Things left to do

Every day we see new donations on our page. At the risk of gushing, we are astounded at the generosity of those we know, and even more with those we've never met. I sometimes have a jaundiced view of humanity and the cruelty we mete out on one another. Then, through the ripple effect of shared experience, I'm reminded of what we all have in common.

All our flights, motels and hotels are booked, equipment gathered and ready to go. Dad found an RV spot near where we are taking off out of San Diego, so the pressure is off to figure out how we'd get around, pick up the bikes, get to a hotel, on and on. We also take off on a Sunday, so it should be a quiet exit out of the big city. Someone once said that a plan is nothing but a good idea. Most plans go off without a hitch, but the chance of the universe butting in and grabbing the steering wheel always exists. It is funny how this works.

When I did this ride in 1999 solo, I remember JRA (just riding along) in east Texas, flat land, clear, dry day. I reached down to adjust my waist pack or some such thing, oversteered into the curb and as my front wheel caught the concrete edge, I slammed down onto my right lateral knee. I got up, looked down and watched the hematoma raise into a swollen peak, just like a cartoon character's noggin smacked with a frying pan. Here is the best part; as I brushed myself off and regained some composure, I looked up and less than 10 yards in front of me stood a street sign, arrow pointing to the right, with the word "hospital" underneath the arrow. I felt this strange sensation that I'd stumbled into a scripted rehearsal. I paid a quick visit to the ER and they were nice enough give me antibiotic soap, an ice pack and bandage, minus the check-in process. You might say I was a freelance ER patient. That was the only time I hit the deck on that ride, just like I'd planned it.

The last ingredient integral to the ride is energy food. Chris got started on Hammer products a while back, stemming from a desire to improve performance on the bike. I don't use gels and powders due to the cost, but Hammer products work. We have no vested interest in this company, but our ride to Mt. Saint Helens last summer proved their effect. We did an 84 mile, out and back ride from Toutle, Washington to Johnston Ridge Observatory, 5.5 miles from the crater of Mt. St. Helens, at 4314 feet elevation. Hammer makes a gel you consume from little plastic flasks. We did the round trip on just the gel plus a tiny bagel shared at the parking lot turnaround. I felt fine the entire distance, until the last two miles or so, when the bonk swooped down like a vampire bat. When blood sugar leaves the building, all you want to do is get off the bike and go straight to BurgerVille. The bonk makes you a bit loco as well, or more accurately, it makes things matter less than they normally would, things like pride, image and your sense of self-containment.

Years ago while living in Canada, I woke up one Sunday morning with the idea of getting some miles in before breakfast. I headed out with no food or money, thinking I'd be gone no more than an hour or two. After riding out to a small town and back, twice as far as I'd planned, I found myself about 15 miles away from home, totally depleted of energy. Just turning the pedals became an exercise in concentration, while the grassy ditches along the road beckoned me to get off the bike and lay down for a nap. As I looked up the road, I saw a woman loading her kids into a minivan. Kids meant food. I stopped, leaned my bike against the telephone pole and approached her with pleading and sunken eyes. I asked if she could spare a piece of fruit; an apple or banana, anything. The look of horror on her face told me everything. She then added, "why don't you just get back on your bike and head on down that road," while pointing in the direction I was headed. My only response was a shrug while I choked on a delirious giggle. I cannot blame her, I must have looked like a corpse. It felt like all the blood in my body was swirling around in my legs.

Back on the bike, a managed another five miles when I saw a pizza place getting ready to open. I stumbled in and slowly explained my plight. The cheese sandwich on white bread with a Coke chaser transported me to a place I needed to be at that moment. I could actually feel my eyes beginning to refocus.

Bonk once, shame on me; bonk twice, shame on the soccer mom who won't give me a banana.

over and out

Generosity flows

Hey, I have to tell you how amazing the response has been to our ride. We plan to formally thank each and every one who donated toward our goal and those others who gave selflessly of their time and energy. What makes this all the more impressive is, we are not the best at asking for things. That independent streak runs deep and wide in each of us, so we thank you all for responding in such a positive way, even when the "ask" does not come easily. Some standouts are the following:

Pete Panagos - he provided enough air miles for our flight from St. Augustine, Florida, to Manchester, New Hampshire, then back home to the great Northwest. He is a generous and thoughtful person, and we look forward to seeing him after we complete the ride.

