| PELOTONIA 2009
We did it! Mette and I and our Team Giong completed the 100 mile cancer ride Saturday, contributing over $5,000. www.pelotonia.org. Together with 2250 other riders we raised a total over $4m for cancer research. We had a wonderful time and feel much better than expected after the workout. Some areas that were numb Saturday were very much there yesterday, but the two of us are still able to walk, sit and talk. Amazing! You can see some photos from the Columbus newspaper www.dispatch.com.
Lance did show up. He is very fast, you know, averaging over 25 mph and probably having a nice, leisurely ride. He motivated us Friday night with a speech and led the group Saturday morning, but to us slow pokes, he was less than a yellow blur, and he didn’t wait for us at the finish line. Of course, he would have had to wait about seven hours, and he probably had better things to do.
100 miles is a long way, but we couldn’t have asked for better weather or views. It was cloudy and cool in the morning, some sunshine but not too hot – and we had a blessed tail wind. The route was beautiful beginning at OSU, through downtown Columbus past farm land and green, rolling hills (some hills pretty big), tall corn, cool woods and along creeks, and a 10-mile bike path ending at Ohio University in Athens where we cleaned up and were fed and entertained before taking a bus back to Columbus.
It was nice to see all the supporters helping us along. There were cancer patients, people with flags and bells, a man with a keyboard strapped to his bicycle, playing the Champagne Galop, a three-piece brass band, a bagpipe player in full regalia and many families offering the riders cheers, water bottles and snacks. Some highlights along the way were ‘The Hockins Hills Cornhole Tournament’ and ‘The Pencil Sharpening Museum’. Yesterday morning, going out for coffee in our Pelotonia shirts, people were still cheering us on.
Thank you all so much for all your support, both moral and monetary. It has been inspiring to hang out here in Columbus, the race has gotten a lot of press, and we see gigantic banners hanging from university buildings. It was enlightening to visit the hospital and labs of Ohio State University, where the researchers are working hard to discover the next advancement towards the cure while sick people and their friends and families are waiting impatiently.
I told the people in charge that I would be back next year, provided they start a recycling program, so start saving up your pennies and thanks again. Let’s hope it helps.
Marylou, Rider 1217
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