A Wookies return.....

It’s amazing how your outlook can change. The day after my arms got their piercing, I was pretty bummed as it was yet another event in my life that I would rather forget. As it was just a bunch of needles and temporary pain, it just depressed me. So I got on my bike to cheer myself up, but it didn’t help. On Friday, 2 days after the CT scan, I was still in a state, feeling weak and unmotivated, but I went out to ride with @Mitch, Jim, and @Purl . Prior to the ride @jdog sent me a text saying he was heading over with a demo he wanted me to try, but it would be a little later.

While the idea of an ebike intrigued me, I knew there was no possible way I would get one due to my employment status. So the four of us went out for a short ride before heading back to the lot to meet Jason. Soon after we got to the lot, Jason pulls in and pulls this beautiful, brand new bike out of his truck. My heart started to race a bit, I won’t lie, and I went to my car and got a set of pedals I brought along. Next my old and dear friend @KenS show up as a surprise! Over the years Ken and I have had many, many rides and adventures…..too many to list. Jason then set me up on the bike and told me to ride it around the lot a few times to help bed the brakes. When I stopped he asked what I thought of it and I told him how impressed I was with it, and he replied “well let’s go ride so you can enjoy YOUR new bike.” I replied that it couldn’t be mine as I was unable to afford such a bike to which he replied “it’s all taken care of…enjoy.” Well I had a moment then walked back over and hugged Jayson for at least 5 Mississippis. We then went out for a ride I will never forget. I was able to ride at a pace I hadn’t in many, many years. I was still working but I was being aided by this miracle called a Bosch motor. I was riding with Jason behind me and he was laughing every time I was hooting, laughing, and saying “holy shit!”. OK, e-bikes ARE a thing!!! I’m blessed to have the love and support of so many of you out there, I’ll never be able to truly express the gratitude I feel, it’s just amazing. Now I will not be selling my Bronson any time soon as I plan on riding that as well when I’m stronger, but this ebike is going to help me get there.

Needless to say, the slight depression I was experiencing was quickly replaced with overwhelming joy! To see the smile on Jason’s face was so badass, so I guess mine was bigger. As I type this I’m planning my day which will include another ride, it’s too nice out not to as yesterdays ride I cut short because I was underdressed. Right now my body is sore from days of lifting this beast onto and off the rack and managing its weight through the trails. I know in time I will build myself up and this new toy will get a lot of use.

Thank you Jason! Your generosity will never be forgotten, I’m truly not worthy of this…..but I’ll take it!! Now I will get my ass out to ride as tomorrow starts chemo week.

Thank you @Mitch ,@Purl, Jim Roberts, @KenS , and last but not least @jdog for a ride I will never forget.

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Frank said:
It’s amazing how your outlook can change. The day after my arms got their piercing, I was pretty bummed as it was yet another event in my life that I would rather forget. As it was just a bunch of needles and temporary pain, it just depressed me. So I got on my bike to cheer myself up, but it didn’t help. On Friday, 2 days after the CT scan, I was still in a state, feeling weak and unmotivated, but I went out to ride with @Mitch, Jim, and @Purl . Prior to the ride @jdog sent me a text saying he was heading over with a demo he wanted me to try, but it would be a little later.

While the idea of an ebike intrigued me, I knew there was no possible way I would get one due to my employment status. So the four of us went out for a short ride before heading back to the lot to meet Jason. Soon after we got to the lot, Jason pulls in and pulls this beautiful, brand new bike out of his truck. My heart started to race a bit, I won’t lie, and I went to my car and got a set of pedals I brought along. Next my old and dear friend @KenS show up as a surprise! Over the years Ken and I have had many, many rides and adventures…..too many to list. Jason then set me up on the bike and told me to ride it around the lot a few times to help bed the brakes. When I stopped he asked what I thought of it and I told him how impressed I was with it, and he replied “well let’s go ride so you can enjoy YOUR new bike.” I replied that it couldn’t be mine as I was unable to afford such a bike to which he replied “it’s all taken care of…enjoy.” Well I had a moment then walked back over and hugged Jayson for at least 5 Mississippis. We then went out for a ride I will never forget. I was able to ride at a pace I hadn’t in many, many years. I was still working but I was being aided by this miracle called a Bosch motor. I was riding with Jason behind me and he was laughing every time I was hooting, laughing, and saying “holy shit!”. OK, e-bikes ARE a thing!!! I’m blessed to have the love and support of so many of you out there, I’ll never be able to truly express the gratitude I feel, it’s just amazing. Now I will not be selling my Bronson any time soon as I plan on riding that as well when I’m stronger, but this ebike is going to help me get there.

