Thankful….

Yesterday I took my road bike into Witt’s, my local bike shop. I’ve talked before about this place. It’s a tiny, cool, little bike shop run by Clarence, a guy that knows just about everything there is to know about bikes and Barbara, a lady that seems to have more energy than I do even though she retired from racing back in the 70s…

I haven’t been there in a while and was surprised to find out that Clarence has been undergoing radiation treatment for cancer. It turns out they found it under his tongue but evidently finding it is just the beginning because it turns out it’s not just there. It’s in several different areas including his lymph nodes.

I guess the fact that he’s working and still riding his motorcycle to the shop every day is a good sign but still, to see the damage its done is really tough…

As I was thinking last night about Clarence and cancer, it dawned on me just how much cancer sucks! It seems like when you really look at the statistics, it’s only a matter of luck as to whether or not you get it. It knows no difference between gender, race, or even age... its kind of like winning the lottery...only different...in a really bad way...

I mean, it doesn’t seem fair that if someone stays reasonably fit and eats well they should be just as likely as someone that doesn’t take care of themselves to be diagnosed with cancer. And then you see stories like Lance Armstrong or Dave Dravecky, athletes, obviously in very good health….

On the one hand, hearing about their victories in overcoming what used to be a death sentence is extremely motivating, on the other hand, if guys like that can get cancer, then anyone can...

On Saturday’s ride, as I was pissing and moaning about how much riding up Tunitas Creek sucked, Tracy made a comment about how blessed we are to be able to be out there riding when most guys our age are sitting on a couch clicking the remote control for exercise and he's right...

So, where exactly was I headed with this post? Not sure really….only that cancer sucks and many of us are blessed... maybe that’s the point.

Just acknowledging the fact that there are people out there suffering from real issues and if whining about having to pedal my bike up a hill is as bad as it gets, then I really should be thankful….