Event honors injured, killed cyclists – Valley Morning Star : Local News.
Archive for team mcallen
Event honors injured, killed cyclists – Valley Morning Star : Local News
Posted in cycling with tags bicycle, bike, bike safety, cycling, cyclist, death, eddie arguelles, Eduardo Arguelles, fatal, fatality, ghost bike, hit and run, honor, killed, matt yaeger, matthew scott yaeger, matthew yaeger, mcallen, memorial, multi-sport maniacs, news, remember, ride of silence, roy carlson, sylvia garcia, team mcallen, team mcallen cycling, terri mancabelli, texas, the monitor, triathlete, triathletes, valley morning star on May 22, 2015 by runmyssierunThe Ghost in the Spokes
Posted in cycling, Running, triathlon with tags 5am wake up ride, bicycle, bicycle safety, bike, bike safety, city of mcallen, cycling, cyclist, death, fatality, ghost bike, hit and run, mcallen, ride, ride of silence, run ride share, Team in Training, team mcallen, texas, tx on May 19, 2015 by runmyssierun
That white bike you see by the road fastened to a light pole or sign signifies that the life of a cyclist was taken during a bike ride. Many times, if you get the chance to speak to a cyclist, you’ll begin to understand that the bond between the cyclist and their steed is unlike any other relationship between a human and an inanimate object. It is almost like the two become one. Neither can do what they were designed to do without the other. The white bike is a ghost bike waiting patiently for it’s owner to return to it so that they can finish the ride they started.
Weird thing about ghost bikes is that way back before I was even running, I worked at a television station and one of my projects was an awareness campaign with a 15 year old boy, Jake Ramon, who produced an award winning documentary about bicycle safety in the Rio Grande Valley after the tragic loss of Roy Carlson on Trenton road in McAllen. Jake’s mother is a cyclist with Team McAllen. Jake’s father is the big brother of one of my best friends when we were in elementary school. God seemed to have planted the seeds earlier and I just never quite saw the signs to what I was about to embark on.
Prior to becoming a cyclist, I drove my car with my phone texting all the time. I saw the white bikes by the road but never really paid much mind to them.
When you know better, you do better.
And that’s why I’m so vocal. I want all of us to know better so we can be better. And I know I’m not alone in this.
I’ll see you at the Ride of Silence tomorrow.
The lovers, the dreamers and me
Posted in Uncategorized with tags #rideforeddie, 5am wake up ride, bicycle, bicycling, bike fatalities, bike safety, cancer, cancer support, caregiver, cure cancer, cycling fatalities, cycling safety, distracted driver, distracted driving, don't text and drive, drunk driving, eddie arguelles, Eduardo Arguelles, edward arguelles, ghost bike, hit and run, no texting, ride of silence, riding, safe bike, safe cycling, share the road, Team in Training, team mcallen on May 15, 2014 by runmyssierun
A man shared with me not too long ago that after he lost his child to cancer, he also lost his job, his house and his marriage. He used his sons college fund to pay for his daughters treatment and was head first in the quicksand of debt. He stared off into space as if he was reciting a poem that wasn’t authored by him. His voice cracked as he looked up and said “buy hey, I’ve got my health.”
I’ve had some pretty deep conversations lately with strangers. Isn’t that weird? How you can spill your guts to a total stranger easier than you can talk about those same feelings with your best friend? Hmmm you don’t? Well at this moment and with this topic… I did.
Maybe it’s because I’ve spilled my guts before to people who I thought were friends and they used that weak point against me later on. I’ve found that sometimes speaking to complete strangers is quite liberating. We can’t judge each other because we’ll never see each other again. It’s pure emotional venting of the soul.
Oh… wait… did I just call myself weak? Fantabulous!
See, I am weak. I am no stronger than anyone else out here. I cry. I sob. I turn red and blotchy and boogers run uncontrollably out of my nose and get rashes on my neck because of emotion. I shake in anger. I can’t speak in clear sentences when I’m flustered. I can’t sleep some nights. I can’t wake up some mornings. I have a tremendous amount of guilt that I must live with every single day. Why did cancer choose those that I loved instead of me? Why do I have to live without them? Why?
Ahhhhh… but remember that promise I made. I’m never going to let you see that side of me. I won’t say that it doesn’t exist because it does. But just as my mom didn’t allow others to see her in pain… I cannot allow you to see me in mine. Well, at least I keep it to an absolute minimum population.
So don’t you call me a fake because I’m smiling in all my photos. And don’t you try to compliment me by saying I’m strong or brave or courageous. I am none of these things.
I am my mother’s daughter.
That is the only label I will never wiggle out of.
____
The book is on again. But I’m going back to square one. If I’m going to do this… I’m going to do it right. Taking much longer than I expected and it’s much tougher than I predicted. But isn’t that the story of my life? Book galleys to a select trusted few should be ready in about 90 days.
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As promised, continued media links for Eddie Arguelles
http://www.krgv.com/news/bicyclist-struck-in-hit-and-run-receiving-posthumous-degree/
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1044457#.U3ULDvldV8E
https://www.facebook.com/roycantu/media_set?set=a.10203787049420738.1073741834.1354313464&type=1
http://www.krgv.com/news/bond-lowered-for-suspect-in-cyclist-s-death/
and what didn’t make the news… two of the ghost bikes that were to be dedicated at the Ride of Silence have been stolen.
RunMyssieRun 