Needless to say, the slight depression I was experiencing was quickly replaced with overwhelming joy! To see the smile on Jason’s face was so badass, so I guess mine was bigger. As I type this I’m planning my day which will include another ride, it’s too nice out not to as yesterdays ride I cut short because I was underdressed. Right now my body is sore from days of lifting this beast onto and off the rack and managing its weight through the trails. I know in time I will build myself up and this new toy will get a lot of use.

Thank you Jason! Your generosity will never be forgotten, I’m truly not worthy of this…..but I’ll take it!! Now I will get my ass out to ride as tomorrow starts chemo week.

Thank you @Mitch ,@Purl, Jim Roberts, @KenS , and last but not least @jdog for a ride I will never forget.

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Pressed LOVE button like 100
Times. Good karma all around.
 
Frank said:
I’m truly not worthy of this…
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Most utter BS, you more than deserve it! On top of that, have you ever tried and do the math on how many people you are responsible for being riding a MTB?

What brand is your bike rack? They may have an optional ramp to go with it, that would make it easier. Not sure how far you are from the park so I'm not going to suggest you to ride from home...

iman29 said:
Pressed LOVE button like 100
Times. Good karma all around.
Click to expand...
You know that for your reaction to stick it needs to be pressed an odd number of times, right? 😎
 
serviceguy said:
Most utter BS, you more than deserve it! On top of that, have you ever tried and do the math on how many people you are responsible for being riding a MTB?

What brand is your bike rack? They may have an optional ramp to go with it, that would make it easier. Not sure how far you are from the park so I'm not going to suggest you to ride from home...


You know that for your reaction to stick it needs to be pressed an odd number of times, right? 😎
Click to expand...
Bike rack is a Thule T2, but I have a friend who is lending me his moto ramp.

As far as your other comment is concerned……I love mountain biking, I got involved with a group of like minded people who are as passionate as I am. We ALL worked hard, and many still do, to improve the mtb experience for many years. Many are not blabber mouths like I am, but they still get the job done. I really had to step out of my comfort zone to get stuff done and I’m sure the rest do the same. So I will just say like I always do “I was just a singer in a rock and roll band”. One person is insignificant but many will get heard, and I had many, many people work with me.
 
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Frank said:
It’s amazing how your outlook can change. The day after my arms got their piercing, I was pretty bummed as it was yet another event in my life that I would rather forget. As it was just a bunch of needles and temporary pain, it just depressed me. So I got on my bike to cheer myself up, but it didn’t help. On Friday, 2 days after the CT scan, I was still in a state, feeling weak and unmotivated, but I went out to ride with @Mitch, Jim, and @Purl . Prior to the ride @jdog sent me a text saying he was heading over with a demo he wanted me to try, but it would be a little later.

While the idea of an ebike intrigued me, I knew there was no possible way I would get one due to my employment status. So the four of us went out for a short ride before heading back to the lot to meet Jason. Soon after we got to the lot, Jason pulls in and pulls this beautiful, brand new bike out of his truck. My heart started to race a bit, I won’t lie, and I went to my car and got a set of pedals I brought along. Next my old and dear friend @KenS show up as a surprise! Over the years Ken and I have had many, many rides and adventures…..too many to list. Jason then set me up on the bike and told me to ride it around the lot a few times to help bed the brakes. When I stopped he asked what I thought of it and I told him how impressed I was with it, and he replied “well let’s go ride so you can enjoy YOUR new bike.” I replied that it couldn’t be mine as I was unable to afford such a bike to which he replied “it’s all taken care of…enjoy.” Well I had a moment then walked back over and hugged Jayson for at least 5 Mississippis. We then went out for a ride I will never forget. I was able to ride at a pace I hadn’t in many, many years. I was still working but I was being aided by this miracle called a Bosch motor. I was riding with Jason behind me and he was laughing every time I was hooting, laughing, and saying “holy shit!”. OK, e-bikes ARE a thing!!! I’m blessed to have the love and support of so many of you out there, I’ll never be able to truly express the gratitude I feel, it’s just amazing. Now I will not be selling my Bronson any time soon as I plan on riding that as well when I’m stronger, but this ebike is going to help me get there.

