Ride Captain Ride

Before y'all get to looking at these photos and thinking "Well, THERE is a motley crew if I ever saw one" keep in mind that these hardy souls, these weekend warriors, these terrific teammates of mine biked 15 miles in support of a very worthy cause (one which many of you supported, thank you SO much!) - the American Cancer Society's George Washington Bridge Challenge.

OK, yeah the weather was beautiful.  And the views were amazing from the center of the bridge.  And we didn't do the 63-mile course.  And there were mimosas at the end of the race.  All of that notwithstanding, it was by no means easy and I'm proud to have been the captain of this fantastic team this year.

My friend Joe Tobin started us on this journey many years ago - he formed a team and honored me that year by naming it "DL's Angels."  I couldn't participate - I was finishing up my chemotherapy course and was in fact feeling quite poorly the day they biked.  But I was so touched by the efforts he and all the other participants put in that I vowed to be a part of this in the future.

I haven't been able to do it every year.  Ups and downs with treatments, surgeries and overall health.  But when I can, I do and I've managed to draw in more team members over and above our first core team of Joe, his son Ryan, Patricia Maloney and myself.  Warren, Chris Sempey and John Sempey have joined the last couple of times we did the Challenge; this year Taryn took to the pedals as well (she swears she's going to captain a huge team next year - you go Princess!).

Everyone's commitment is unendingly inspirational.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to get to NJ (the race starts at 7 am!).  Continuing on even when your legs are screaming (hey, we're talking mostly about a bunch of folks in their 50's here!).  Dealing with creaky seats, slippery gears and questionable tire tread on the bikes we're riding.  And sometimes getting lost and having to figure out your way back to the finish line (I won't mention who got lost - you know who you are).  I know this is done not only in support of me but I can't help feeling so blessed and grateful to have these people for my friends and family as I'm fighting the devil inside.  This captain is surely enjoying the ride, on so many levels.

So...who's with us next year?

A brief shout out to a colleague of mine at BP, Miss Sarita Thomas.  I met Sarita when I started working here and we quickly became friendly.  I found her knowledgeable, dedicated, compassionate and funny (also a terror if you piss her off but it's usually only the dealers that do that!).  As we grew close, I realized that I wanted to share my story with her (no one at BP, aside from Jodi, knows that I have cancer).  I got the opportunity to do that today and I was immeasurably touched by her ability to understand and empathize, her faith in my continued good health, her willingness to step in and do whatever I needed should I find myself feeling any ill effects in the future.  She made me feel like I have another soldier in my army of supporters and for that I am so, so grateful.

Please continue to keep some folks in your prayers - Carole, Donna K., Jeanne McN. and family and Jennifer L.  All have their own unique heartaches to deal with and deserve all the love and caring they can get.

Blessings and Love to All.