I chose to do the 50-mile route. I also chose not to race. I just wanted to enjoy the beauty of the ride. It was a great ride. For the most part, the terrain was pretty simple. On the 50-mile ride, there was only one big climb – and yep — it was big. While I wish I could say I zipped right up to the top, I have to admit that I just couldn’t do it. Instead, I chose to get off my bike part way up, walk it for a bit, and then get back on. I have to remember to work on climbing this year. Maybe next year I will be able to make it to the top!

The race was well organized. The designated support areas had water, fruit and bars. There were volunteers at every juncture guiding us in the right direction. Plus, there was great signage throughout warning you of the ‘hazards’ of the ride – ‘climb ahead’, ‘sharp curve limited visibility’, or my favorite ‘rez dogs’. We didn’t see any rez dogs, but we did see a lot of beauty. It was a wonderful experience.

This is definitely a race/ride that Acoma should promote on a national level. Only 45 minutes from Albuquerque, it is accessible. We chose to go down the night before and spend the night at the Sky City Casino Hotel. They had a discount rate for those participating of less than $60 for the night. The accommodations were pretty good. While still somewhat smoky, it was less noisy than most casino hotels. They have several dining facilities on site which also were quite good. All of this, and a ride too! For racers, it is a great course to compete on. For recreational cyclists like myself, it was a beautiful, mildly challenging ride. I am looking forward to doing it again in 2007!

Kudos to those involved in putting on this event . . . you did an excellent job!

So instead, Becky recorded the stages for me. When I got home, I had a big stack of DVDs to watch. Fortunately, no one had told me any of the results, so it was going to be ‘just like watching it real-time’. The only clue I had gotten, was that one of the stages was bound to go down in history.

So I started watching the DVDs in the order the stages occurred. I got to the stage where Floyd Landis bonked, and coincidentally, later that evening it was announced that Landis was accused of doping, and couple potentially could be removed as the winner of this year’s Tour de France.

As those of you who watched the tour know, the next day’s stage was the ‘remarkable’ comeback. I felt ripped off. I didn’t feel the thrill and excitement that other viewers who had watched it live did. I did get to spend a few days thinking, ‘wow! What a remarkable comeback! What motivation! What skill!” Instead, I felt a huge let down. Did Landis really win the Tour de France fair and square, or were drugs indeed involved.

It is a sad day in cycling. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Cycling has grown to a sport that has much more interest than a decade ago. And we all know how that works. More fans, more advertising and sponsor money, more pressure to win – more drugs.

As a fan and a viewer of the Tour de France, I have to wonder if I am going to watch it next year? Do I want to spend that much time, ride the roller coaster of the ups-and-downs of the event, only to once again find that the winner, or top winners cheated? I want to watch the sport. I want to watch true athletes. Otherwise, I might as well be watching fake-wrestling on Sunday mornings.

To all pro-cyclists, and teams: please do your part to turn the sport of cycling back into a sport again.

During my first years at college, I continued to ride. I still enjoyed it, but mostly rode for commuting purposes. I tried riding my first century when I was 20 years old. A friend who I worked with was riding it, so I though – what the heck. I had not trained, at all. I just showed up early that morning and jumped on my bike. Even though I was young – I bonked big time. It took me over 8 hours and by the time I was done, I was miserable.

Over the years, I continued to ride, but as I got more busy with business and other things in life, I seemed to ride less and less. I tried a mountain bike when they were first popular, but never got hooked. Wanting to get back into it, I decided to buy a Trek Hybrid. I rode it for several years, but much of the cycling passion I experienced when I was younger no longer seemed to exist. And my neck and shoulders always seemed to be in pain from riding.

In May of 2002, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My life turned around. About a year after I had completed chemo and having a bilateral mastectomy, I was ready to start making some changes in my life. Cycling was something I wanted to explore again.

I headed off to a local bike store and looked at the different bikes. I really had no idea what I wanted – still thought a hybrid would be the best. I test rode a couple, and they were nice. But then I saw the road bikes. I always loved my road bikes! I decided to take one out for a spin. Oh yeah! I remember that feeling! I was on the road to being hooked again.

I convinced my partner to come with me to test ride a couple of road bikes. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of riding a road bike. She was still leaning towards getting another hybrid, or a recumbent. But she came anyway. We took out two bikes for about a 20 minute ride. Now she was hooked too!

Once again, cycling became a regular part of my life. As a cancer survivor, there is a wonderful phenomenon that happens when I ride. I feel strong. I feel like I have beat cancer. The lingering fear of recurrence disappears. I feel like I am alive.

More importantly, I feel like I am living! When life gets too busy, and I am not on the bike, my whole psyche changes. I don’t sleep as well. I tend to feel depressed. I start worrying about my health again. I am not happy. It’s difficult when I get in this mode – I don’t really want to ride. But for some reason, I do. And when I get on my bike, within seconds — everything changes. The movement of the bike, the momentum, the motion, the rhythm – there is nothing like it.

Some people say they live to ride. Other’s say they ride to live. I do both.