Not a day goes by I don't think of him. He was someone who raised four kids as a single father, completely selfless, always putting our happiness before his own.
He often spoke of his inevitable grandchildren, and his big plan was to buy an RV and spend the years driving and staying with each one of us, spoiling his grandchildren and hanging with his adult children. A family man, through and through, all he wanted was within his grasp. I vividly remember the day I got the call that he had brain tumors, because as I arrived home to cook dinner, I had to stop. I laid in bed and thought of the inevitable, hoping for an unlikely outcome. I became so caught up in those moments that I awoke the next morning in a studio apartment filled with natural gas, having never turned off the stove.
That choking feeling I felt that morning, continued with me through the following months as I watched his health decline, keeping me from feeling any sense of normality in a period in my life that redefined time, slowing and stopping in moments, while racing through others.
After he passed away the opportunity came up to help people who may be going through the same struggles that he went through, by riding a bike for way too long and asking for donations along the way.
So this year, as in the past two years, I will be riding in The Tour of the Litchfield Hills, in order to raise money for people who are in need while they I ask that you please consider donating because every moment I spend on my bike will be for my dad, who is prouder everyday by who I am becoming and especially by the people I have the opportunity to surround myself with.
The 13th annual Tour of the Litchfield Hills will be held on Sunday, August 7th. The Tour benefits The Cancer Care Fund of the Litchfield Hills, Inc. There are rides of 12 miles, 30 miles, 55 miles, 75 miles and 100 miles. All of the rides are on the scenic, though hilly, roads of Litchfield County. There are also walking and running routes of 1.2 miles, 4 miles and 8 miles. All routes start and end at Coe Park, Rt. 202, Torrington, Ct.
Numerous rest stops provide water and fruit. Sag wagons patrol all the routes. The registration fee is $40 if you register before July 20th; $45 if you register after July 20th. The registration fee includes a t-shirt and a free picnic at the end. All participants are urged to raise funds to benefits The Cancer Care Fund of the Litchfield Hills Inc.