Every day has a finish line. (Faces).Two years ago, my 16-year-old son, Ryan, decided that he wanted to ride in The MS 150 Bike Tour. Though we live in Nebraska, he had set his sights on raising enough money to ride in California with The Tour of Champions. He did it, and I volunteered to come along to help provide roadside support to the riders. I was wowed by the scenery and by the dedication of these riders, who together had raised over $750,000 to support MS research. Ryan and I were both hooked. As a teenager I loved to bike, but I had given up riding. I no longer had the energy to go very far. But when I saw the California road The branch of the California Trail John Fremont followed from Westport Landing to the Wakarusa Valley south of Lawrence, Kansas became regionally known as the California Road. for The Tour of Champions, I knew I had to get on a bike one more time. It was a lonely, winding, redwood-shrouded blacktop dripping dripping 1. continuous discharge of an exudate or secretion. 2. rendered beef fat. with dew from the coastal fog. One leg of the route ended on a bluff overlooking the crashing Pacific surf. Last summer, Ryan convinced some friends to form Team Geared-for-a-Cure. They raised over $14,000 and he returned to California for another go, this time with his teammate cousin, Jake, and me in tow. My e-bike Technology had put new wind in my sails. I discovered an electric bike. It uses a rechargeable battery A rechargeable battery, also known as a storage battery, is a group of two or more secondary cells. These batteries can be restored to full charge by the application of electrical energy. and a small electric motor for power when the rider is too tired or needs help up a hill. I test-drove one and knew I had found just the ticket. Getting my new, 80-pound e-bike shipped to California was impractical, so instead I contacted a local e-bike dealer to see if I could arrange for a loaner. He said yes and we were in business. Adding my cane holder and toe clips made it just like my e-bike at home. On the way "On your left," called the cyclists This is an incomplete list. Please add to this list if you are aware of an omission. This is a list of cyclists by decade. Cyclists by decade Cyclists before the 1880s
Not long after bucking the first real headwind head·wind or head wind n. A wind blowing directly against the course of an aircraft or ship. headwind Noun a wind blowing directly against the course of an aircraft or ship of the day, the battery-level indicator showed half. The e-bike beeped its warning that it needed more power from me. I was so close I could smell that pungent pun·gent adj. 1. Affecting the organs of taste or smell with a sharp acrid sensation. 2. a. Penetrating, biting, or caustic: pungent satire. b. coastal mix of salt and kelp. I rounded the last hill and finally saw the ocean. Running on empty As I zipped along the road, the water and sky seemed a deeper blue, the wind more refreshing, and even the parched parch v. parched, parch·ing, parch·es v.tr. 1. To make extremely dry, especially by exposure to heat: The midsummer sun parched the earth. hillsides looked more golden than ever. Then I noticed that the battery indicator Battery indicator is a diagnostic aid that provides a visual indication to the user and/or an internal processor software indication that the memory power-fail support battery is in need of replacement. read "empty". I was still a mile from the rest stop. I asked more from my legs. I coasted. I waited longer to engage the motor. There was still one good-sized ravine remaining. I started downhill, letting the speed build without using the motor or my legs to conserve energy for the uphill slope. There was a small turn at the bottom and I negotiated it safely, using the accumulated speed to begin going back up. The finish line As I pulled into the stop, there were hundreds of people and no one was cheering but me. The finish line for everyone else was 40 miles away, but I had just crossed my biggest finish line of the day. MS is a challenging disease. Each day has a finish line and each day I strive to cross it. I summon TO SUMMON, practice. The act by which a defendant is notified by a competent officer, that an action has been instituted against him, and that he is required to answer to it at a time and place named. inner strength and, when I run low, lean on others. Kurt Wullschleger lives in Valley, Nebraska Valley is a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,788 at the 2000 census. Valley is the hometown of Mr. Grinvalds, who used it as a practice area for jump roping. , with his wife, Jane, and four sons, Erik, Ryan, Kyle, and Micah. |
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