing to take on this challenge, I tried to learn everything I could about the race and just tried to put some serious miles on my two bikes at the time. I had my full suspension all mountain bike and road bike. Both bikes broke a month before the race and going to Leadville with a new bike two weeks before the race caused anxiety.
I found the Leadville Hostel that first year and some inspiring older gentleman that had a wealth of endurance knowledge and racing experience. One in particular had such an incredible personality. He always had a sense of humor and liked to joke around This person loved to play off of some of the uptight personalities. He was all business when it came to training and racing, but that let's dance in the rain instead of sulking about it raining attitude. I remember that he hauled a gallon of water on his handlebars out of town ten miles so everyone would have enough water as we rode up to town off the race course on a training ride. We were going 35+ miles per hour and he had that gallon situated in a less than ideal place on his bike. He might be slightly crazy.
Tom (Bubba) was kind and gentle, but possessed a spicy personality. He was an older wise crack that could banter on with the best of them. I loved his spirit and determination and the way he accepted me no matter how much of a knucklehead I was for my lack of preparation and incomplete knowledge of this race.
That first race was a challenge, but I still finished. I have come back every year since to improve upon what I did that first year and get the opportunities to interact with some quality people like Bubba that make the Leadville 100 an enticing physical and emotional challenge along with social event.
In October 2012, I was informed that Bubba has stage- 3 pancreatic cancer. It was a shock and sobering situation. Along with some Leadville friends, we decided to visit him in early November. I was amazed at his positivity and physical presence. Of course, he still had that sparkling and positive attitude about the situation that he was in and about life in general. Bubba didn't allow cancer to change him and that was so inspiring.
During that trip, our Leadville friends discussed putting together a ride in Bubba's name that would benefit cancer research or work with survivorship. Ultimately it seemed to work best to meet in the San Francisco area to do a challenging multi-day off-road ride. Why wouldn't we do it that way? Bubba always seemed to like to push himself in some insane matter like running a marathon right before a marathon to know that he could do it.
I get paid to watch and observe people. I feel that I am certainly better at doing this than the average person. Bubba is inspiring to me. When I see him in action, he is spirited and utilizes humor in a genuine way. Bubba has not only taught me about endurance athletics, but how to carry yourself in life to enjoy the people around you and the moments that you're immersed in. Thank you Bubba.
After having endured three significant surgeries and chemotherapy over the course of two years, I eventually felt a sense of empowerment that I never had before. I decided to create a bucket list of ten things that I wanted to do. Each was vastly different, but would challenge me and make me a better person. One of the things was to race the Leadville 100. I didn't know why other than it was the hardest cycling event I could think of and I wanted to do something that I couldn't imagine I could have done even before cancer. My personal philosophy was that "I wasn't gong to let cancer beat me and I was going to be even bigger and badder after it."
I was forwarded nine years and into lifting weights fairly intensively and balancing a teaching career and a growing family. I remember being in our local Lifetime Fitness gym and starting a set on the bench press when an announcement for a essay contest for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race was stated. I felt it was fate at that time and made my mind up to enter the contest. My essay must have been convincing and I gained entry into the race. I was really excited and then reality set in that I was muscular and heavy and hadn't ridden more than 45 miles off-road at a time and that was years ago.
Ready and willing to take on this challenge, I tried to learn everything I could about the race and just tried to put some serious miles on my two bikes at the time. I had my full suspension all mountain bike and road bike. Both bikes broke a month before the race and going to Leadville with a new bike two weeks before the race caused anxiety.
I found the Leadville Hostel that first year and some inspiring older gentleman that had a wealth of endurance knowledge and racing experience. One in particular had such an incredible personality. He always had a sense of humor and liked to joke around This person loved to play off of some of the uptight personalities. He was all business when it came to training and racing, but that let's dance in the rain instead of sulking about it raining attitude. I remember that he hauled a gallon of water on his handlebars out of town ten miles so everyone would have enough water as we rode up to town off the race course on a training ride. We were going 35+ miles per hour and he had that gallon situated in a less than ideal place on his bike. He might be slightly crazy.
Tom (Bubba) was kind and gentle, but possessed a spicy personality. He was an older wise crack that could banter on with the best of them. I loved his spirit and determination and the way he accepted me no matter how much of a knucklehead I was for my lack of preparation and incomplete knowledge of this race.
That first race was a challenge, but I still finished. I have come back every year since to improve upon what I did that first year and get the opportunities to interact with some quality people like Bubba that make the Leadville 100 an enticing physical and emotional challenge along with social event.
In October 2012, I was informed that Bubba has stage- 3 pancreatic cancer. It was a shock and sobering situation. Along with some Leadville friends, we decided to visit him in early November. I was amazed at his positivity and physical presence. Of course, he still had that sparkling and positive attitude about the situation that he was in and about life in general. Bubba didn't allow cancer to change him and that was so inspiring.
During that trip, our Leadville friends discussed putting together a ride in Bubba's name that would benefit cancer research or work with survivorship. Ultimately it seemed to work best to meet in the San Francisco area to do a challenging multi-day off-road ride. Why wouldn't we do it that way? Bubba always seemed to like to push himself in some insane matter like running a marathon right before a marathon to know that he could do it.
I get paid to watch and observe people. I feel that I am certainly better at doing this than the average person. Bubba is inspiring to me. When I see him in action, he is spirited and utilizes humor in a genuine way. Bubba has not only taught me about endurance athletics, but how to carry yourself in life to enjoy the people around you and the moments that you're immersed in. Thank you Bubba.
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