Going for it

This weekend is the collegiate National Mountain Bike championships. (http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=4491) This year it is hosted by the University of Nevada Cycling team and my son Eddie (pictured above) is the president of that team. He has been working on this for months. Hosting the Nationals means finding a venue and submitting a bid to USA Cycling for consideration. There are nothing but mountains surrounding Reno, so there were several venues to consider. The races will take place at Northstar at Tahoe, best known as a ski resort. Eddie and the rest of the Nevada Cycling team has been working with both Northstar and USACycling to make this event work. It has been an education for him, that's for sure.

Northstar uses the ski lifts and trails for bikers in the summer months. The lifts close the first week of October, because the weather is so unpredictable after that. Thia is a win win for Northstar. They get to host the event without disrupting any business. But Snow or pouring rain (like it is right now) could kill the event. This storm is supposed to blow right through and the forecast is for clear skies. The event should go on as planned, which is great. This has been a ton of work for Eddie and he would be crushed if it didn’t happen.

Northstar at Tahoe is about 3.5 hours from here. Originally we planned to take Tim and Maggie up there to support Eddie and his team. I was worried about taking Maggie because of the altitude.(6500 ft) Also, I’m not sure how we would be able to watch a downhill race on the side of a mountain with a wheelchair. Undoubtedly I would spend the entire weekend in the condo. Sigh.

Tim then announced he could not go. He had to take last weekend off work because of his wisdom teeth extraction and cannot get another weekend off.

Hmmm. Tim will be here…..do we dare go without Maggie?

In the 15.5 years that Maggie has been on this earth, Steve and I have NEVER gone away together for two nights. NEVER. In fact, we have gone for one night only two or three times in all those years. There is so much to organize and arrange, it hardly seems worth it.

This time taking Maggie with us might be more work than leaving her home. I called to get some portable equipment for travel and was told the (giant) equipment I have IS portable. Unhh. We would have to bring the mister, the nebulizer, the suction, the oxygen, all the supplies for feeding and diapering, tubes to make all those machines work and all the medications. In addition I would have to be the nurse for 48 hours straight, and there is still the high altitude and logistical problems to worry about. Hmmmm.

So we’re doing it! We’re leaving Maggie here. The way this all sort of fell into place makes me pay attention. I have to give it a try. Besides, if Eddie can talke his life in his hands to speeed down a mountain, I can do this. I arranged for two additional nursing shifts that I will pay for out of pocket. Tim will be in and out and can keep Maggie from worrying.

Of course, I’m not sure who will keep me from worrying,