Remembering Lance

Most years I ride my bike across Iowa on what is called Ragbrai. Ragbrai is unique among bike rides. It is best summed up by a friend of mine who observed it is so amazing to spend a week
with 20,000 happy people. If you just want a break from everything I highly recommend this annual ride. With its frequent stops for beer slides or pie anyone can do it.

Two years ago for the first time Lance Armstrong decided to try Ragbrai instead of the Tour de France. When addressing the crowd I remember him saying, "I just can't figure out how you people can ride all day and drink all night." A woman in the crowd shouted,"we train". And so it goes. 

A lot of people kept to their regular Ragbrai rituals of farm- fresh corn minutes from the field and homemade pie in quantities you can't imagine. When I first heard about Ragbrai from my veterinarian he told me it was the only time you'll ever ride close to 500 miles and gain weight. Iowan hospitality is phenomenal. Well, just try a pork chop on a stick in the middle of an Iowa small town and you'll know.

Like a lot of riders that year I hoped to see Lance during the course of the week. As luck would have it I did. I wanted a break from my bike shoes so I'd taken them off. I was standing on a corner with five or six hundred other people milling about near by.

A guy with a cell phone and an all business demeanor approached me to ask some questions about the town. I think in my bare feet he took me for a towns person and not a rider. Finding I knew very little about the town he immediately got on his cell phone. You can guess who was on the other end on the line. His handler said, "You'll be in the town in a couple minutes. There's a bar on the corner and we'll bring you in for a beer."

I glanced over my shoulder and there was the bar. In a crowd of several hundred vaguely hoping to see him ride by I knew exactly when he would arrive and where he'd be headed. So I positioned myself accordingly and the long and the short of it was I sort of had a beer with
Lance Armstrong. Okay, I watched him drink the beer and the best part was his face was beaded with sweat. You had to think, hey, we're riding the same route and he has to work at it,too. So I got my photo and watched him ride off with other fans in hot pursuit. I slipped back to the normal Ragbrai routine of ride a little, eat a little, drink a little, dance a little...

So when I returned from this week my kids were all excited about the possibility of adding to our family. Besides the six kids we also had a golden retriever named Laker. We'd earlier also had a second golden retriever named Celtic and so they were wishing to once again be a two
dog family.

The puppy they had in mind seemed to be all paws. It was as though half his body was paws. He was mischievous and loving and hated cold weather, a bit of a hassle when you live in the midwest. He was an immediate fit for our family and because of the previous week I named him Lance.

We have a pool in the back yard and Lance and Laker owned it. When he wasn't in the pool Lance was running laps around it. If I could have taught him the bike I finally would have had another family member join me at triathlons.

He was an adjustment for our well-behaved golden retriever who never thought to jump on a bed until Lance arrived. With a wag of a tail he made it clear he would curl up at the foot of my daughter's bed. All of us loved that dog but she had a special bond with him.

So last night when we discovered that our normally secure gate was mysteriously open and both dogs were gone we began several hours of searching. We had three cars out as well as some of the kids on foot. Happily, we found our golden retriever. Without thinking through all the possible answers she might hear I suggested my daughter call our vet. It was late but I thought his answering service could tell us if anyone had picked up Lance.

The vet is the same one I had when I was a girl. Although his office is clear across town we continue to use his services. After all, between my family of origin and my family now he has taken care of fifteen dogs if you include the litter of puppies. He's the same vet that first told me about Ragbrai and it was his answering service that told us that indeed someone had called. But sadly Lance had been hit by a car and had died.

I've lost both parents, two cousins, most of my aunts and uncles, several friends, had five miscarriages, and of course lost other pets. But that sudden unexpected loss never gets easier. You hate to fall asleep because you know when you wake up you'll have to remember. When I finally did fall asleep it was curled up o the floor next to my golden retriever who seemed just as sad as the rest of us.

What can you do but remember the joy they gave you. I can't tell you how many times I'd come home exhausted from long hours and find a quiet house. But those two would always get so excited to see me. No queen was ever welcomed home so thoroughly. It was something I could count on. Something I will miss terribly.

Stress takes a toll on our nervous system and on all our organs really. Of all the ways to relieve stress a wagging tail and spunky chase is one of my favorites. Stress, left unchecked, will age you faster than anything. At one hundred years of age George Burns gave the advice to avoid aging you need to avoid stress. I don't really know how to do that. Stress follows me every day. But then again so did my dog. He was always there to change my mood and make me smile. That kind of devotion is hard to find and oh so validating. Is there a person so non-judgemental, so enthusiastic?

Studies have shown that touching a pet will lower heart rate and blood pressure and decrease anxiety. They really are our best friends. So I hope this finds you with your pet and family in good health. One of my friends is going to a wake for a sixteen year old girl killed in a car crash this week. I know there are hearts more broken than mine. We can only let each loss remind us to show a bit more love to those we can still touch, to enjoy the moment, and to remember those we've lost fondly and forever.