Inspiring Story: Bike enthusiast lives strong (By Carol Anderson)

Bike enthusiast lives strong

By Carol Anderson
special to the Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.18.2009
advertisement

I'm wearing one of those goofy yellow rubber bracelets today. I don't wear it all the time. There are a lot of reasons to wear one but some days I simply want to show my support for Lance Armstrong.
It's not just his amazing winning record; it's not his impressive athletic superiority; it's not that he is currently the most famous American cycle racer and cancer survivor.
Nope. I admire Lance for his message, not his muscle.
Once upon a time I used to ride a bicycle a lot. I have always owned a bike. In my youth the doctors encouraged exercise as a way to recover from polio, so I rode a sturdy three-speed from elementary through high school years.
Later, during the 10 years I chose to live without a car, my 12-speed was the only way to get anywhere I couldn't walk, bus or hitch. Bicycling to work, for pleasure and for exercise, kept me vigorously healthy and strong. There were also a half-dozen longer excursion trips totaling several thousand miles. 100 miles ? the infamous "century" ride ? in a single day? I rode it once. Just once. We did not have support vans to carry our water, food, sleeping bags or panniers; those we carried on our bikes. I'm not bragging here: I was so exhausted that day that I learned to set more realistic road goals. Sixty miles a day was way more fun.
Traveling by bicycle is the most thrilling of all my life adventures (so far). I spent one long summer riding the West Coast highway from Los Angeles to Portland before turning inland and riding east along the Columbia River. We camped along the way, ate farm stand fruits and vegetables, enjoyed regional festivals, and once spent a whole leisurely day in Oregon watching a lumberjack competition and eating smoked salmon.
Another trip took us from Tucson to Telluride and back on a tandem bicycle. I remember every aching mile of Eagle Pass in Colorado.
So when I watch TV coverage of professional cycle racers crossing the Pyrenees or the Alps, speeding uphill, I can only marvel at the training, the strength and the hard desire to win that drives these elite cyclists. I would have stopped and had a picnic lunch with the locals.
My rubber bracelet says "Livestrong," which has become the well-known rallying cry from Armstrong. His message is a fierce call to action for cancer research as well as an authentic, supportive vision of hope for cancer patients and survivors, and for the people who love them.
The message is especially important and inspirational for me these days. My mom, brother, father-in-law and several dear friends died of cancers. No one I know can say that they have not been affected in some way by cancer. Too many friends are currently engaged in the battle with this disease. And while my overall health is generally good, I now struggle with post-polio syndrome.
I don't ride daily anymore because of fatigue, but that did not stop me from buying a new "hybrid" bicycle. Long road trips are no longer an option either, but spinning around my neighborhood is still a thrill. There is wind in my helmet, knobby tires on the pavement, and the warmth of the little yellow bracelet encircling my wrist reminding me that I, too, can live strong every day.
Carol Anderson, a counselor for Pima Health System Community Services and a 30-year Tucson resident, enjoys walking in the desert, local food and music, bicycle riding, and writing the occasional essay. She has hosted a weekly radio program on KXCI Community radio for 24 years. We welcome submissions for this column of personal essays. Submit original pieces up to 1,000 words along with a short biography of the writer and contact information to Maria Parham at mparham@azstarnet.com. Please put Life in Print in the subject line. Selected essays will be published in ?Vamos!