Ride With the Peloton or Fall Off the Back

From the time my husband and I started dating one thing quickly became clear to me - embrace cycling or be prepared to not expect conversation for 22 days in July each year. I chose cycling and what a ride it has been over the past nine years.

I knew who Lance Armstrong was. Really, you'd have to have been living in a remote part of Mongolia to not know who he was. An American hero who not only defied the odds of doctors as he battled cancer, but the odds of cycling pundits all over when he returned to the sport. The man was a legend in the making - a cancer survivor whose motto of LIVESTRONG grew into a global movement with a yellow wristband. He just also happened to have molded the same regimen and tactical maneuverability it took to battle cancer into his strategy to win The Tour seven times.

Back in 2001 I embarked on my foray into the cycling world, half listening to Scott talk about each stage while I really just wanted to know "How did Lance do?" At the time I didn't yet understand that it's okay not to win every stage when you are going for the overall victory, it's about winning certain stages. I still had a lot to learn.

By the following year I was becoming hooked. I found myself looking forward to the evenings when I was home from work and could settle in for an evening with Phil, Paul and Bob. Oh, Scott too. I was starting to remember team names as well as people riding on the teams.

In 2003 I became a dedicated Tour viewer. It was also at this time that Scott and I were tossing around kid names. Every "boy" name that I presented was shot down, until one day when we were watching the Tour. Baden Cooke was excelling during the Tour that year, eventually winning the Green Jersey. After hearing his name several times I began thinking about that as an option. Not expecting that Scott would actually take me seriously I put it out there and was met with "Hmmm. I like it." Never again did we agree on a boy name, and by year's end it looked like we actually wouldn't ever use it. We had made the decision to adopt from China and looked forward to adding a baby girl named Savannah to our family.

As the years went by Scott kept setting the goal of riding in the Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. 2006 didn't pan out because he didn't make time to train. 2007 didn't work because we traveled back to China to adopt our second child. In 2008 Scott began his serious training for the STP and that is really when I became a "Cycling Widow." He'd come home from work and on the evenings I wasn't working he'd be pedaling off for a 20 mile ride. Sunday morning would roll around and he soon was up to being gone until early afternoon. This was his dream and he was living it. Again, I could have stomped my foot and said "No, this is family time," but where would that have gotten me? I'd have a miserable and resentful husband on my hands. Instead I chose to support him and quickly turned the STP Weekend into an event to look forward to for my own reasons... visiting friends and tax-free shopping.

July 2008 was upon us and Scott was on the verge of accomplishing a big goal he'd set for himself - a 202 mile ride along the back roads between Seattle WA and Portland OR. I was proud of his commitment and determination to see this one through. Scott and his riding buddy, Dennis, finished the ride in two days, with about 100 miles each day. Meanwhile, the kids and I had a blast catching up with friends we'd met during our journey to adopt Savannah. On Sunday afternoon the kids and I were there at the finish line, ready to congratulate him. All in all it was very much a win-win situation.

Spring of 2009 rolled around, Scott was wrapping up his hockey season and setting his sights on the 2009 STP. The year before he and Dennis were bummed that they were too tired to enjoy the Beer Garden set up in Centennial Park as part of the end of ride festivities, so they decided to ride 180 or so miles the first day and leave the remaining miles for Day 2 - giving them plenty of time for a cold one. For me that meant shortening the "Girl Time," but my friend Sharyn and I made the most of it. We went out for lunch, toured the Lan Su Classical Chinese Garden where we enjoyed afternoon tea, did a little shopping and went out for sushi with her husband and daughter. All in all a wonderful way to spend my Saturday. Scott on the other hand was in agony and suffered the wrath of bad choices... not eating properly at the last rest stop. He bonked, but managed to make it to the motel where he proceeded to pass out. Sunday morning had me at the line waiting and Scott rolling in looking much more refreshed than he had the year before. Not more than 20 minutes after crossing the line Scott and Dennis had made a pact to ride all 202 miles in one day next time.

As a family we have figured out a way to show up and support Scott and still do our own thing. On our West Coast Road Trip family vacation last June we stopped for lunch in Solvang on our way North from LA to San Francisco. The Amgen Tour of California has ended a stage in Solvang for two years running and I was determined to say that I'd been there myself.

We got the kids up early on July 4th to watch the Tour kick off at a local cafe that transforms into Tour Viewer Central - complete with flat screens on the sidewalk for overflow patrons. Though the kids balked a bit about being roused so early, they found the event an adventure and enjoyed wishing Scott a safe ride as he took off from downtown.

Before I sign off, you know what I said about deciding on the name Baden for a boy? Well, it turns out that we did get our Baden. Our second child was a boy from China, who is a few months older than our daughter. We got our Baden after all.

- The Cycling Widow