Why do I support LIVESTRONG? Community

On Sunday, close to 100 people turned up at West Rock Ridge State Park, including racers and spectators, to participate in the ROCK the RIDGE benefiting LIVESTRONG Mountain Bike Race. Folks gathered from Maine to New York to New Jersey and everywhere in between. Of course, many may not have cared less what the cause was, it was merely the series finale of the New England Championship Series for the Eastern Fat Tire Association. But others turned out to show support.

During the racers' meeting, when I reminded folks of the cause and why it was so significant, as we, in EFTA, lost a beloved member to cancer a couple of years ago, there was a tangible shift in mood. Everyone was still excited, but there was a sense of intensity that seemed to hover in the air.

It's not the first time I've experienced that.

When I decided, long before I was diagnosed, that I was going to ride 200 miles to support LIVESTRONG a couple of years ago, I was more excited about the adventure than the cause. That is, until I learned of a couple of friends who were fighting cancer. Then, it hit me, when I found myself struggling, that I was doing this for something greater than me. And, as I rode, and I chit-chatted with other riders along the way in the New York City Century Tour, and told them why I was riding, their smiled turned serious - not angry, not sad, but intense, and we rode a little faster.

Online, on Twitter and Facebook, LIVESTRONG Leaders, registered Team LIVESTRONG members and others in the "community" form a support network. Again, before I was diagnosed, I merely mentioned that I was doing a ride for LIVESTRONG, and all of a sudden, there was a throng of survivors that were connecting with me. I joked that I felt in with the "in" crowd without having cancer. (Oh, the irony.)

But I'd found a community.

When I was diagnosed, I thanked my lucky stars I was already plugged into that community, though, there is no doubt in my mind, that had I come in off the street and asked for membership, I would have been welcomed with open arms. Why? Because I see it done. With everyone that says, "I need help - I have cancer," or, "My dad has cancer," or, "I just lost my cousin to cancer," a note of encouragement is sent by someone at LIVESTRONG, fellow leaders, etc.

So to, on Sunday, at the end of the race, there was a community - even though it was a one-day community, it was there.

There are rare instances in one life where, blindly, you are accepted into a group. And there is no time as important as during a battle with cancer when that is needed.

LIVESTRONG is a global community of caretakers, survivors, supporters and leaders.

To show your support for this community and the cause, please consider a donation to my LIVESTRONG Challenge account: HTTP://LAF.CONVIO.NET/GOTO/RICAROCKSAUSTIN2012

12 Days to Go Until We ROCK the RIDGE!

Last year, we ran this race in spite of Hurricane Irene. In spite of the promoter, aka Me, having just had major surgery. In spite of a last minute date change. And we pulled it off.

This year, we need to kick ass. We need major turnout. We need volunteers. We need you.

If you are in the Tri-State/New England area and want to come out for a day of fun in the sun at West Rock Ridge State Park, come out on Sunday, September 23 for a day of Mountain Bike Racing for a cause.

We'll have our Tribute Wall, where you can put up a bib in honor or in memory of someone that you know who fought cancer, we'll have prizes and other fun stuff. And, oh yes, the SERIES FINALE for the NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES of Cross-Country Mountain Biking!

For more details and to register, please go to: https://www.bikereg.com/Net/16328


Can't make it to the race but want to contribute? Please, make a donation here: http://laf.convio.net/goto/RicaRocksAustin2012

What I learned from First Descents and... What's Next?

It's hard to believe it's been a full week since I've returned. That's got something to do with the fact that I learned en route to home in Dallas that my son had been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia a couple of days earlier, but my folks didn't want to worry me while I was in Colorado and didn't tell me. Or the fact that I just finished up my Z-Pak after contracting bronchitis as a result of mild altitude sickness and spent Saturday night through Tuesday sleeping in bed with my bottle of cough syrup spiked with codeine.

Either way, it's hard to believe that it's been a full week and a day since I crested the top of The Castle and were with these amazing people.

But it's given me time to reflect, through these blogs, and in those moments at work when I'm waiting for a call or an email.

First, I can't wait to do my next First Descents adventure. I only wish they had their 2013 schedule set up so I could pick my next adventure.

