Ahhh... a day of complete and absolute rest...

It started by waking up by 9am, going out and sitting on the deck, enjoying the sounds of morning.

Then, all of a sudden, I'm trimming bushes in the front yard, edging and mowing the lawn, and watering the grass! It was 90 frigging degrees outside!

Oy. I need to re-evaluate my days of rest...

Times like these...

I got home from work today, thinking one thought: I'm so glad that I can ride tonight!

My training mileage was upped yesterday to 15 miles per day, 3-4 times per week. Damn, it feels good to push myself again!

And I don't just mean physically. A girl once told me that there's nothing a little VO2 max and Eastern religion can't take care of. She was talking about martial arts, but the same goes for riding. If you ride long enough, you will suffer. Sufferring brings on the fight or flight reactions in your body, which in turn heighten your sense of awareness.

Once you complete the sufferring, your body still hums on that heightened sense of awareness. And although I've been off the bike for 3 hours, that's still where I am.

Life is good.
Life is great.

Thanks, Frankie!

Wow. Today was one of those days when you don't realize all of the greatness going on around you until you look back on it.

We kicked off Gilda's Riders with a lecture by Frankie Andreu. Frankie talked about behind the scenes of the Tour de France. It was quite entertaining. We had pictures taken, and Frankie left with a copy of Cancerboy.

I gotta say, Frankie was a lot of fun, and a terrific person.

Here is a little speech I prepared for tonight:

Hi. My name is Matt Cummings. I am a volunteer and member here at Gilda's Club. I am also a cancer survivor.

Prior to my diagnosis in 2002, I had participated in MS rides and the AIDS vaccine research rides. As a result, I was in the best shape of my life when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.

Quite simply, cycling saved my life.

Once I finished my chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I was consumed with the need to give back. And that's how I ended up here at Gilda's Club.

I developed a deep love for this place - a place that helps so many people in the Metro Detroit area.

One of the greatest things about this place - aside from the staff and membership - is all of the programs it provides for free to cancer patients, survivors, their friends and families.

Last November, I was extemely fortunate to meet Frankie Andreu and share my concept of a fundraiser that combines two of my passions - cycling and Gilda's Club.

The fact that Frankie is here tonight to help us launch the fundraiser is not only a testament to the concept, but also to Frankie's character, and his desire to give back to his community as well.

This fundraiser is called "Gilda's Riders", and consists of a team of riders who will train to ride the Big Mac Scenic Fall Tour in September, while committing to raise a minimum of $250 a piece.

I would like for you to consider joining Gilda's Riders - we have information available on the table outside of this room. If you've already decided to join us, we have a sign up sheet out there as well. If nothing else, I hope you will at least consider making a donation to this wonderful place.

With that said, I am extremely honored to introduce an American cycling legend, Frankie Andreu.

We had a couple of people sign up to be on our team, and a bunch of people took information home with them.

I feel like I've been working so hard on this project, and tonight a slight weight has been taken off my shoulders. What's really important to me is that Michael Radner thought tonight was a success. And looking at it from his point of view, it really was.

Part of cancer's devastation is that you can rarely predict it. When those people left Gilda's Club tonight, nearly every one of them walked away with some sort of information pertaining to Gilda's Club.

After all, since we're all on this planet together, we may as well help each other out, eh?

Crazy is just another point of view...

Sometimes life just gets freakishly crazy. For me, that time is right now.

Despite what it may sound like, I am not complaining. I enjoy being busy, as long as I know there will be a chance to relax after the work is done.

These days, "the work" includes getting the house in shape after Sheryl moved in, and preparations for our big Frankie Andreu lecture at Gilda's Club on Wednesday, kicking off the Gilda's Riders fundraiser.

Keeping up with these things while maintaining 2 nights of darts per week and one night of tai chi is pretty difficult. That's the only reason I'm glad that both dart seasons are over for me.

Let me take a step back, though, and talk a bit about Sheryl moving in. Prior to her move, I worked at fixing up the bedroom - it was the only room in the back of my house that hasn't been touched since I moved in back in December 1996. I removed carpeting, replaced a ceiling fan, and painted, painted, painted!

Once she moved in, though, we had to find a place for Sheryl's stuff... combining 2 households into 1 has been interesting. But the nice thing is that both of us realize that our stuff is simply "stuff", and we are finding that we have an attachment to only a few things. Everything else goes in a garage sale!!

While still wading though that "stuff", we have been dedicating a lot of time to "Gilda's Riders". From developing a logo and flyers to discussing sponsorship levels, we have been neck deep in this project. Fortunately, we have had amazing support from some friends and family members, which has taken much of the stress of us, so we can deal with getting our house together.

Nonetheless, things have been extremely stressful. Although I'm nearly 40, I still consider myself pretty young, though, and can handle the stress for now. Once we get past the phrenetic preparations of Frankie's lecture, we'll have a brief moment to breathe before the second wave hits...

It's all good. I love my life and I all but one thing about it right now. That one thing is that I had a second interview with a company that seemed right up my alley last week, but they apparently went with someone else. Really took the wind right outta me.

But... everything happens for a reason, and I know that something amazing awaits me each time I get out of bed.

And I can't wait to find out what it is!!!