"For each illness that doctors cure with medicine, they provoke ten in healthy people by inoculating them with the virus that is a thousand times more powerful than any microbe: the idea that one is ill."
Marcel Proust
I never feel more ill than when I'm at my quarterly doctors appointment. Like patient zero of the zombie apocolypse, I am immediately given gloves and a facemask to wear while I traverse the halls. I am subjected to a barrage of tests of which I already know the results. The definition of insanity.
For this same reason I loathed attending Cystic Fibrosis events. I realize it's an odd way of thinking, but they were a cosntant reminder that I was sick and that a shortened life expectancy loomed overhead. Fortunately, with the help of my girlfriend Anna, support from family and friends, and the invention of a bicycle, I found my way into Cycle for Life. My experience with the event completely evaporated my ill concieved fears.
I met Michael White and Cole Jacobson while working the booth of a bicycling event. Like any cliche of three guys meeting at a bicycle event, we became good friends! Their passion for curing CF convinced me to sign up in a matter of minutes. Over a number of lunches, they answered all of my CF related questions and taught me a great deal about the organization.
As I began fundraising, I was in awe at how many people jumped in to support me. I received donations from people I had never met. All this support made it very easy to log training miles and prepare for my 70 mile journey. I also attended training rides organized by the CF chapter. These rides pumped me up for the event and introduced me to a number of passionate individuals. To my suprise, my good friend Mike Ciaccio came aboard and pledged to ride with me.
Eventually it was race day! Although the race technically began at 8:00 am, my race began at 6:00 am due to my terrible planning skills. We were running late, I got lost finding the venue, and I forgot a number of essential items. After that morning, the race was a breeze.
Our first rest stop was a short 12 miles into the ride at BJ's. BJ's is an amazing sponsor for the CF community. If you're not eating a Pizookie while reading this, you're doing something wrong. I will try not to bore my vast readership (all three of you) with details of the ride, but one key feature throughout the day was the beauty of the course.
Our second rest stop was a Rock N' Road Cyclery in Mission Viejo. We visited this shop twice during the day and they had a ton of awesome volunteers and helpful staff. This rest stop was a bit more eventful. While I was just warming up at this point, Mike looked as if he just finished an Ironman. He kept saying, "My god Wes, this isn't the Tour de France". In my defense, I felt that we were on pace to finish in 2013. Eventually I convinced him to turn around and just do the 35 mile ride. I believed the rest of the journey would be a solo one.
Within five minutes I had joined up with a group of red jersey wearing cyclists called the Ohana riders (Ohana means family in Hawaiian). Now I've heard Hawaiian people are friendly, but this group was made up of some of the friendliness, most welcoming people I've ever met. We rode together for hours and I consider meeting up with them one of the real treats of the day.
Onward and upwards we went, the mileage surpassed only by the smileage. I ate over 2,000 calories on the ride. If I wasn't chatting with the Ohana Riders, my mouth was stuffed with peanut butter and jellys, handfulls of pretzels, electrolyte drinks, gu's, and cliff bars. Each rest stop was a Nascar pit stop. I filled up on water, frantically read nutrition labels and guessed how many enzymes I needed to take.
The route ended with roughly 1,000 feet of elevation gain over 4 miles through Santiago Canyon. I felt great as I approached the entrance to the canyon and decided to push myself to the limit.
I had plenty of time during the ride to reflect on all my doctors appointments, blood tests, and breathing medicines. Instead of the usual disdain, all I felt was thankfullness. I was thankful for the support of my donors, the awesomeness of the event, and the love of family and friends. I wasn't attending an event that made me feel sick or weak. I was being challenged and doing something that healthy people wouldn't attempt. Pouring sweat and with a big smile on my face, I had never felt so healthy in my life.
