Both my crew and I were very prepared and excited for the big ride tomorrow. I got over a stomach bug and Trep was still in despite a nasty crash and falling on his knee. So while earlier in the week, the status of the ride was uncertain, we had reached the two day countdown and were all set.
And just after I had started putting all my gear together, we heard the weather report. Heavy rain, flooding, lightning — from the Golan all the way to Jerusalem. I even called the weatherman to make sure he really meant it. But when he confirmed that this would be a bad storm, I had no choice but to POSTPONE the ride by one week.
We are trying to help a hospital, not end up in it.
I was disappointed. The guys in the crew were disappointed. Stella was disappointed. Without thinking, she even said “why would Hashem (G-d) do this? Your trying to do a big mitzvah!”
I gave her a look and said “Eh, you remember that you ARE the one with, eh, CANCER, right? If we get to ask a question of the Creator of the Universe, I don’t think we should waste it asking why he made it rain when I wanted to ride a bike.”
So here we are, planning to do the ride next week. Everything else will be the same. But if there is a silver lining, it is that we can use this week to sell the rest of the wrist bands and raise more money.
So even though nothing is finalized, I can give you all a little idea what you are helping to do. As I have written before, chemo sucks. And sitting in a drab hospital room all day while the nasty stuff drips in does not help. So we are working with the hospital on how to give this room an extreme “make-over.” We want it to feel less like a “treatment” room and more like a “healing environment.” We are going over ideas that will make the area more comforting and relaxing. No, you can’t truly relax while fighting cancer, but we can make things better for those in the struggle.
You know, over the past year and a half, we have been through quite a few huge ups and downs. Compared to them, postponing a bike ride by a week is really just a tiny blip in the screen.
P.S. Hey Potomac, We know about the solidarity bike ride. You rock!