Hartford Breast Cancer Ride

Hi Everyone,

A couple of things. First, good news, my latest tumor marker test results have come back down to a 38, which is just a couple of points above the high side of normal again. Yeah! Dr. Bowers is very pleased so we’re going to keep with this treatment path.

 

Second, The Tittsburgh Wheelers completed our two day, 110 mile bike ride the weekend of August 7-8. We had a riding team of 10, a crewing team of 12 and had plenty of support once we got to the hotel/casino for day one camp.  And when I say camp, I mean a comfy king size be in the hotel. All in all I think we had about 30 people together this weekend. The weather was our biggest challenge, day one it rained, day two the heat and humidity was off the charts.

I will admit that I was the “weak tit” on the team, pun intended. When we got to the hotel/casino and cleaned up, we enjoyed some adult beverages, dinner, war stories and a great night of entertainment with the other riders, crews and supporters. 

The Tittsburgh Wheelers raised over $10,000 for Open Arms of Minnesota and Susan G. Komen for the Cure MN Affiliate charities. I am so proud of our team and what they accomplished this past summer and weekend. Thank you Tittsburgh Wheelers! 

And a big thank you to those who contributed to our team financially, we could not have done this without your support. 

For those who would like more detail about our experience on the ride, please read on. 

Day One: Mall of America to Treasure Island in Red Wing. Total miles 50 plus a 35 mile extension loop. 

We all got to the parking lot at about the same time. Day one was “decorate your helmet day” so decorating was taking place in the lot. Guys in pink tiaras are my favorite! The opening ceremony was really nice; A little fun, a little emotion, a lot of inspiration. We got started about 8:15 and headed out into a light rain. I think most riders appreciated the temperature.

(Mike, Jim & Sue, Mikes daughter Elle Edberg at Opening Ceremonies

We call them the Drafting Edbergs!)

I was struggling from the get go because about 3 miles into the ride we came upon a long and steady hill. You know what the best part of being on a team is? The help you get from teammates. Sue Edberg fixed my chain that popped off and Jeff Willie stayed with me for the rest of the day and helped me make it mile after mile. 

John Knievel, co worker and teammate, hooked up with another rider that was more in his “fitness and riding capability”. He just completed Colorado’s Triple Bi Pass ride a few weeks prior to our ride so he was more than qualified to be a Wheeler. Had he not taken the 35 mile extension loop after the first 50 miles, (yes, I’ve already recommended a psych evaluation to HR) he and his riding partner would have been the first and second riders to get to Treasure Island.  Way to go John!

The Edberg’s, Jim, Sue, Mike and Elle, were keeping pace ahead of the rest of us.  They had the whole Edberg Team Drafting thing going. Jim had a problem with his bike chain on the last leg which prevented him from getting all 50 miles in the order they were intended on the first day. But after he got the chain fixed at the final destination, he turned back around, met up with his family and they all rode in together. We love the Edberg’s!

Speaking of family, Jeff Willie and his sister Pam Carlson, long time friends of J.R.’s, came in from Denver CO and Alexandria MN to ride with us. When Jeff saw me struggling on the first leg, he slowed down his pace and stuck with me. They are both qualified to ride with Knievel but stayed with the slow pokes instead. Thank you Jeff and Pam! I really needed that!

The rest of the day, Jeff, Pam, J.R., our neighbor Denise (amazing woman!) and I were together. I really had a great time with everyone. By Pit stop 3 I had my fill, my neck was starting to hurt and I decided to get into the sweep van to the last stop and cheer in the gang. We love Sweep Van 7! Everyone made the first 50 miles on day one but me. I’m OK with that. 

We got checked into the hotel casino, had some lunch, napped and got cleaned up. Before dinner we managed to have ourselves “Happy Hour with the Edberg’s”, and hooked up with some of our illustrious crewmates who manned Pit stop 1, the best pit stop! Sitting around with friends and family swapping war stories is one of my all time favorite things to do in this world. They always make me laugh. Then we headed down for dinner, presentations and entertainment. 

