About Me

Welcome to my first-ever blog.  My name is Connie and I am a mother of two children, ages 9 and 7.  While motherhood is a full-time 24-hr job, I also am employed as an Application Engineer for Peerless Mfg. Co. – a company who designs, manufactures and supplies a wide range of separation filtration equipment and environmental systems for the reduction of air pollution.  I am also an indoor spin instructor employed by 24Hr Fitness and teach a minimum of two classes a week.  In my spare time from parenting, working full-time, and teaching cycling, I ride with my team, Team Dangerous Curves and our sponsors, The Bicycle Path.

I am not a typical cyclist – I do not look nor eat like a cyclist.  I started cycling late 2006/ early in 2007 in order to lose weight.  My children were only 4 and 6 at the time (2007) I registered for my first Bike MS event.  I was crazy to do so (as many friends stated) because prior to that I had ridden only two rallies with my longest ride being 40 miles.  But, after a friend of mine disclosed to me that his wife had MS, I had to do it – for her, for so many others who suffered from this disease.

I joined 24Hr Fitness because they had free child care.  And so, I started taking indoor spin classes -  four a week.  The kids loved the play area so it made for an easy transition for the family to go to the gym.  I lost 30 lbs right before the ride.  I never imagined the flow of emotions that filled my body that weekend.  The rush of the starting line, the miles of open road that made for great reflection on this worthwhile ride, the feeling of accomplishment crossing the finish lines, and most importantly, the people with MS at the finish line holding up signs that read “Thank you so much for riding“.  I vowed that weekend, after 16 total hours on the bike, that I would continue to ride as long as I could.

And so here I am today, 65 lbs lighter, three years and four MS events later, a team captain to Team Dangerous Curves (a team of men and women) all with the same commitment and overflowing hearts to rid this world of MS.  I was able to secure sponsorship with my local bike shop, The Bicycle Path, in Denton, to help with team training and SAG support and I was able to bring in a co-captain, Kat, to help me do it all. 

As a mother, it makes it a little more difficult to train outdoors and spend endless hours on a bike.  However, I have the most supportive husband and kids any mother could ask for.  You see, initially, it was difficult for me to be away from the family on these long rides.  So I found a way to incorporate them.  They are the team SAG support.  On long team training rides, my husband, Joe, drives our vehicle full of refreshments, bananas, cookies, supplements, spare tubes and tires…pretty much everything a rest stop on a rally would carry.  My kids are part of this too.  They help distribute the Gatorade, collect bar wrappers and empty water or Gatorade bottles.  They pass out banana and orange slices.  They are proud (as am I) to be the youngest members on our team. : )

And so, as open registration for the 2010 ride nears, I am proud to be a part of this ride and hope that anyone of you out there reading this right now can gain that courage and sign up for the ride of a lifetime!

God Bless!