Why am I doing this crazy ride again this year?  Well, I am not a great cyclist or athlete, I can’t stand to ride when it is less than 50 degrees, I have tons of other commitments between work, husband and three kids.  I had felt trained until 2 weeks ago when I got a cold and my knee started to hurt and I hate asking people to donate money.  So why am I doing this?  Because of hope.  Because 7 years ago this month, I was bald and on chemotherapy for breast cancer and could not ride.  Because my Mother died from pancreatic cancer and I miss her.  Because Scott Shuey wanted to do this ride and he can’t.  Because Laurens was trained for this ride and she can’t ride now.  Because I have seen and grieved over too many friends and patients dealing with cancer and too many of them dying from cancer.  Because I believe in the power of cancer survivors and the hope that we can become stronger physically, mentally and spiritually from cancer.  And while some cancer survivors may die from an incurable disease, many can still achieve healing.  I believe that God allows cancer for reasons that we cannot understand but hope that we will understand some day. So while my hair might not be much improved over baldness, my heart and my spirit are greatly improved as a result of being a survivor. I am doing this ride by God’s grace because I can, once I couldn’t and many still cannot!

Hope tells me that…

The future will be better than today.

What’s broken will one day be fixed.

What hurts will one day be healed.

What is wrong will one day be made right.

What has been missed will one day be compensated. (Scott Hodge)