| My First Century
by Bill Kelly
I did my first century ride yesterday, May 16, 2000. I was training for the Montauk
century but I decided to pass on it because there is too much traveling
involved. I worked out my own route from Bedminster, NJ to Princeton, NJ
and back. I picked yesterday because it was a year ago to the day that I
had my bike accident on my wedgie and I ended up in the hospital for three
days. Because of the accident I looked into recumbents and now I don't
even want to imagine how painful 100 miles on a wedgie must feel. The only
things that hurt yesterday were my legs.
I was outside the Branchburg municipal building on a break when a guy comes
up to me asking about the bike. He says that he just had a quintuple heart
bypass surgery and needs to start exercising. I explained all the
advantages of bents with missionary zeal and when I was done he announced he
was getting one. It was a life changing moment for him.
I was riding on a dirt farm road and I could hear a car rumbling up from
behind. I look to my left and there is a moving dust cloud which clears to
reveal a car stopping with three teenage boys inside. My apprehension grew
when a window rolls down and a tattooed arm comes out attached to a boy with
a shaved head. He says, "Hey man, that is the coolest bike I have ever
seen. What is it?" After my sermon on the bent the car roared off. Then
later a pickup truck rolls up to me and the guy says, "Now, I have seen
everything."
It has been a difficult year from the day of my accident. I was in pain and
incapacitated for two months. My sister and I have a genetic lung disease
(Primary Cilia Dyskinesia) which took her life last July. She was 52 years
old. My wife developed breast cancer and went through treatment
successfully. I turned 48 years old which was the age that my father was
when he died.
The century for me was a test and celebration of life. The training and
the ride have given me more satisfaction than I have felt in a while and
it's introduced me to new interesting people, the MARS members. Almost
every time I ride now I find myself waving to people and they wave back.
And remember "Ride Streamlined and Wear Sunscreen"
Bill Kelly
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