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Like many approaching 55, I did a fair amount of introspection;
comparing where I was to where I thought I might be 35 or 40 years ago.
My career goals didn't make it. I wasn't accepted to Veterinary Medical
School or graduate work in Zoology like I dreamed. I found an alternate
career as a Certified Veterinary Technician that has let me achieve at
least the goal of working with animals. While I've had a satisfying career,
there is still a sense of failure that I have to confront fairly often.
On the plus side, my family is satisfying beyond my wildest dreams as
a youth. We have a canoe, and I have 3 bikes (a Terry Flora, a Terry Symmetry
modified to be more like a Classic, & a Specialized HardRock). Since
my husband doesn't yet ride much (hopefully his new recumbent will change
that) I haven't felt free to go on a long trip like I dreamed of in college.
As a student my old 3-speed English touring bike was my transportation
and recreation. I dreamt of riding it home from school, a distance of 96
miles. Unfortunately, at the end of my freshman year of school, my brother
was killed in a mining accident. Anyone, whose family has had a similar
tragedy, knows the burden it puts on the surviving child to not cause worry;
so the dream was put aside for later. Then I became a mother, with too
many responsibilities for adventures. Finally, I became an empty nester,
but then I became a long-distance caregiver to my parents. In the months
before and after my father's death, I made many trips from Massachusetts
to Wisconsin, but always with the knowledge that I needed to get to the
hospital as soon as possible, or my mother was waiting for me. Each of
the drives between Madison, and Lancaster, WI brought back the memory of
my dream; especially on the Sunday afternoon returns when I would see cyclists
on the Military Ridge State Trail.
Last summer I finally decided that the time had come to make it happen.
I'd been bike commuting 17 to 20 miles a day, 4 to 5 days a week, year-round.
I had the base miles. I enrolled in a Park Tool School course to learn
more about bike repair than I'd taught myself. I started fitting in a monthly
30 or 40-mile ride. I bought Topo USA software to plan the best route from
the end of the Military Ridge Rail Trail in Dodgeville to Lancaster. I
changed the rear derailleur on my Symmetry to make it easier to climb hills.
I broke my elbow on a training ride and took 10 days off; 3 weeks later
I rode 70 miles. I put in for my vacation; made the reservations for a
hotel for the first night in Madison; lied to mother and told her we would
arrive 24 hours after our flight actually did. I boxed my Symmetry, headed
to the airport, plunked down the $80 oversize surcharge, and we were off.
Dan & I arrived in Madison at noon on a Friday.
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