I have been a cyclist since the 1980s when I lived in my friend’s family garage. I have written about them in the past. A family of avid bicyclists they took me under their wing and although I have always been a “slow and steady” rider, I did my thing and got where I was going.

In 2002 I was diagnosed with MS. I had always wanted to bicycle across the country and I figured if I wanted to do that I should get off my butt and do it before maybe I couldn’t do it. So I did.. In 2003 I bicycled from San Diego to Florida with a supported group of women. It was hard. I didn’t know what would happen. In the end it went well. Nothing bad happened. I could still ride and walk at the end. So in 2004 I bicycled from Anacortes, WA to Bar Harbor, ME. My bicycling endeavors have continued all these years. In 2023 I bicycled from San Diego to Florida again. That year was full of milestones for me.. I turned 60. I bicycled across country 20 years after doing it the first time. A huge amount of success for me. Back in 2003 the doctors said that I could wake up any morning and not be able to walk. Who the f says that to someone? Well that has not happened (knock on something wooden.. as she knocks on her head) I am forever grateful for all of it. Riding has always been a test of my mettle. Once I was in the portico of a hotel. There was a man there with a Harley.. big belly, long beard.. if you look up Harly-dude in the dictionary his picture would be there.. He looked me up and down and said, “You need a motor in that thing”. With the utmost respect as to not get my ass kicked I said, “sir I am the motor in that thing”. He smiled.

So at the request of a friend I signed up for a week-long tour of Death Valley NP with the same supported group of women. 2/3 of the 18 cyclists were on e-bikes. I have really no problem with that except that it sets a different expectation for those of us on bicycles powered by us. The schedule was really organized around the speed of the e-bikes. We didn’t start riding on some days until late in the day. I like to get started early in the morning when it’s cool and lovely.

The whole thing made me pretty sad. The last day had way too much crammed in and about 6 miles in I got a flat. I changed my flat but by then I was very far behind and all the ladies would be waiting for at least 1-2 hours for me to finish the climb. I ended up not riding that part and it made me very sad. The whole point for me is to be on my bike.. I may be slow (averaging about 10mph pretty much always… unless it’s downhill) but I can do my pace all day long. I can’t help but think that everyone wants instant results and gratification. What happened to testing your body against terrain and the elements? Why is that not enough?

I am planning to do a long ride (50+ days) in 2027. Again I will be on a bicycle powered by me. Will I be able to do it? Who knows.. As my brother’s voicemail he left me on the ride in 2003 said, “left, right, left, right”.