There were a lot of special moments but four come to mind -
1. Spending time with Jeff on that puddle jumper and talking about everything and seeing first hand how passionate he is in this fight against cancer. Watching him talk about Cussy (the young man who passed from TC a short time ago) brought that to light and I applaud him for his energy and commitment.
2. Riding the climb to Dead Horse Point with Sue especially as she
revealed that her 10th anniversary was two days prior to the ride so
Sue, thank you for letting me be a part of this very special
anniversary celebration. BTW, telling someone they have a big engine
is NOT the same as saying you have 'junk in the trunk'
...Sue is a very strong rider and motored hard on the
ride. The three of us (including Brock Yetso from the UCF) had a nice
paceline going where whe hit 27mph for a short time. Really enjoyed
making the climb with you.
3. I was one of the hired Domestiques for a Day and rode for Nancy 52
year old breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed a year ago and
finished treatment in January. This was her survivorship reward to
herself. She came with her husband, son, brother and a few friends.
Nancy trains triathletes and is one herself but she was frustrated by
the drop in her fitness level due to treatment. We did a 54 mile ride
with small rollers but she struggled a bit on these climbs. I never
once had to push her up a hill and towards the end there were chants of
'Go Nancy Go' but she did the ride herself. Reminded me yet again of
the power of Hope and gave me another reason to be proud as a
survivor. That ride with her was a great highlight not just of the
weekend but of all time.
4. Chris States just wowing everyone with his emotional-straight from
the heart speech on Saturday night. He was a bit nervous but got up
there and just spoke his mind and heart and made a few of us cry out in
the audience. Just a fantastic speech from a great guy who by the way
has one of the most interesting backgrounds of anyone I have met (Hot
shot aka smoke jumper, lived in Europe and a few other interesting tid
bits). He's also a helluva rider!
Special thanks and kudos to Ms. Phyllis the Fashionista of Moab.
Phyllis was such an integral part of making the festival happen, thanks
for doing all you did there, the effort was huge but the results spoke
volumes.
It was great fun meeting and spending time with all of the CCC'ers in
Moab also including Kathleen, Dave and his wife on their tandem, and
Bob "Captain America" Sega with his patriotic balaclava on our cold
rides. Bob, great doing that interview with you as well.
Regarding the Dave Pannella jersey...I brought it and Bob and I signed
it. However, with all of the running around, I didn't get a chance to
take a picture of it in Moab but it was there. I also took the liberty
of asking Marty to sign it (team mate of Lance's in '99 and '00 as well
as '99 US Pro champ), he was honored to do so. So, Holly, Keith and
anyone else in the DC area...I'll get some dates out there and we can
sign it and keep it moving...
Steve
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