End-of-Chemo Ride - Part II - Pics

JADot

Hi Guys:

Yesterday was a great day!!!

First Floyd Ladis won the Tour de France, making this the 8th straight year when our grand old flag flied above Paris to the strains of Star-spangled Banner. Floyd's victory was also the 11th time in the last 21 years when an American showed the world what we are made of.

The most amazing thing is that Floyd had won it with a dead hip. He rode 2000+ miles in 20+ days on a dead hip, which is scheduled to be replaced as soon as the Tour is over. This just reminds me of the same spirit of so many of us survivors who plow forward in the face of adversity. although Floyd doesn't know it, I think he rode for all of us, as did Lance.

After watching the coverage, several of my best cycling friends and I went on a bike ride to celeberate my end-of-chemo milestone. It wasn't a long ride, but a really hot one. The temperature in the shade was 100F, in the sun, on the road, with the reflected heat, it was well beyond 120F. But my friends were there for me. I am so grateful to have friends like them. I had to take several breaks in the shade to cool off, but I made it! Whew, that was truely a hotter-than-hell event!

Lessons learned - live everyday to the fullest (if not the hottest , never ever give up, hang on to your real friends and LiveStrong.

As promised, I posted some pictures on my web page, in the expression gallery area. You can get there from my web page on this board.

Cheers,
Ying

jsabol

Way to go, Ying! And I head for the A/C as soon as the temp hits 85! (I guess there's a reason I live in New England!)
Sounds like quite a day; can't wait to meet you to continue the celebration in person. See you next week! Judy

KathiM

WOW, Ying....you are so inspirational! I just sat in the cool on Sunday...Redlands broke a record...118 degrees!!!!!!
You are right, Floyd has managed to fill some pretty big shoes left from Lance! What an inspiration, as you pointed out!
Hugs, (STILL dancing...naked is cooler!)
Kathi

kangatoo

KathiM said:

WOW, Ying....you are so inspirational! I just sat in the cool on Sunday...Redlands broke a record...118 degrees!!!!!!
You are right, Floyd has managed to fill some pretty big shoes left from Lance! What an inspiration, as you pointed out!
Hugs, (STILL dancing...naked is cooler!)
Kathi

Good on yah Ying. I watched every stage...had to uphold the ozzie spirit of things but was very impressed with Floyd's ride. I am sure that he will bounce back again after the hip replacement....I think this guy will definately follow in Lance's footsteps....he has courage...just like you gal.
Btw.....cool set of wheels you got there too!
huggs...Ross n Jen

Kanort

Hi Ying,

I loved your pictures. Congratulations on finishing chemo and your new bike. You are an inspiration to us all.

Hugs,

Kay

Oh, and I really loved your wedding photo, too. Just beautiful!!!

JADot

jsabol said:

Way to go, Ying! And I head for the A/C as soon as the temp hits 85! (I guess there's a reason I live in New England!)
Sounds like quite a day; can't wait to meet you to continue the celebration in person. See you next week! Judy

Hi Judy:

I am looking forward to meeting you too! Is it cooler in New England right now? We are having another 100F+ day today again. My poor cats are now sleeping on the marble in the entrance of the house. It's the only cool surface anywhere in the house now.

Cheers,
Ying

JADot

KathiM said:

WOW, Ying....you are so inspirational! I just sat in the cool on Sunday...Redlands broke a record...118 degrees!!!!!!
You are right, Floyd has managed to fill some pretty big shoes left from Lance! What an inspiration, as you pointed out!
Hugs, (STILL dancing...naked is cooler!)
Kathi

Naked is cooler - what fabulous discovery! I think I'll go skinny dipping in my pool to stay cool, wearing only a smile and my battle scar

Stay cool Kathi!

Cheers,
Ying

JADot

kangatoo said:

Good on yah Ying. I watched every stage...had to uphold the ozzie spirit of things but was very impressed with Floyd's ride. I am sure that he will bounce back again after the hip replacement....I think this guy will definately follow in Lance's footsteps....he has courage...just like you gal.
Btw.....cool set of wheels you got there too!
huggs...Ross n Jen

Thanks Ross and Jen!

My husband and I were rooting for the Americans, Aussies and Slovenes. With that lineup, how can we lose. Robbie McE was awesome. He's like a ghost appearing out of nowhere at the end of every sprint. How does he do it? Cadel did OK too and Rogers. Our Slovene favorite Tadej Valjavec finished 17th, the highest that a Slovene has place in the Tour in a long time. So all in all it was a great tour.

It is hotter than hell in CA right now, feels like Brisbane in the summer! I am melting.

Cheers,
Ying

JADot

Kanort said:

Hi Ying,

I loved your pictures. Congratulations on finishing chemo and your new bike. You are an inspiration to us all.

Hugs,

Kay

Oh, and I really loved your wedding photo, too. Just beautiful!!!

Thanks Kay. Glad you like the pics.

We had the ultimate fabulous wedding! It was in Carmel, at a hotel right on the cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean. We only had ~30 guests, our closest friends and family. My bride's maid was someone I'd known all my life, since way back when we grew up together in China. Her parents had known my parents for 60 years. My husband's best man was someone he grew up with in Europe. We were so glad to have our closest family and friends there. We had a chance to spend some quality time with everyone. It was great.

And I got the bestest husband out of the deal

DK2006

Great pictures! Enjoy your new bike and health!
Best wishes,
Donna

Patrusha

Congrats, Ying! I'm glad you enjoyed your new ride. The pix were really great, too. It's awesome that you've reached this milestone and finished chemo. God bless!