Charles Dickens said it was the best times and the worst of times. But even in the challenges we face during the worst times, there is always a light that although hiding, peaks through and eventually fills the sky with brightness.
The first three days of Ragbrai were fun yet hot. One of the things that I've learned to do this last year is to listen to my body. Because I have some problems with hypotension,
I decided to stay out of the heat for Wednesday and Thursday. I had a great time with the PFP support group. It was nice to get to know Jason, Romi, Allie, Suzi. and Keyton better. Without the support group, PFP at Ragbrai wouldn't happen and even more importantly, would never run so smoothly. They are the cog in the PFP at Ragbrai wheel. Two nights in a row Jason was able to negotiate and find us inside air-conditioned space. Tuesday night we stayed at a church right next to the blistering hot field we had reserved. Wednesday night we were able to stay in a American Legion building. That night there was an incredible thunderstorm that blew in shortly after we got to the American Legion. The storm was amazingly beautiful but would not have been so much fun in a tent in the middle of the soccer field. Suzi eased our sore muscles while Allie and Romi shuttled us around like a soccer mom and Keyton was his dad's right hand man.
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| PFP support team: Keyton, Jason, Romi, Suzi, and Allie |
The heat finally broke on Friday. The route was a short, only 42 miles. It had a lot of hills and there was a bit of a headwind but WOW, what a difference 20° makes. We went out of Cedar Rapids through the Czech district of town and then headed out towards Mount Vernon. Without question this was the best day I ever had at Ragbrai. The weather was perfect, the hills were a small challenge but there was always some downhill to give you a break. The landscape of Eastern Iowa was breathtaking. This was the best of times! As Pat and I were riding and having the most incredible day I turned him and said "Today we're going to have fun. Today we're going to stop and do everything that Ragbrai offers". And we did. We took pictures and ate food and talked to fun people. As we got close to town, I told Pat there was one more thing I needed to do today and that was to stop and go down the slip and slide. So we stopped and down I went. I havent laughed so hard in a long time and I thought to myself, two years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, in three months I'll be turning 50, but today I'm going to go down the slip and slide. You're never too old or sick to keep living.
About 2 miles outside of Anamosa, the end town for the day, there was a collision and I went down. I knew immediately that something was very wrong with my wrist. It felt like my hand was going to fall off. Fortunately the person who owns the home across from where I fell had a van without seats in the back (we found out later he was a funeral director for the county), so rather than wait for the ambulance, we drove to the Jones County Regional Medical Center in a funeral van. There's got to be some humor in that. The Cliff Notes version of this is that I broke both bones that go into my wrist along with some pretty impressive road rash and bruises. One of the bones that broke had compacted when I landed and was now overlapping itself. The pain was intense, 10 out of a 10 - perfect score. Fortunately for me Luke was helping me out. Luke is a paramedic from Jones County, Iowa and he took care of me when I was at my worst. He helped me stay calm and made sure I was okay. After a while, I was finally able to settle down. Pat was by my side the entire time. I don't know what I would have done without him. Karen Jaffe, Jay and Jenelle Alberts came to the hospital and helped keep my spirits up. Fortunately for Karen and Pat, they even had pie at the hospital :) They patched me up very well and I was able to go spend the last night with my PFP comrades. I sat on a lawnchair covered with blankets while the remainder of the group relaxed outside in the nice weather or played football. Saturday was the final day. The riders rode from Anamosa to Clinton and the rest of us drove into town. We met at the local high school and said our goodbyes until next year.
When I arrived back in Las Vegas I went immediately to the doctor. I had surgery the following Thursday and since then have been home recuperating. This is been a tough one. I don't know how long the process will take for me to get back to where I was, but I do know it will happen eventually. The human body is a magnificent thing but it is vulnerable. Although my body is weak and broken right now one thing that is not broken is my spirit.
So when I think of July 27, 2012, I will be thinking about
how that was the best day on the road ever. I'll be thinking about how I felt
riding through the rolling hills of Iowa, and about taking silly pictures,
eating Munchkins PB any J sandwiches, and Beekmans Ice Cream and going down the
slip and slide. And I'll be thinking about people I met; the two gentlemen from
Durango, Colorado who are coming home after Ragbrai to ride in the Copper
Triangle for the Davis Phinney Foundation with their friend Joe Williams who
has Parkinson's disease, and a hand cyclist with muscular dystrophy who kept
trudging along while everybody else was walking their bikes. and the soldier
riding in his full Army garb to show his love for his country. But mostly I’ll think about the 65 people
who came to Ragbrai with Pedaling For Parkinsons all in support of the five of
us with PD as well as thousands of others who also live with Parkinsons
Disease. Each of them contributed to the
mission of PFP in their own way. We
raised over $60,000 which will be used to expand the PFP program throughout the
country benefitting many more people with PD.
And I’ll be looking forward to seeing everyone again at Ragbrai 2013.
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| Pedaling for Parkinsons 2012 |
Life at Ragbrai
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| The heartland |
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| Nutrition breaks |
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| Live music |
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| PIE! |
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| Crowds |
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| Superheroes |
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| Firefighters on bikes |
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| Fire Trucks Everywhere! |
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| More fire trucks |
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| Potty time |
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| Long lines at Beekmans Ice Cream |
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| Drive through cooling station |
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| Bike racks |
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| Chewbacca |
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| Bands |
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| Water station |
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| A bit of Vegas |
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| Ragbrai bus |
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| Home, home on the bus |
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Porta potty showers
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These are the people, the Ragbrai people
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| Pat |
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| patriotic riders |
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| Superhero rider |
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| formal riders |
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| recumbent rider |
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| walking the bike rider |
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| Davis Phinney rider |
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| Tall riders |
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| Short riders |
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| Fuzzy pink riders |
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| bone head riders |
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| Utah Ute rider |
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| Grandma and baby rider |
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| stowaway rider |