Fairrel and Phyllis Tackett - When we think of parents, the most accurate descriptive is - giving. We recently found out that Fairrel and Phyllis will stick loosely to our route until the Florida pan handle. The relief for both of us was palpable. Confidence and energy increase when someone is there who knows you and is on your side no matter what.

Barb Desclos - Here is a person whose organizational skills are powers used for good. She is instrumental in getting the word out to friends and family who knew and loved her mother, Phylis Panagos. We thank her for all the work she has already done, and for all the work to come. She says our goal is too low, and from what she is doing for us, she is probably right.

Salomon North America and West Portland Physical Therapy Clinic - Two of our primary sponsors. Both organizations, made up of a collection of individuals, have been nothing short of 100% positive and totally supportive in the form of time away to complete the ride and financial support toward our costs and direct fund raising efforts. We thank you all for your kindness and generosity.

Cord Amato - Graphics Czar who willingly designed our postcard. He is a talented and crazy/funny individual, and we appreciate his effort in making us look respectable and legit. the feedback on the postcard says he succeeded.

Jevon Crafts - Jevon maximized his link to the bike industry by calling in favors from friends in the industry and retail world. We thank Jevon for being so free with his assistance, and making the whole process more interesting and fun. Let's face it, Jevon has a sense of humor that is like nothing we've ever experienced before. Thanks man!

Brad Potts - Marketing Maverick who slopped some corporate dollars our way and took care of the postcard printing costs. His easy going manner and support saved us badly needed dollars that will go directly into our motel budget. Little does he know that his gesture will keep us out of a tent for several nights! How cool is that? Brad also connected us to the following three individuals.

Zack Grice, Nicholas Freedman and David L'Heureux - Each played a part in posting a short article on the website of one of the most widely read cycling publications, Bicycling Magazine (www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,sl-3-12-15323-1,00.html). If we raise awareness of pancreatic cancer one click in few people, then we have succeeded. We sincerely appreciate this kind of exposure, and would not have it if not for their generosity.

Tom Trissel and Ralph Cronin - Sometimes dreams are made of the stuff that surrounds us. Tom Trissel made the ask of Ralph Cronin, President of Active Sports Group, Inc. for some Michelin tires and tubes. The heavy box showed up yesterday packed with tires, tubes, two Michelin Man (Bibendum) jerseys, socks and stickers. This kind of support is immediate and significant. We thank both for their thoughtful generosity.

New Braunfels Smokehouse - I came across their website and wanted some of their pepper turkey jerky, right now. I sent a letter, and in return they donated one pound of jerky. We make a daily effort in saving it for the ride. The jerky will get us up and out of San Diego, California. Our route through Texas takes us within about 50 miles of this little town with the big smokehouse.

There are so many more and we will make sure to not forget anyone. Thank you all.

over and out

Like being struck by lightning

According to the research, someone dies of pancreatic cancer every 17 minutes in the United States. The numbers also say that it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. What's missing here is how difficult it is to diagnose and treat. Often a metastasis shows up somewhere else in the body and is then traced back to the pancreas. This is what happened with my mother-in-law. When the doctors finally figured out it was pancreatic cancer, she had only 12 weeks to live at that point. In my mom's case, she had several issues with her bile duct, and it was assumed that this blockage occurred from other issues.

Without going into further detail, the point of this is to increase the basic understanding of the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer. This cancer is also known as the "silent disease," since early onset has very few visible symptoms.

Common Symptoms:

1. pain in upper abdomen or upper back
2. yellow skin and eyes, dark urine from jaundice
3. weakness
4. loss of appetite
5. nausea and vomiting
6. weight loss

The above symptoms are not naturally limited to pancreatic cancer, nor are they a sure sign of it. They can simply act as incentive for a physical exam and further investigation into the health of the pancreas. A six inch long gland stuck between the stomach and the spine, the pancreas is also surrounded by the liver, intestine and other organs. It produces insulin, pancreatic juices and other hormones. This vital organ serves us as it remains tucked away and nearly invisible to most scans or hands-on examinations. I write this and think about all the abdominal pain my mother endured and never really complained about.

Risk factors for pancreatic cancer:

• Age - most cases occur in those over the age of 60.
• smoking - smokers are two to three times more likely than non-smokers to develop pancreatic cancer.
• diabetes - this cancer occurs more often in those with diabetes.
• male gender - more men suffer from this cancer.
• African American - they are more likely than Asians, Hispanics or whites to get pancreatic cancer.
• family history - your risk triples if your mother, father, sister or brother had the disease. A family history of colon or ovarian cancer also increases the risk.
• chronic pancreatitis - some research shows that this painful condition of the pancreas may increase the risk of cancer of the pancreas.