Second, I have unfinished business at The Castle. I need to rappel down that damned cliff. No ifs ands or buts. I have to rappel that cliff. So I'm already trying to figure out how I can afford to go and when I can get back to Estes Park and book with Colorado Mountain School.

Lastly, as much work as I have ahead of me, I still got it. Yes, I'm getting winded so much faster than before. Yes, I was surprised at the amount of leg strength I have to rebuild vs. upper body strength. But I do still have it in me.

Which leads me to what's next: two major events - one I'm running and one in which I'm participating.

• The 3rd Annual ROCK the RIDGE is coming up fast on September 23. We desperately need volunteers, so if you're interested, let me know. Additionally, there are still spots open, but pre-register fast - since this is our first year as a Season Finale event, we don't know how soon it's going to be before those floodgates open! This is such a fun Mountain Bike Race & Fun Ride!
• The LIVESTRONG Challenge: Austin. This is a mac-daddy event, and one with which I have unfinished business. Yes, I went last year despite having started chemo. And, yes, I got on the bike. But I didn't even make it 10 miles.
  
  In all honestly, it's bloody embarrassing to me. I have to rock this out this year.
  
  I'm not saying I'm going to do the full 90-miles. But I'd like to at least make it to 25? Or more?
  
  But, I need my cheerleaders. I really need to kick my training in gear.
  
  I need to know you have my backs. And, frankly, the easiest way for me to know that is if you could find it in you to make a gift to my LIVESTRONG Challenge Account. That provides a solid, money-where-your-mouth-is promise from you to me that you have my back, and from me to you that I will fight hard - harder than for myself - for you. You are my sponsors. My employers, if you will, and I won't let you down.
  
  Think of it this way - for only $10 or more, you could sponsor an athlete. How cool!

I'm ready to start training. I'm ready to face my fears of the bike, now, and finish 2012 on 2-wheels once more.

Imagine what I'll be able to do, if, with your help, I meet my 2012 goals, in the year 2013?!

Seeking motivation...

Well, yesterday was a bust. I didn't ride. I didn't canoe. I got wrapped up in the Olympic equestrian cross-country events and then I had an interview. Lame, I admit.

Today, I've got a lot of housework to do, some planning for the upcoming ROCK the RIDGE benefiting LIVESTRONG on September 23 with my partner-in-MTB-crime, Sean. But the weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate for a ride, either.

So this self-motivation thing hasn't been working so well. I guess my own cancer journey isn't stimulating enough for me.

As I reflect on what a lazy slob I've become (well, I've always been a slob, but the lazy part is relatively new post-cancer), I think it's time that I rely on an oldie but a goodie when it comes to motivation - I look to YOU to kick my ass into the canoe and/or onto the bike.

Since the canoe is much more convenient in terms of location (the lake is literally a couple of hundred feet away from my house), for every $18 that is donated to my LIVESTRONG Challenge account daily (even once I find a job), I will canoe 1 clockwise lap around the circumference of Lake Kitchawan - that is a 2-mile lap.

Donate $25, and your lap will be counter-clockwise (as that is how you go against "current" in the lake). If I get 10 donations in one day, I will canoe 10 laps.

The bike, sadly, poses more difficulty. Because I live at the bottom of a valley, it would mean a 3-4 mile climb up onto decent roads, with some hills close to a 10% gradient. Pardon my French, but it's a bitch even when one is in great fitness. Not me.

Therefore, I would have to load up the bike and drive to a new location to start the ride. Given the state of my fitness, it would have to be relatively flat, so I'd be shooting at the Norwalk/Westport beaches, a ride I was introduced to on the Blooming Metric 3 years ago. So, for a donation of $36 or more, I will ride the Norwalk/Westport beaches.

Want to make me suffer? For a donation of $72, I will attempt (I can't make promises!) to ride up to Sherwood Island, which includes some climbs, and back to Norwalk, which includes a couple of more if I take the hilly route.

I want to do this. I really do. But wanting to do it hasn't been getting me out the front door. There is too much anxiety and fear. But you all have made me fearless over the years - from my first mountain bike races, to taking on ridiculous distances. And this isn't lip service - every single time I've looked to quit, I think of all of you supporting me, investing in me, and I stop myself. If I've ever quit an event, it's been with aching guilt.

You really do motivate me. Please, help me regain my fitness again. Help me get back on my bike.