While I didn’t take many photos during the Ride, I do have a few of me to share. But let me back up to the Ride itself and what I was doing out there on a bike for 45 miles with no training at all.

My daughter-in-law Lydia died in October of last year. She had been battling cancer for over a decade and had received treatments at Roswell Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. All of a sudden, my son – who had always driven her around during the Ride so she could cheer riders on – and her father and my ex and my son’s twin sister were signed up to ride 65 miles in the June 2018 Ride for Roswell.

I felt like I needed to help in some way. I knew I wasn’t going to be up for a 65 mile bike ride regardless of how few hills were on the route. I signed up for the 45 mile ride. And I started fundraising. Each rider must raise at least $200 dollars. I’ve done this before, running the Marine Corps Marathon for a charity, and had to raise a lot more than $200. I figured worst case scenario I would be spending $220 (there is a $20 registration fee) to ride 45 miles. I had three or four months to train and fundraise. I put my goal at $500 and started.

Two days before the Ride, I was $25 shy of my $500 goal so I donated $25. I hit $500. My son hit over $4000. The Ride, in its entirety, raised over $5.2 million to help with cancer research.

My son sent me these photos as we were driving to Buffalo after a brief stop in Pittsburgh for lunch with my daughter, her wife and their adorable foster son.

And here are photos of Flat Nicki – a race tradition from the night before the Ride, Nicki prior to the Ride start with the rented bike, and Nicki just past the finish line (Thanks, Maggie!).