Needless to say, the slight depression I was experiencing was quickly replaced with overwhelming joy! To see the smile on Jason’s face was so badass, so I guess mine was bigger. As I type this I’m planning my day which will include another ride, it’s too nice out not to as yesterdays ride I cut short because I was underdressed. Right now my body is sore from days of lifting this beast onto and off the rack and managing its weight through the trails. I know in time I will build myself up and this new toy will get a lot of use.

Thank you Jason! Your generosity will never be forgotten, I’m truly not worthy of this…..but I’ll take it!! Now I will get my ass out to ride as tomorrow starts chemo week.

Thank you @Mitch ,@Purl, Jim Roberts, @KenS , and last but not least @jdog for a ride I will never forget.

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It was my lucky day to be able to be there for this. That smile on your face was Amazing!!!!
 
@Frank not to rain on the parade but you might have missed a huge detail where there was a hired hit on you and @KenS was able to get you down quick enough to save your life. Or some kinda shit like that. It’s a bit of a fish story. Oh and @Mitch pulled a knife on you but only got your pants.

Misconstrued stories are the best.
 
Sometimes in life you have to push roadblocks aside and do the right thing. This was one of those times.

Ive been on a million rides at Allaire over the years. This one will be hard to top. So many good vibes on this one.

Take it easy out there speed racer!!
 
So I’m sitting next to a fire in the pit and I thought I would update. I’ve referred to the roller coaster my life has turned into and love the fact that I’m able to do mental downloads here!!

So I covered my depression from the CT scandal, not and autocorrect, that made my nerves even worse. Well the gods decided to give a break when they inspired @jdog to do what he did for me. Since having the new bike I have ridden more, 107 miles worth, and it has greatly improved my mental and physical condition. Still cannot thank him enough for his generosity and impeccable timing.
Well after what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the results of the scan and as the doc expected, there was growth in my lung tumors and the lesion on my liver. He immediately went into let’s change the biologic to another. It all sounds good until you get to the fine print, another set of nasty side effects and it’s closely related to the Erbitux that killed me. When he prescribed the Erbitux initially it was deemed a safe drug and that has since changed, apparently I was not alone in my reaction. So you can imagine the wave of fear that struck me and I told the doc I would have to think it over and get the wife’s approval. Now that may seem like an odd thing but my wife is much more capable of rational thought. So my mental state took another hit.
Next thing I know there is a Go-fund me set up and once again the entire mtb community came to my rescue. Words can’t even begin to express the relief of my impending financial disaster, I start a new health care plan Dec 1st. So this time a number of friends connected with @KenS and he worked on it with my wife while I was once again oblivious to until I had to sign bank papers. So my mood obviously improved. I was relieved to the point where I was not riding and crying at the same time. Again, blown away by everyone’s generosity and moral support I have received.
So Monday I talked with the doc and said I could not come to a decision about the new drug and he assured me that the same reaction would probably not occur. I replied with let’s wait until the new year….he was not pleased but we went back to the previous regimen. The next day he pops into the lab and comes at me again with a little more urgency and I said not yet again. So now I’m sitting by the fire trying to figure out what I want to do, then I need to make sure the Mrs is on board. Some of her comments really hit home and has me more fucked up but hearing “ you didn’t have to drive to the hospital not knowing if you were alive” made me realize I had it easy that day. She has suffered right along with me so I very much trust her opinion. Many have said that I should just do what the doc says, and while I appreciate the input, they just don’t realize all the issues.
So yeah, the emotional roller coaster continues. @cdrmtbiker said it well “geez you have a great week, then get kicked in the nuts “ ! I wanted to reply that the last 3 years have been like that.
I hope that my rants don’t come off too whiny, but I really do hope that one day some of the shit I dish out will be helpful in some way to others, or even just one!!
Thanks for tuning in, much love for you all.
 
