Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 9, 2005

Montrose, CO
Waking up at 6.30 a.m. in a large comfortable bed replete with cozy comforters and warm blankets was an extremely challenging task. I must have slept really soundly throughout the night, because I hadn’t budged or dreamt at all. In any case, I woke up feeling absolutely refreshed and was greeted warmly and cheerfully by our gracious host, Claudia King. I bumped into Travis in the hallway, who blearily agreed that he had also slept extremely well throughout the night. Homestays with host families have been one of the main highlights of this year’s trip. Not only do you not have to fight with 24 other riders for sleeping space and usage of the bathrooms, you also get to converse with the locals and get a glimpse into their ways of life. The previous night, Claudia showed us photographs of her extensive travels around the world, and both Travis and I were simply overawed by the places she had visited. At her age, she still continues to have an extremely active lifestyle through hiking, cycling and skiing, and it is so hard to believe that she has a son who is over 40 years old and who currently lives in Columbus, OH. Having been a history teacher, Claudia also regaled us with stories about the history of Colorado, and the commercial development of Paonia as a town. We also shared our thoughts about the recent terrorist bombings that had taken place in the heart of London, and we agreed that it was brutal and senseless.

After packing up, Claudia drove Travis and I back to the Paonia United Methodist Church, where we were treated to a sumptuous and nutritious breakfast of pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs, cantaloupe and orange juice after saying grace. At our daily morning meeting, we dedicated today’s ride to Sandy, who had together with her husband Jack, kindly hosted two of our riders, Jennifer Chang and Jessica Lee, the night before. Sandy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a few years ago, and immediately underwent a hysterectomy and several rounds of radiation to remove the tumors. However, some post-treatment scans had revealed a lump 1 mm above the radiation field. Further tests revealed multiple tumors in her lungs and a large tumor in her cheek bone which resulted in the loss of sensation in one half of her facial tissues. Although she has been suffering from malignant cancer for the past three years, she continues to fight this ailment with gritty determination, relying on the support of her friends, family and church community. Sandy, we are all very touched by what you have experienced and we want you to know that you will constantly be in our thoughts as we continue onward to San Francisco. Please soldier on bravely and we would like to wish you a speedy recovery.

When we finally set off on our 52 mile ride from Paonia to Montrose, we were cheered on by the revelation that Montrose was a pretty big town with three Dairy Queen branches. We had also been infected with the Tour de France fever and decided to inject a little bit of that into our ride today. Keeping in mind that the professional cyclists in the Tour could probably churn out more than twice as much power as we could, we called our ride the “Tour de Farce”. Within the first couple of miles, our own version of Team Discovery was formed, with a diverse repertoire of riders from different places—Steve, Rodrigo, Justin, Joe, Jess D and I. As she was the only girl in the team, Jess D was made “Lance Armstrong.” Seeing that the breakaway group comprising Dave, Jenn Chang and Aaron was already too far ahead, our strategy for today was to allow them to win the stage and just ensure that Jess D arrived in Montrose safely and in good time. Leading the charge was Joe, our own version of George Hincapie, who pulled the team along at an unbelievable speed of 23+ miles per hour for a total of 17 miles, helped by well-paved roads, beautiful weather and gently undulating terrain. However, just as we thought we were going to arrive in Montrose in record time, the ominous hissing sound of a punctured tube broke our smooth rhythm of riding. It came from Jess D’s back wheel, and as “Lance’s lieutenants”, we had to step in to change the flat for her. Having done that in record time, we then proceeded to ride into Montrose at breakneck speed, and we all punched the air in triumph upon crossing the city limit of Montrose. We had arrived before noon, and the church wasn’t even expecting us to arrive so early! As a treat for a hard morning of riding, we then visited the Farmers’ Market and bought fresh cherries and apricots.

Our host in Montrose was the United Methodist Church, and its community was extremely kind to us, making us feel at home right away. Tim, the church secretary, gave us a grand tour of the church facilities and organized a delicious Sloppy Joe’s dinner for us. After dinner, he helped us to rent out the movie “Ocean’s Twelve” from the local video store and even allowed us to watch it on the projector screen. It was a first class treatment that I’m sure not even the professional Tour de France riders get to enjoy, and we were extremely grateful for that. After the movie, all of us retired to the basement of the church for a good night’s sleep, happy in the knowledge that the next day was a day off.

--Weijie Zhang