One goal down...

[Pmarsh]

... Now to get this damn disease into remission.

Last fall when I was in ICU and was diagnosed with WG I made a goal to ride in a Gran Fondo bike ride event (large group ride). The ride I chose went from Vancouver to Whistler (Canada) and covered 125km of very hilly terrain. I knew going from being unable to get out of bed to riding this distance in less than a year was going to be a challenge, but I made it my "recovery" goal anyway.

Well, I'm happy to say that a couple weeks ago I managed to accomplish this goal. It was not under the circumstances I hoped, but nonetheless... Many of you would probably call me crazy or even stupid. In late August I was getting ready to switch to Cellcept after 10 months of Cyclo. I did bloodwork and a CT scan of my lungs to make sure everything looked fine, but unfortunately the nodules or lesions in my lungs were only getting worse (since flaring up in April/May). So, instead I was told I would switch to Rituxan to get this under control. And of course the Rituxan dose would be the day before the ride. I decided I would aim to start the ride (if I felt up to it) and only do as much as I felt I could without pushing too hard. I forgot that I am not one to give up on something once I start. I stubbornly pushed to the finish, but still rode slowly and steadily. It was tough, but I'm glad I did it. I showed myself I could still get out there and do what I love even when this disease is not fully in check.

So to celebrate I hopped on a plane less than 24 hours later and went to the UK for a 2 week holiday. That was the real challenge. I made it home just in time for dose two of Rituxan. I would say it's time for some rest now...

[vdub]

That's decent indeed! I don't think I could do that.... The old muscles and joints just say "no".

However, I did spend last week walking around your wonderful and beautiful capitol city last week. We had a great time in Victoria. We took the ferry from Port Angeles.

[BrianR]

Atta boy Peter! it's 7:30 AM in Jasper and it's going to be 28 C here today under sunny skies so I'm going to get on my road bike and tell my riding partner about your accomplishment. He'll be impressed! Marta and I went for her first road ride of the season yesterday and we had a great time.

Good luck with the RTX. I am sure it will do for you what the CTX did not.

Ride on!

[Geoff]

Youre a star Pete!! Such guts and determination, Wishing you every success for the future.

Hope you enjoyed your time in the UK. Was it your first trip and how come you didnt look us up!!

[Sangye]

Glad you accomplished your goal, Pete.

[Pmarsh]

I apologize. I thought about dropping the UK folk a line before heading over, but it turned out to be a bit of a whirlwind tour. My Brother lives in London so I had visited the city a couple times before. On this trip we headed to Bath and rented a car and toured around Devon and Cornwall. It was beautiful. There are so many nice areas around there.