Don't Look Away

I just watched Bill and Melinda Gates' combined commencement address to the Stanford University Class of 2014 on YouTube.  URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=p1ek9s7IUdc#t=4020 . It's about 23 minutes out of the entire video. (If you click on the links above, it'll skip right to where their speeches begin.)

The things that reached out and grabbed me from this speech were quotes from  Melinda Gates.  (No disrespect to Bill -- he had quite a lot of good things to say also.)    But I just couldn't help but see everything that Melinda said through the prism of cancer: what a horror it is and how important it is that we NOT look away from the suffering it brings:

"In the course of your lives, you'll come to see suffering that will break your heart. When it happens, and it will, don't turn away from it. Turn toward it. That is the moment that change is born." 

...

"No matter how much suffering we see -- no matter how bad it is --  we can help people if we don't lose hope, and if we don't look away."

It's our responsibility as adult humans to not look away; to not turn away, and most importantly to not just wish someone's suffering away.  It's our responsibility to take action; to try our best to be optimistic --  and be optimistic because we can take action.

You and I know people who are suffering; I know that I certainly don't have to look too hard.  And maybe I can't fix their suffering -- but then perhaps that's not the entire point.  To be seen and heard by someone; to have someone at least recognize your pain instead of pretending it's not there; to have someone do a small kindness for you -- none these things are a cure, but they are powerful medicine -- that any of us can administer.

OK. So I can't cure cancer myself.  But I will be optimistic because I know that there are so many things I can still do that will help someone who may be suffering.
I can raise money to help them.
I could share a joke with them
I could buy them a fancy coffee drink from Dunkin Donuts.
I could mow their yard.
Something. Anything.  Any of these trivial things serves a purpose: to remind each of us that we are all human and deserve to be seen, heard and treated with dignity and kindness.

Just please, don't look away.

/doug

Father's Day Ride: First Century of the Season!

"Here endeth the ride."

Just back from a beautiful long bike ride out to Peterborough NH and back!   I decided to extend the last  route I biked out that way to  make it a "century" (100mi) ride.  

My route came up a couple miles short, so when I got back to Littleton I ended up taking a more roundabout way back to the house -- and still ended up having to do a couple of "victory laps" around the block to push my trip computer over 100mi.

Below is a snapshot of today's route, as recorded by an app on my phone (Strava).   I think it's "off" a little bit -- my average speed couldn't be THAT slow.  ;-)

Click here to see more route data on Strava

It felt like I didn't do anything but climb for the first 3 hours of the ride, but it's such a lovely route out to Mount Monadnock that it's hard to complain.   Clearly I had picked the wrong day for a ride with most of the climb headed North and West: the prevailing wind today was out of the North and West....   Once I heard that on the weather report, I figured that at least it'd be at my back once all the climbing was done (after about the first 55 miles).   Funny thing though: even though I was headed pretty much East and South for the last half of the ride, every single flag I noticed on the way home was blowing toward me.  Lesson here: never plan for a tail wind.

Only had one minor mechanical issue this ride: a spoke worked loose on my front wheel at around mile 64 in Milford, NH.  I was a little irate, since that exact thing has happened to me at least 4 times previously. (Always on a long ride, too.)   I was able to remove the spoke cleanly, but the nut that holds it to the wheel rattled around inside my front wheel for the remaining 34 miles.  That, and the fact that missing a spoke caused my front wheel come out of true and get a little wobbly added to my resolve that I will be getting a new front wheel ASAP, even after I fix this one. Again.

I did  make it a point stop to take some pictures this time out.   Below are a couple of quick snapshots of 2 of our Benevolent Robot Overlords hanging out in Townsend MA, off route 119.     One of them was mowing the grass, the other was holding the mailbox (out of frame in that picture. Sorry)

Robot Overlord #1 Mows Yard

Robot Overlord #2 Holds Mailbox

I'm feeling pretty good about conditioning for this year's PMC. I say this not because I'm any faster, or have managed to drop that 20lbs -- but because I'm finally not cramping up on my long rides this season.  Until now it's only ever been a question of when I would cramp up during  -- or immediately following --  any ride over 40 miles.    But since I adjusted my workouts a couple months ago, I think I've finally got the problem muscles conditioned.  Knock wood.  Not a sign of any twitches as I type this.

Anyway, like I said, it was a glorious day to be out on a bike today and I count myself extremely lucky to be able to do this.   I'm looking forward to more rides like this one, and especially the PMC ride on Aug 2nd and 3rd.

Please help us fight cancer and sponsor a rider (like me) on this year's PMC.   100% of your donation goes directly to Dana-Farber for cancer research and treatment.   (That's not a typo. One hundred percent of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to fight cancer.)

More to come.  Thanks for stopping by.
/doug

PMC Training Update - Only 52 More Days Left

PMC 2014 is only 52 days away.

I feel like I need to check in and report some training progress here -- especially since there's really only 7 more weekends available for "big rides" between now and the PMC.   In addition to riding my bike to/from work (when it's not raining) and hitting the gym at lunch, I've finally managed to get in a couple of respectable rides this month (mileage-wise anyway -- let's just agree to not discuss speed, OK?)

Mid-May I managed to get in a "split" 53-miler, with an AM jaunt to NH on the rail trail, and a PM ride from Northboro to Littleton.

On June 1, I got in a really nice 58-mile ride out to Wachusett Reservoir, down to Northboro and back.

June 1, 2014 Ride (click here for Strava page)

Then last weekend I was able to pick up a completely-unplanned 73-mile ride up through Ashby State Park, into NH and then back East and down to home.

June 7, 2014 Ride (click here for the Strava page)

I feel like I'll be ready physically for the PMC, if I can keep up the pace.  But then again, I think the ride is really not the most difficult part of all this.

It's not about the ride; it's about raising money for cancer research and treatment. My goal this year is to personally raise $8,000.   So please remember to donate to the PMC, soon.  You can sponsor me on this year's ride with your tax-deductible donation by clicking here.  

Thanks
/doug