Kari Mitchell, friend and Executive Director of the ride, asked me to speak at camp. She wanted me to tell my story and told me that I’d go on right before the comedians. Oh no! I think all in all the speech went well and the night in general was a huge success. Nicky and Zach made the trip down to Red Wing to support me during the speech and support the Tittsburgh Wheelers, thank you so much. Nicky, you’re my favorite.

Day Two: Bike back to Mall of America. Total miles 60. 

Day two was brutal to say the least. The temperature got up to 95 with a heat index of 109. Whew! But at least when we left camp we had a 2 mile hill to climb for our first leg of the ride….Denise and I met the team at Pit stop 1. She had a knee problem and needed some medical attention; I have no excuse other than I didn’t want to go up that hill. When we met up with the gang they said the hill was “challenging”, the ride down was super fun. We should have had the van drop us at the top of the hill.

The next leg was pretty easy; I believe it’s an old train track route. We were pretty much all together through that leg and that was really fun. The temperature was climbing and we knew the Tittsburgh Wheeler crew was the next stop. I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could so J.R. and I jumped into the sweep van to Pit 3.

Pit 3 had a carnival theme with games and music and everyone was all dressed in pink. This was the best pit stop yet. They even had Twinkies! When the Wheelers got to Pit 3 the heat and humidity was off the charts. Sue came in and was trying to cool off but was seeing purple spots and shaking. Not good. At this point I was more concerned for my friends’ health and well being than I was in anyone finishing the ride; it was really unbearable out there. We started to line up sweep vans to get us to lunch. 

 (Mike and Jim Edberg cooling off by pouring water over their heads)

Next thing I know, Mike, Jeff, Pam and Denise all started to get ready to ride. I told Mike that I didn’t want any of them to get sick riding and his response to me was “Yeah, but I don’t want you to have cancer any more either, so we’re going”.  I love my friends. And off they went. 

J.R., Jim, Elle, Sue and I met up with the gang at Pit 4 and you could tell that last leg was a killer. Everyone was looking pretty beat up and tired and I really thought that everyone was done. Thankfully Jeff’s experience as ski patrol and a veteran biker came in handy and he got the team back in shape quickly. One more leg to go and the temperature was still rising. I was dying just standing in that heat; I knew I wasn’t getting on the bike again and there was no way I was going to let Sue get on hers either.  But don’t you know it; the rest of them got on their bikes and went that last leg. My God do I love them! I started to cry watching them bike away. 

Destination: Mall of America

It was close to 3:00, I knew John had to have been in by several hours by now and was not worried about his safety. As it turns out he was in by 11:10 that morning. Way to go!

The Tittsburgh Wheeler crew was there and cheering in the riders. Sue and her sister Dolly preemptively went for the truck and drove the route in case they ran across any riders who needed help. The Sweep vans were working over time. They picked up Denise about 5 miles from the last pit stop and brought her back with them. I know that killed her to get in the truck. OK, 4 down. As the “cheerers”, we were drinking tons of water and icing ourselves down. Riders were being taken away in ambulances! 

Jim and Elle were the first riders in, 6 down. Next in were Jeff, Pam, J.R. and Mike. My team made it! It was everything I could do not to bawl my eyes out. They were there, they were safe, and they made the 110 miles in the BRUTAL heat! I was so happy to see them. 

The event went well, very professional, loads of fun and all for a good cause. A huge thank you to Kari and Bo Mitchell for their hard work and dedication through the year to prepare for this event, you did a great job! 

For those of you who have not done something like this before, you can’t imagine the commitment and sacrifice that it takes to get ready and participate. The fund raising and training are a commitment in itself, but actually completing this physical of an event, especially one taking place in such extreme heat, is both physically and emotionally draining. It has been a life changing experience for me. I am so proud of my team and honored that they sported the Tittsburgh Wheeler name. 

Thank you to everyone who participated this weekend. I am ever grateful. Last but not least, J.R., I love you.  Thank you for being by my side and making every day with you a blessing.

Next up, the 3-Day 60 mile walk for Team Tittsburgh in less than one week. (August 20, 21, 22)     Check out the site below for spectator information, cheering station locations, and come cheer on Team Tittsburgh and the other walker hero’s. Pray for cooler weather for that weekend. 

http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_Spectator

Love to you all!

Jen