Two years ago- in July of 2009- I rode my first CT Challenge bike ride.

I woke up on the morning of the ride and asked my husband if he had a bike helmet because even though I was still very weak from my treatment, I wanted to ride 25 miles with the CT Challenge. What could he say, but lets go?! When we got there, the first thing that happened was a survivor lap. A survivor lap?! Balloons, butterflies, applause… it was like a dream. I felt like it was all for me. My eyes welled up but I couldn’t stop smiling. And when I looked around me, there were many people riding along side of me, and they were smiling too! It was right then that I realized that I had survived!

Right then my battle shifted from death to life, from drowning to swimming, and instead of fighting off cancer, I was riding for my health. A small shift, but a giant one. I was amazed- all I did was get on my bike that morning. On that day I began to take charge of my health and when we were done riding we said “Next year its 50 miles.” So this summer we rode 50 alongside hundreds of other survivors and friends and families of survivors. It was an awesome day.