Mountains of Misery Day! What an experience… Mountains of Misery is a very challenging century ride featuring 10,000′ of climbing in 102 miles here in SW Virginia. It lives up to its name! It took 10,000′ of climbing in 102 miles to be called a “finisher.” It was a perfect day for this ride – starting out drizzly, staying overcast for a few hours before the sun broke through. I can say with some confidence that I’m ready to take on America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride at Lake Tahoe in less than two weeks. Mountains of Misery (or MoM as we call it around here) was a day filled with memories of riding it last year for the first time with Mike Houston, a fellow team mate for Team in Training, and our coach, Rob Leonard. Mike was showing signs of leukemia once again, and we were concerned. He completed 60 miles of MoM, and Rob and I went on to finish. Soon after, Mike was in treatment again (for the 4th time), and he passed away in July. This year, our church sponsored one of the rest stops, and it was dedicated to Kaye Kriz, who rode Tahoe with me two years ago. This Saturday, we will celebrate Kaye’s life…she wasn’t defined by her cancer, but she was determined to fight it. So many of you have been generous with your donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – thank you from the bottom of my heart. Later today, will draw the lucky winner of the Titus Mountain Bike. Hooray! All for now. I’m still hungry two days after MoM! Cheers! Jan
Mountains of Misery
