Hills, and tears, and kilometers, oh my!

"It may not add years to my life, but it adds life to my years" -- Peter H.

There is one day of the year that is more of a celebration to me than my birthday. It marks the end of the old me; the beginning of the new me. It's the reason I am who I am, do what I do, and the premise of my blog. Sept 12, 2001, I had brain surgery to remove part of my right temporal lobe because of epilepsy. Prior to surgery, I wrote a letter to my then almost 3 year old son... just in case.  I still don't have enough tears to reread it, maybe one day, but just happy that it wasn't needed then.  Those years were hell on earth, but in a sick sort of way, I'm glad I went through it. A life-changing event like that really makes you change, fast.

I remember the days following surgery, X's on the calendar for each day that passed without a seizure. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and yesterday, I celebrated 9 years! Years! I'm able to bathe without someone watching over me again; in fact, a few weeks ago, I swam across the lake without worry. What better way to celebrate life than by living life!

Last year, I marked the occasion with my first 100k bike ride. This year, I figured I'd tackle the real century, 100 miles, not the metric century.

That is a long way to ride!

I signed up the Ride for Karen because I know a few that had done in last year, and heard great things. The following description made me a little nervous, but, go big or go home, right?

"In the long course, cyclists will embark on a 160 km / 100 mile ride through the valleys and farmlands north of Toronto. While scenic, the 160 km ride is a difficult undertaking even for a seasoned cyclist and acts as a suitable metaphor for the strength that Karen showed in her tireless battle with Breast Cancer."

I arrived to the parking lot, scanning faces for someone familiar. One cyclist from my Tuesday group mentioned that he might come if an injury didn't flare up... I never did see him, but did see his truck in the parking lot from where we ride on Tuesdays. You're busted! 

Announcements were made, instructions given for us to line up in one of 3 groups. 35k/hr, 30k/hr or 25k/hr. Ummm, I moved back, back, back. First time tackling this distance, not a race, let's have some fun with this! The weather had looked iffy all week, a beautiful, clear, sunny forecast everyday for about a week, except Sunday. Of course. 

Within minutes of starting, I was chatting away with Heather, another cyclist I had just met while in line, embarking on her first century. Taking a mental note of each other's jersey for the beginning of a long day. We starting in a group of about 15, that quickly separated into smaller packs. The wind heading northwest separated everyone a little more. That, and the start of the hills. I knew there would be some... that was only the beginning. I saw a jersey ahead of me in the distance, at this point, I was riding alone, in an area I never knew existed. I wanted to catch up, and soon after, I did.

Peter saw my shadow behind him as I stayed in his draft for just a little bit.. I told him that I worked hard to catch him! I moved ahead, beside him, where we chatted over the next few kilometers, before he mentioned that he'd need to make a side-of-the-road-pit-stop. We both talked about our "stories", he was celebrating 15 years (I hope I remembered that correctly) since his heart attack. He shared with me the quote at the top of my post. It stuck with me for the remainder of the day, and will for a very long time.

Soon, I arrived at the first rest stop, about 53k into the ride. Boys peeing along a chain link fence with their backs turned, four of us girls all looking at each other, searching for a place to do the same. Thanks to the row of strategically placed tractors, with their huge tires and rims, we each our own stall, with privacy because of the size of tires, and something to hold onto. Definitely a first for me! 

One last stop at the table for... yet, another cookie, and to refill my water, I left a few minutes after Heather's group. Their jerseys were almost always within view, but the gap didn't seem to narrow much, until I hit the 'marsh'... very familiar territory. You'll notice a bunch of circles on the map. Funny thing about this route, and one of the reasons I was so interested in doing this, because it hits one of my old running routes, and two of my usual riding spots! It was fantastic to see lots of new stuff too though! Trees are already starting to show their fall colors... so pretty.

Met up with Heather and her group again, as we counted down until lunch. Oh, we knew we were close, but it seemed like hours since the last stop. Ahead, a big climb, but right before it, finally... a sign pointing us left into a park. Ahhhh, food. More cookies, sandwiches, and a flushing toilet! Bonus! Already feeling the salted crust on my face, but otherwise pretty good considering this was already 4k more than I'd ever ridden, and I still had another 50+ to go!

Riding in the pack really made the last stretch a lot more tolerable and enjoyable. We all seemed to groan in unison with each hill that awaited. If Toronto is considered flat, I think we found most, if not all the hills! There were a few doozies. There was one... where we actually stood at the top of to rest, while pondering the next descent and climb. Killer. One went, the next one about 10 seconds later, repeated until we reached all crested the next climb. Ow.  At about 125k into the ride, it seemed a bit cruel. 

Until then, we had perfect weather. Wearing arm sleeves turned out to be perfect, because I just slid them down when the sun came out, and pulled them up when it peeked back behind the clouds. It rained for about 10 minutes at about 130k, and while the clouds for the remainder of the ride looked threatening, we got off easy.

Arriving back in the parking lot, crossing the blow up finish line after 160k, I thought about all I had seen since leaving the same place earlier that morning, and how much of a celebration it was to me. I choked back tears and felt the sting in my eyes as I explained to Heather why I was there... 

The day after surgery, first time realizing I still had hair! Priceless!!

I still wonder sometimes what the doctor did while in there... but I'm not going to spend a lot of time thinking that. I'll just continue adding life to my years :)


What should I do to celebrate 10 years?!