Memorial Day Memories

The root of memorial is "memory" or "remembering" and for this reason, this particular post will be about racing/biking memories of years past. I am always fond of Memorial Day because it is the official start of summer and living in the north east, summer cannot come soon enough for me. I was born and raised in West Virgina and my internal clock tells me that spring should arrive in late March and summer should be here by early May. However, in the northeast, this is not the case and by the time that Memorial Day comes, I expect warm weather. We are fortunate that this is the case this weekend.

Years ago, Memorial Day usually entailed my running of the Elby's 20k Distance Race in my hometown. I started running as a young girl and by the time I was 12 y.o., I was running 10k, 15k, and 20k races. The Elby's distance race itself was followed by an awards bangquet and for the next few days as I recovered, we attended family picnics. My brother, Chris, (See follower's below) and I were always invited to my step-mother's sister's house for a picnic. Often times, Chris and I would ride our bikes (yes, after running a 20k race) to this picnic. Living in WV, one could imagine that there are big hills, mountains, and a general undulation of the topography. Chris and I would ride our bikes to this picnic, hang out for a few hours, and ride our bikes home. It was always a race, always competition between us. In many ways, I credit my brother with my drive to compete, race, and do well. I was the little sister always trying to keep up with my big brother.

By the time I started cycling at 20 y.o., Memorial Day usually meant a 3-day block of racing. As an undergraduate student, I often traveled to Dayton, OH for a couple days of crit racing. Later, I would go to Canada for an afternoon crit and head off to a stage race which started later that afternoon. I have fond memories of Dayton, OH. I would cram into a hotel room with several of my racing teammates, separate out the mattress from the box springs and we would spend the next few days racing, recovering, and eating. As an undergraduate, I always enrolled in summer courses (or took an overload during the regular semester) and I very quickly learned time management skills to fit in my training and studies. To this day, I must compartmentalize my time.

More recently, Memorial Day itself does not always consist of a race, but usually a good ride and a picnic, but I still attempt to chase down Jeff (which is nearly impossible) with the same fever that I would try to chase down my brother.

This year, Memorial Day leads us directly into the month of June and June is a very special time of year for the Jeffina. We met at the Raccoon Rally race eight years ago. We met through a mutual friend who had coordinated this weekend trip. I remember meeting Jeff for the first time thinking, "He's a really nice guy...." Then, after the race, Jeff and I walked around for a while and he bought me a hot dog for $1. Yes, we still laugh about this moment because there's a misnomer that men can buy a woman's heart with expensive gifts, but for me, when he opened his wallet and pulled out the dollar bill, I was thrilled. After the race weekend ended, I didn't talk to him for 3 weeks and doubt if I would've called him if it hadn't been for a freak bicycle accident. Jeff got hit by a car and I was informed through our mutual friend about this. I immediately called Jeff as a concerned fellow cyclist and during his time home recovering, we started to spend time together....the rest is history.

Today, we did a great 3 1/2 hour loop on our mountain bikes with good friend, Paul, from Endicott. The loop had a little bit of everything -- road, dirt road, double-track, single-track, and hike-a-bike sections with 3200 ft of climbing. It was awesome! My back held up and I'm finally putting in some saddle time, losing some weight, and hope to be in better shape for the next big race at Williams Lake.

The ivy of poison has once again invaded my body. Unlike last year where my legs got infected, I am trying my best to keep the area washed and using a topical spray. Let's hope it doesn't spread.....

On a non-cycling related issue, my book chapter came out about 2 weeks ago. The chapter was published in a book entitled, "Positive Peace: Reflections on Peace Education, Nonviolence, and Social Change." Look for my chapter to fall directly under 'social change.'

Together, we are Jeffina, crankin' out the miles, crankin' out the love for Crankskins.com.

1 – 1 of 1