Mary Caruso

Well, It is official………22 days until the big bike ride!  I realize that I have not written too much about how my actual training is going.  I have written about everything but…….So I will fess up now to how unprepared I really am.  However there is so much other stuff in life that is important yet relates to this whole journey…….don’t forget we are all trying to open our hearts and accept ALL people.  We are moving to co-exist as a nation of understanding and kind individuals!

my inspiration

my joy with my sorrow!

BUT there I go again away from the ride……so for all of you incredible people who have invested in me for this ride I can tell you that I have learned a TON!  I now know how to hold my wrists on the bike AND my arms.  How to position my head (not a normal position I promise) and even how to actually pedal correctly.  I know this because I was doing all of it WRONG!!!!  I had a great training session with Ron at Pedal Power in Middletown.  They are my new best friends.  It is a great little shop………now when I say little I don’t mean small.  The area is large, the selection of bikes huge, the knowledge of the staff unsurpassed! When I say small I mean it is intimate, friendly and embracing.  When I first walked in Paul met me within seconds……..huge smile and a very warm welcome.  He could probably see the terror in my eyes because he was very gentle in his approach.  It brought me home to how I would try to greet my customers when I had my shop.  He had the very hard task of fitting me to my bike helmet….NOT an easy task.  I think that my head is way too big for my body.  And those things are not the least bit stylish.  Someone has to do something about those things……my riding helmet back when I was a kid looked better.  And maybe my friends Holly and Kyle who ride can get by wearing them because they are unbelievably good looking but what about me?  UGGGGGG…it is NOT good!  So anyway Paul did fit me after a long time.  Each time we got closer to the right fit I would break out in a cold sweat!  remember I am VERY claustrophobic!  But you gotta do it!  So I sucked it up for safety sake! And we did it…..the final fit was perfect!  It took a few minutes for the sweat to stop and the room to stop spinning and my ability to breathe return!  I have gotten used to the helmet and now it’s only a few seconds after I put it on to get back my courage.  NOW! Combine that with clipping your feet into the pedals, putting on those important gloves, balancing on the stupid bike and EVEN…..GULP! riding down route 80 (from the library to my house)……….but I DID IT!!!!!!  So what does everyone think?  Too small of a step?  

The general concencious is…………I am in big trouble!  Last night there was a big surprise at my house when I got home.  A group of dear friends all traveled to be together to have a great dinner and celebrate friendship, love and kindness.  It was the perfect night!  My girls planned it……Ally & Sam & Laura & Janie pulled it off without a hitch and we had fun!  The only bad part is that EVERY other word was about the bike ride!  And it wasn’t all good!  There were some knowlegable riders present, my friend Mike is a big peddler from way back and he was pretty tough on me!  There is SO SO much to know and so much work involved.  Everyone agreed……..I am in big trouble!  

karen with the two bike experts-john & mike

PLEASE REMEMBER!  I never said I was well trained or experienced.  I am doing this for enlightenment and to become a better person.  I am doing this for those who can’t ride or even walk, I am doing this for those who have a hard time existing in life, I am doing this for the betterment mankind!  I want ALL people to know that you have to work hard in life, strive to exist and LOVE what you have not WANT what you don’t have!  So one way or another I will finish the ride.  Mike thinks it’s going to be sometime in June……John thinks I will do so well that I’ll keep going to Canada !  Either way the important lesson is……………I love both these guys for the different people that they are and the joy they bring into my life.  (John reads the blog…..Mike does not!) I embrace my life for the beautiful path is takes-my great kids, my wonderful friends and family, my incredible sisters, the forever memory of my mom and dad (they ride with me each time I get on the bike) ……………… and I am grateful for each and every day!

Hope I talked enough about the ride! I am working on my core strength and as of today I can ride 10 miles…..Mike wants me to do 15 THIS week!  UH OH!

Until then……..

In Love and Peace

Always,

Meir   

it's the people in your life that make the journey worth living. Missing are Darren & Jackie!

My friends Jack and Laura are true blue friends.  They support me in everything I do; whether or not they agree with what crazy thing I am doing at the time.  So back in September when I told them I was doing this bike ride, they never hesitated!  Jack took their hybrid bike and brought it right into Zanes.  He had it tuned up, put brand new tires on it and a new seat too!  Jack said that would turn out to be my most important part of the bike-had to have a good seat.  He so proudly brought it to me when it was done.  We spent time together-Jack showing me how to get on and off of it properly-yes it is true I did not know how to do that!  He showed me how to use the gears and just how to stay on the thing without falling off.  Mostly he yelled at me just because that is what he does !  But that is part of who he is and I love him for who he is! Jack and Laura are the best at listening to me cry and complain and getting me through life’s bumps in the road. Jack will yell at me and I will stop and think about what great advice he gives me and I am back on track.  So my bike wasn’t just a bike to train on, it was a sentimental memory- a personal piece of emotional support from two people who genuinely love me and accept me for all of my quirkiness.  

So tonight I got all dressed for a great but cold and challenging ride-I put on my great new bike shoes that Norm helped me pick out, the under armour Jackie bought me for Christmas and Alex’s warm scarf that she insisted I put on. I made my way to the garage….. opened the door and wait…….where the heck did I put my bike?  It was here just a day ago!  Then I thought; Ben…….he has been working so diligently on the house….he didn’t like where I put it so he moved it somewhere, of course!  I dug to the back of the garage but nope!  OR someone picked it up to put some kind of neat accessory on it as a surprise! I called everyone, no one did that either!  So the reality has set in; I am sad to say no one moved the bike, well at least no one that we will ever know about because someone actually came to my house, went into my garage and stole the bike!

 But then this ride and this blog are about over coming obstacles so I know I will get past this and be able to move ahead. So being robbed kind of fits into the whole theme of picking up where you left off and moving on in a positive way.  It’s just another challenge associated with the ride, besides no one said it was going to be easy!  Really this isn’t the worst thing that I have been through.  It is however one of the most personally offensive acts I have been through.  I can not imagine stealing something from anyone.  I have a hard time stopping when I see something really great on the side of the road.  I am always compelled to knock on the door first……JUST in case the people really didn’t mean to put it on the curb.  The bike was a symbol that Jack and Laura knew I could and would do this and now it’s gone.  The bike was a reminder of their immense generosity.  I feel worse for Jack and Laura, it was not a cheap bike and they trusted me with it, I really should have been more careful.  But I will replace the bike and they know I will.  And the sentimental feelings can’t be taken away-no one can rob me of that!  Because those are the important parts of life-the wonderful memories!  I will always remember Jack yelling NO! You don’t just jump off the thing at that speed, you slowly lower one foot as you stop.  NOW DO IT AGAIN!

So if anyone happens to see a really short person (it was a pretty small bike to fit me right) on a great looking Trek hybrid bike or a really big person trying to ride a really small bike- would you please ask them if it is Jacks bike that was in my garage? More importantly you better tell them Jack had better NOT find out who did this!   Explain that this is a challenge for me and I really need that bike!!  Who would have thought? I keep saying to myself, “say it isn’t so”…..but unfortunately it is! 

Well, as my father used to say…….. keep your chin up, there are better days ahead.

In peace and a world without theft

Always

Mary