Steven Y Dayley Memorial Ride

I've mentioned before that Antonio has taken up a new hobby of road biking. He really enjoys it and there are many friends he has around here to ride with. One man who had a big influence in getting Antonio on a bike is Steven Dayley. They spent time riding the hills around where we live and Antonio benefitted from this mans charisma and example. On May 19 on this year, Steven was struck and killed by a car while riding his bike in a large community event called "Reach the Beach." Antonio had originally planned to participate in this ride with Steven and other friends, but chose not to because it was also Rocket's birthday.

The loss of Steven has been deep and painful. He left behind a wife, 5 children, and many grandchildren. He was well loved and well respected as a local leader of our church. He was happy, strong, kind, and a blessing to those who knew him. Last year, Steven had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Through the summer he endured grueling rounds of chemo and radiation therapy. In September of 2011, Steven and 30 of his friends (including Antonio) celebrated the end of his cancer treatment by going on a 54 mile bike ride around a mountain in our area.

This year, on September 9, Antonio and I participated in the same ride with 50 others as a memorial tribute to Steven. Antonio had gotten me a road bike earlier this summer and I had slowly been working on getting in shape and increasing my mileage. Before this mountain ride, the longest I had ridden was only 17 miles. I was determined to finish this ride (a ride that included 18 miles of constant uphill climb, sometimes very steep) in honor of Steven and his friendship and influence in the life of Antonio and me.

I did. While I was near the end of the pack (I wasn't last!), and while every part of my body hurt, I could say that I rode every mile of that route. I felt amazing at the end! Antonio and a few of Steven's sons where the coordinators of the event, and they plan to do this every year to honor the memory of a man who had a great impact on the lives of many.

Steven Dayley and his sweetheart. Just a few weeks before the accident.

Ready to ride!

Uncle Gee came and rode with us.

It was gorgeous!

I wanted to fall over right on the pavement, I was so tired.

 

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