EverSoGrateful

Wow, yesterday I rode "The Race Course" out in Green Valley with Sandra. We did it in 1 hour and 17 minutes! It used to take 2 hours. It was a beautiful morning and the mantra "What goes up must come down" works on this ride! After climbing and climbing the down hill flies, I love that feeling of weightlessness, not to mention the internal WHOO HOO that "I can do this!". There are also 2 washes to ride up and they challenge my technical skills, I am improving, though at times I still freak myself out a little and got off to hike the bike more than I would prefer.

I realized that this week is the 3 year anniversary of completing the radiation treatment for my recurrent desmoid tumor! I am so grateful that the radiation worked to keep a 3rd tumor at bay. I am also so grateful that I can still do everything I want to do in spite of losing a significant amount of my stomach muscles. Did you know that the abdominus rectus muscle is the least "useful" muscle in your stomach? Of course if you want a 6 pack then it is quite necessary! I don't have the right hand side of that muscle and instead have a big patch of mesh holding me together (what a relief to lose the mental pressure of striving for "washboard abs"). Yet I can still do anything that I want to do.

As a matter of fact I rode my road bike 42 miles this morning! Wow, what a beautiful day. We (Jas, me, Sandra and Cindy) rode the paths and Dixie Drive out to Entrada and then rode up Bluff Street toward Snow Canyon. Some of the hills are near 20% grade and it takes everything I have to keep peddling, pulling on the handle bars and pushing and pulling with every single muscle in my legs to make it to the top without falling over. The mantra is "Just keep peddling, peddling, peddling" to the tune Dory from Finding Nemo sings about swimming....But we did it!! Going down the road through beautiful crimson and white cliffs, speckled with lava rock at up to 44 miles per hour (speeding!) is one of the most exhilarating experiences I've lived, it makes those tough climbs pay off big time! We finished the entire route through Snow Canyon and then rode on to Kayenta...Xetava smoothies are just what the doctor ordered to boost your energy for the ride home. I had mixed berry with peach. Cindy had a Lucky Girl Peanut Butter Jamocha smoothie- it was quite tasty as well (though not as sweet). Jas and Sandra opted for the iced caramel macchiato, also tasty though too much coffee flavor for me (I once paid $20 for a cup of coffee that didn't taste like coffee at the Hustler store in California--remember that trip Brent and Alicia?).
What a ride though. Can't beat that for starting off a Saturday and then an hour and a half nap- excellent!