Frank said:
So I’m sitting next to a fire in the pit and I thought I would update. I’ve referred to the roller coaster my life has turned into and love the fact that I’m able to do mental downloads here!!

So I covered my depression from the CT scandal, not and autocorrect, that made my nerves even worse. Well the gods decided to give a break when they inspired @jdog to do what he did for me. Since having the new bike I have ridden more, 107 miles worth, and it has greatly improved my mental and physical condition. Still cannot thank him enough for his generosity and impeccable timing.
Well after what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the results of the scan and as the doc expected, there was growth in my lung tumors and the lesion on my liver. He immediately went into let’s change the biologic to another. It all sounds good until you get to the fine print, another set of nasty side effects and it’s closely related to the Erbitux that killed me. When he prescribed the Erbitux initially it was deemed a safe drug and that has since changed, apparently I was not alone in my reaction. So you can imagine the wave of fear that struck me and I told the doc I would have to think it over and get the wife’s approval. Now that may seem like an odd thing but my wife is much more capable of rational thought. So my mental state took another hit.
Next thing I know there is a Go-fund me set up and once again the entire mtb community came to my rescue. Words can’t even begin to express the relief of my impending financial disaster, I start a new health care plan Dec 1st. So this time a number of friends connected with @KenS and he worked on it with my wife while I was once again oblivious to until I had to sign bank papers. So my mood obviously improved. I was relieved to the point where I was not riding and crying at the same time. Again, blown away by everyone’s generosity and moral support I have received.
So Monday I talked with the doc and said I could not come to a decision about the new drug and he assured me that the same reaction would probably not occur. I replied with let’s wait until the new year….he was not pleased but we went back to the previous regimen. The next day he pops into the lab and comes at me again with a little more urgency and I said not yet again. So now I’m sitting by the fire trying to figure out what I want to do, then I need to make sure the Mrs is on board. Some of her comments really hit home and has me more fucked up but hearing “ you didn’t have to drive to the hospital not knowing if you were alive” made me realize I had it easy that day. She has suffered right along with me so I very much trust her opinion. Many have said that I should just do what the doc says, and while I appreciate the input, they just don’t realize all the issues.
So yeah, the emotional roller coaster continues. @cdrmtbiker said it well “geez you have a great week, then get kicked in the nuts “ ! I wanted to reply that the last 3 years have been like that.
I hope that my rants don’t come off too whiny, but I really do hope that one day some of the shit I dish out will be helpful in some way to others, or even just one!!
Thanks for tuning in, much love for you all.
Click to expand...
Need a hug button on here... HUG
 
The ups and downs really suck. There is one line my Oncologist said to me years after my treatment that still sticks in my head. He said "We send you on the trip, we just don't give you the travel brochure until you're already there."

See you on the 26th.
 
Frank said:
There are times I feel like a fighter and other times I’m scared shitless. But I look at it this way, I’ve been around 3 years longer than I should have been, and now I’m riding an e-bike….go figure.
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If it can be of any help...I'm scared shitless every time I leave home to got to work!

At the moment I can only say that I can't wait for the 26th even though I'll be one year older by then.
 
