The Epiphany and the Ride

Seemed like a good idea at the time!

100 kilometers. 63 miles.

OK.

On Thanksgiving Day, 2007, I weighed 225 pounds. My waist was 38 inches. I could barely walk up a flight of stairs.

And I'd just had an epiphany.

I had a long list of things to do.

Part of list was to get back in shape. Part of it was to be a better friend to my friends. Part of it was to be better to strangers.

Home in Arkansas for the holiday, my brother threw me on a mountain bike and we rode 15 miles of bad, dirt roads and Ozark foothill highways. When it was over I was winded. I wasn't sore.

I bought myself a bike for Christmas. A blue, Trek 3-Series mountain bike. I've been riding every chance I get -- weather and daylight permitting.

By New Years Day, my weight was below 200. My waist was 32 inches.

I decided to ride a Century. That's 100 miles in a day. And to get there, I had to reach some other milestones. An obvious one was a "metric century" -- 100 kilometers, about 63 miles.

I started looking for charity benefits that could let me ride with a group for a cause -- part of that "better to strangers" part of the epiphany. I found the Tour de Cure.

It raises money for the American Diabetes Association. My mom has Type 2 diabetes. Since signing up, I've found a surprising number of friends have relatives with diabetes, too.

So.

I also get to do something to be better for my friends.