Day 3 Van: #5
Day 3 Cast of Characters: (from L to R) Theresa, Bob, your humble blogger (Salt), Dan, Nicole, Eric and Teresa (Peppa).
Day three found us riding in Francis Marion National Forest. As we were riding through the trees and nature, we came upon a road block. The forest ranger said we could go no further because they were doing a controlled burn. So we had to turn around and go back the way we came. We found a detour and were riding once again when we came upon another controlled burn that was not road blocked. We saw the flames and rode through dense smoke as we passed. Never had done anything like that before! Because of this, our mileage jumped from a planned 50 to 74 actually traveled. Warm southern weather helped us power through our ride. Great day everyone!
Today I dedicated my ride to this man:
This is Steve Bindi. He was one of my cycling coaches with Team In Training. He was a nice man and generous to a fault. When we would go to the Apple Cider Century in Michigan, Steve would often give up his ride to provide SAG support to us riders. He'd park at a designated spot on the course and have water, snacks and provide basic mechanical service if necessary.
Two years ago, Steve was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He endured what seemed like an endless regimen of chemo treatment after chemo treatment. Steve handled it with a grace and dignity which was amazing. I sat with him on a few of the chemo sessions and I was inspired by his upbeat attitude and confidence he was going to beat this. Unfortunately, Steve lost his battle to cancer a couple of weeks ago. At today's dedication circle, I told everyone about Steve and the way he handled his diagnosis reminded me of Stuart Scott, the late ESPN anchor. While he was going through his battle, he made a speech at that year's ESPY award ceremony in which he said the following:
“You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”
By that token, Steve beat the crap out of cancer! Rest in peace my friend.
Tomorrow, we travel to Jacksonville, FL. We'll also visit a couple of cancer care centers to deliver chemo care bags to the patients there.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Gary (G-Love)
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