So talk about my life being a rollercoaster…..
Me on Sunday
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…and today
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After such an amazing weekend which ended with the first Cranks for Cancer ride being, what I would call, a huge success. I basically start another chemo week. My nerves are a bit on edge as this is the last week of treatments on my current insurance that ends with November. I do have insurance, I hope, for December 1st but the unknown worries me….but a lot less thanks to the wonderful folk who helped me yet again, with the fund.
I was real happy to have made it to another holiday!! When you get the diagnosis and your prognosis is not great, you tend to appreciate the holidays, time with family, and time with friends so much more, which leads me back to Sunday. It was amazing seeing so many familiar faces. I would spend all night trying to tag all the folk from this site who attended from far and wide. A huge thanks for taking the time to do a huge fricken beginner ride, it was truly amazing. I was so inspired that I started a FB group called Cranks for Cancer…..hopefully that brings a platform for folk to share their stories and trials with cancer.
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It was a fun day at the lab today as Kris (one of my hero’s) was still talking about it. It was only her second mtb ride and she enjoyed it. I also want to send thanks for those who looked after her so well…much love. Here she is helping me salute cancer today
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So okay, I have some fun at the lab, but I can’t stand it when it’s quiet…..it all gets too real so I basically act like an idiot ( I know..normal) to liven things up. Yes, I’m somewhat disruptive but fuck it. No one seems to mind, actually it seems quite the opposite. You would be surprised how many people see me when I walk in and greet me by name and a smile. I guess in a small way listening to me jabber on is better than watching the View….i do my best to drown out Whoopie.

Today a patient overheard Kris and I talking about the ride. She chimed in when Kris had to get back to work and said she had been thinking about an e-bike…..mind you she wants a folding style bike and she’s 73. She talked about it and I apologized to the room before I said “fuck it, if it will make you happy, do it!” Shortly after our talk she was able to go home and ran over and hugged me and then introduced herself. Boy that warmed my heart. So I gave her a Cranks sticker and she got more excited and said she was going to go home and tell her husband that she was buying a bike!! My work there was done!!😊

Thank you mtbnj for this platform on which I can dump my thoughts and unweight my shoulders. Thanks again for all the Orange and Blue at the ride, and thanks to all of you for all your support!!
 
Frank said:
So talk about my life being a rollercoaster…..
Me on Sunday
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…and today
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After such an amazing weekend which ended with the first Cranks for Cancer ride being, what I would call, a huge success. I basically start another chemo week. My nerves are a bit on edge as this is the last week of treatments on my current insurance that ends with November. I do have insurance, I hope, for December 1st but the unknown worries me….but a lot less thanks to the wonderful folk who helped me yet again, with the fund.
I was real happy to have made it to another holiday!! When you get the diagnosis and your prognosis is not great, you tend to appreciate the holidays, time with family, and time with friends so much more, which leads me back to Sunday. It was amazing seeing so many familiar faces. I would spend all night trying to tag all the folk from this site who attended from far and wide. A huge thanks for taking the time to do a huge fricken beginner ride, it was truly amazing. I was so inspired that I started a FB group called Cranks for Cancer…..hopefully that brings a platform for folk to share their stories and trials with cancer.
View attachment 228148

It was a fun day at the lab today as Kris (one of my hero’s) was still talking about it. It was only her second mtb ride and she enjoyed it. I also want to send thanks for those who looked after her so well…much love. Here she is helping me salute cancer today
View attachment 228147

So okay, I have some fun at the lab, but I can’t stand it when it’s quiet…..it all gets too real so I basically act like an idiot ( I know..normal) to liven things up. Yes, I’m somewhat disruptive but fuck it. No one seems to mind, actually it seems quite the opposite. You would be surprised how many people see me when I walk in and greet me by name and a smile. I guess in a small way listening to me jabber on is better than watching the View….i do my best to drown out Whoopie.

Today a patient overheard Kris and I talking about the ride. She chimed in when Kris had to get back to work and said she had been thinking about an e-bike…..mind you she wants a folding style bike and she’s 73. She talked about it and I apologized to the room before I said “fuck it, if it will make you happy, do it!” Shortly after our talk she was able to go home and ran over and hugged me and then introduced herself. Boy that warmed my heart. So I gave her a Cranks sticker and she got more excited and said she was going to go home and tell her husband that she was buying a bike!! My work there was done!!😊

Thank you mtbnj for this platform on which I can dump my thoughts and unweight my shoulders. Thanks again for all the Orange and Blue at the ride, and thanks to all of you for all your support!!
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Sunday was an amazing display of support and love my man! I followed Kris thru Micks and she was killing it - she rides better than some peeps i know !
 
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