Martins Ride Brian's Daily Journal: Day 12
Fellow cancer survivor Alex Apking joined Martin’s ride today. Martin and Alex set out a little after six but only went a couple of miles before Jeremy had to pull over and make repairs. Martin’s dérailleur, a bicycle mechanism that moves the chain out and up to shift gears, was bent. Martin abandoned his Specialized Roubaix to ride his backup bicycle (a Trek Lemond).
I had a chance to talk to Alex about his treatment. Eight months ago Alex remembered telling his wife how fatigued he felt on his daily bike rides. Doctor told him it was a miracle he had enough energy to walk up stairs. Alex was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had a coilectomy
removing a malignant tumor followed by chemotheraphy. He is thirty-seven years old and three weeks out of a six month chemo regime. He’s pretty fit too. He planned on doing a camping trip last night before our ride. Rain convinced him to drive to Chattanooga this morning.
When I asked his what his treatment was like, he said, “ It made me feel pretty run down sick, tired and nauseous. Then I would feel better one week only for the fatigue to come right back the next week.” Once treatment stopped he felt much better only suffering periodic relapses. Martin and Alex got back on the road. They didn’t make it ten miles before Martin's Lemond got a flat.
Getting outside the RV I saw a sign that said Fort Ogelthorpe. It seemed odd a town in Tennessee bore the name of Georgia’s first governor. I asked Jeremy. He realized we were on the rong route heading into Georgia not west after mistakenly setting the gps to the Jameson Inn in Georgia instead of Tennessee. It was nice to walk around an old civil war battlefield admiring ten restored cannons facing the tree line. 150 years ago an Ohio regiment shot Alabama boys in General Breckinridge’s right flank killing eight injuring eleven according to the plaque.
The fourth thing to go wrong this day was Martin’s spot locator wasn't working or someone would have emailed us to ask why were heading to Georgia (lol). With one bicycle down for the count and in need of emergency care, we decided called it a day early driving Alex back to his car. The next day's ride to Decherd Tennessee seemed to fly by. Martin let us know after we were settled at the Inn that his mother was coming down from Kentucky today instead of tomorrow.
Martin’s mom Elizabeth Martin is awesome. She is like a southern Betty White. We all went out to Dinner at Western Steak House and she was nice enough to pick up the tab. We got to telling stories and she delighted us with a story about her grandmother’s dotage. When her grandmother, Martin's Great Grandmother, lived by herself she had feared not having enough money. One day Elizabeth’s father, Martin's grandfather, went to the bank exchanging a hundred dollar bill for a stack of ones. He gave it to his mother. She was pleased and protective of the money deciding to hide it. When she passed money was found hidden all over her house from inside refrigerator, toaster and even the fireplace. The same grandmother also enjoyed dining at local restaurants paying for her meal in playing cards. Owners would settle up with Elizabeth's father, Martin's grandfather. We headed back to our "Inn" full of steaks and stories.
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