I am so proud of my sister Anna. She and some of her girl friends are going to ride the LOTOJA. She wrote a beautiful essay about why they are doing it together and won the Doug Jones Memorial Award. Her essay is touching. Enjoy!
The ride does not define us, we define the ride.
The story of our relay team begins about a decade ago in the small town of Rochester, Minnesota. All of us were transplants brought to a new city for various professional and career reasons. We were fortunate to find each other and given our similar situations, marital status, and family status – all of us young moms—we became fast friends.
A weekend “girls” trip to Chicago one September began a tradition of September “girls’ trips”. Notably, never planned on the weekend after Labor Day because Ariane’s husband always rode LOTOJA.
Fast forward a few years, and we were now scattered across the country living in Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and one lone holdout in Rochester, MN. Our September girls’ trips became a way to renew old friendships, escape from the sometimes drudgery of motherhood, and support each other through the relatively normal-type challenges of life.
Fifteen months ago, we were devastated to learn that Lindsey received a diagnosis of Stage 4 Colon Cancer. This was an extreme shocker given that Lindsey is a dietitian by profession and thus a healthy eater, and she also is an avid exerciser. The fact that Lindsey was only 33 year old and the mother to four children under the age of eight made the reality of the diagnosis even more severe.
Last September we returned to the city of origin of our “girls trips”—Chicago—to accommodate Lindsey who had been receiving chemotherapy treatments every other week since diagnosis. Chicago was just a short flight from her home in Wichita, Kansas, which would make the trip doable for her since the dates had been selected the year before and happened to fall at the end of one of her chemo weeks. We reveled in the opportunity to rally around Lindsey in Chicago. But, the amazing thing is Lindsey is the type of person that lifts you, even while you are trying to lift her. In the face of an insurmountable challenge, Lindsey has looked Cancer head-on and said “Game On”. Although she now has received Chemotherapy treatments every other week since diagnosis 15 months ago, she has been able to maintain an active lifestyle including playing tennis, running a half-marathon, and training for LOTOJA.
As we began to make plans for this year’s girls trip, Ariane brought to our attention her looming fortieth birthday. Since being both a veteran LOTOJA support crew and rider, she revealed that she would love nothing more for her 40th birthday than to ride LOTOJA with her ‘girls’. Being from various athletic backgrounds and at least one of us being more of a leisure rider/road bike novice (translation: I owned a rode bike, but it sat in my garage) the thought of a tough goal coupled with the opportunity to do it with best friends seemed like a winner.
While it is just the 5 of us riding, 8 more will be at the finish line to greet us. So, as we ride with Ariane into old age and with Lindsey into unknown terrain, we know there will be many more challenges and mountains to climb, but with the strength of our peloton we can prevail. As we ride through life, the ride will not define us, we define the ride.
Thank you for considering us for the Doug Jones Memorial Award. When I registered for the race and read the story of Doug Jones I was deeply touched. I feel our team embodies the spirit of friendships that inspire you to become better, which is the basis of the award. We will be deeply honored if we are selected.
Sincerely, Anna Bartoo
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