Other studies show that prolonged exposure to certain chemicals, dry cleaning fluids for example, may also increase the risk. To wrap up, there is no way to ensure our health indefinitely. Dis-ease happens. With a bit more information, we may be able to, at the very least ask a few more questions and seek out a bit more information. Little harm is done when considering the alternative of not having as much information as we possibly can.

over and out

Saddle time

OK, so we finally make it into 2007, and the reality of our ride for awareness hits like a cold front. We have roughly 12 weeks to get all the organizing done as we as train for the ride. The first three days out of San Diego are each more than 100 miles, so that will be an interesting transition from cold and wet Portland, to balmy San Diego and the possible heat sink of the agricultural valley of California.

Portland is currently freezing cold, and riding is the last thing we want to do. We're keeping things moving with the gym, commuting on bike and taking exercise classes, in the case of Chris. She has this work gig where she takes three intense classes a week, that frankly kick ass. I attended one and it was fun and challenging. I think we'll be OK. The other issue is time spent on the bike during the first difficult week will ride us into shape, as they say. There is some truth to this, when you think of endurance in terms of body parts coming into contact with the bike. This is the kind of endurance we'll really need. You never want a saddle sore. No fun. I had one as large as an olive (a large green olive) when I passed through Mamou, Louisiana in 1999 while on this same route, solo Ride for Awareness, for mental illness. That day ended at the residence of a host family. Later that evening I asked for a sewing needle to "mend my shorts," wink, wink.

The itinerary is about done. A few more tweaks, and it'll be perfect, whatever that means. We will post the ride schedule here for your amusement. My dad and step mom are heading out in their motor coach this next week, and we've got a box of supplies to pass off to them as they pass through Portland; tires, tubes, turkey jerky, varied power foods, floor pump and other items. They'll provide some support during the first week or so, maybe longer. I hope they understand how much better our rides will be knowing they are out there in the big rig, riding shotgun with us.

We have five rest days scheduled, and we hope to run into them along the way. My big sister and her partner plan to meet us for a rest day in Marfa, Texas. This is a little west Texas town put on the map by the late Donald Judd. In 1972 he started buying up real estate there. He needed more space for his own large-scale art and for his burgeoning personal art collection. Marfa lies in the high Chihuahuan desert, three hours by car from El Paso and the nearest airport. we'll go off our planned route, skip Fort Davis, Texas for Marfa. I also want to experiment with a new panoramic camera I recently acquired. Where else do you go when you want to absorb space in all its empty glory? Texas, baby.

Over and out

Now we begin

Time. It winks, blinks, clicks and pops. Time steals our lives away when we're not looking. It imposes order on the deserts and entropy to roadkill. Time is at once expansive and constricting, and just when we think we've controlled it, it slips away again. Hold water in your cupped hand and watch it trickle away. Time moves away from us like the water does, try as we might to hold it still.

Our moments move past us as we squeeze our eyes shut and wish for a rewind mechanism. We pin down the bits of our lives with photos, memories and words. We try to delineate the moments and years as they run together like peas and gravy. The inexorability of time means nothing until someone you know and love passes away. Suddenly, the tattoo of reality imprints onto your thoughts, and you now understand fully what we are all up against. The bottomless pit of time holds a bedrock moment for all in equal measure and suddenly the phrase live in the moment sounds less cliched.

This blog is not about time, it is about a bicycle ride designed to honor two extraordinary women. Ride for Awareness 2007 is for two mothers who never met, but who infused just the right mix of character and personality in two of their children. Those two children grew up, lived their lives, then bumped into each other and got married. The two mothers loved their kids very much. They loved them so much that when they each got sick, they did everything they knew to protect all of their children from having to say good bye. Both mothers passed away within 17 months of each other, both from complications stemming from pancreatic cancer:

Nina Tackett
born Feb. 9th 1937
died June 12th, 2004

Phylis Panagos
born Sept. 9th, 1931
died Nov. 12th, 2005



This ride and blog, as well as all the planning and work is a celebration of Nina and Phylis. It is our way of saying thank you for providing more than we deserved, and encouraging us in anything we thought important. It is a thank you for all the bills paid, dishes washed, laughter and idle conversations that now shine like fine crystal in our minds. It is our humble way of paying past dues for a lesson in dignity that very few are qualified to teach. Nina and Phylis wrote the lesson plan. Thank you for your wisdom and love.

Over and out