So I have to tell you about Rapha. Rapha is an English brand of cycling clothing and sponsors of the Rapha team I have seen at the Tour de France. I have always liked to watch the Tour each year, as I find it fascinating watching these cyclists push themselves to breaking point. How each team member has a job to do and the way the race unfolds over 3 weeks is great entertainment. So I knew of Rapha when I was in New York in October for my road trip to the hills. Deirdre indulged me and we visited the Rapha shop in New York. I looked around the Lycra filled cathedral to cycling and finally saw a great looking jersey. As I asked the slim cyclist looking assistant if I could buy this, he looked at me and said “is this for you” and smiled kindly. I answered yes and he suggested it might not be the right size as “they fit a little snug”. “Oh, good call”, I told him and went to look for a size bigger, with this larger jersey in hand I stepped into the dressing room. As I looked down at the 2 inch gap I still couldn’t stretch this Lycra across to zip up, I realized what a great call he had made on the smaller model. So I quietly tried to exit the dressing room unseen and returned this shirt to its place amount the small and beautiful. Unfortunately Rapha and cycling shops in general do not have a full figured section or an Old guy shape department. So I bought a book of recipes and stories from the Sky Cycling Team chef and a nice neck warmer (apparently my neck is of race dimensions) and left determined to lose some more pounds.
I am glad to say since then the training has improved my sizing and now I am the proud owner of a couple of Rapha shirts and shorts. Having spent some time as a Fashion designer in my past I really like their designs and detailing, great product quality and fabrics. Today I put on a new red Rapha Jersey for my couple of hours riding and headed out. It’s now I realize that my first part of this adventure is nearly done and how much has happened and changed since I had a crazy idea to ride a bike across a continent. I am definitely fitter and a lot more healthy after riding over 4,500 miles. I don’t smoke cigars any more and can ride a bike for 7 hours or more in a day. I can wear a Rapha shirt that is fastened and my knees are really tanned. Waldenstrom’s (WM) has not dominated my thinking and now it is much easier to deal with rationally and less emotionally. So the reason I set out to do this has worked, healthier, lighter and in better shape to live with an incurable lymphoma. I feel good and happy with life and proud that I had the patience, determination and commitment to get this far. So the ride itself is just the pay off. I don’t feel any pressure to compare myself with other cyclists, as I just want to ‘ride my ride’ to Boston.
All of the riders who are riding either part or the whole ride got an email from CrossRoads the other day, with everyone’s name and contact details. Obviously we had to look a few up, just out of curiosity, and of course it revealed what I had suspected, most if not all are serious veteran cyclists. Hopefully I will get to know many of them and share this great adventure together. There may be some I only see at breakfast and dinner due to their better and honed average speeds. There may be a few I ride with, as small groups on long days for comapany and shared drafting. There will also be days I ride alone at my pace and them at theirs. As long as I get from one hotel to the next each day, I will be happy and have a chance to ride “Every Foot and Inch” of the ride from LA to Boston. This is now my main goal as long as it is possible. It is not totally in my hands as I can not control the weather, my health or other outside factors. Yet for as long as it is a possibility I plan, one way or another, to ride EFI all the way to Boston in my now fitting Rapha kit.