This is my 4th Pelotonia. 2012. 2013, 2024. And almost 2014, but the evening before the ride, my son Louie was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at age 9. He had radiation, chemo, a stem cell transplant, radioactive injections, hyberbaric treatments, infusions, countless meds, MRI's, audiology tests and so many other arduous scans and tests.

Louie died in 2016 at age 11. This August, he will be gone 9 years. It's hard to breathe every time I think of him. He was absolutely exuberant.

It will be 23 years this October since my mom died from. Some moments it feels like a lifetime ago that I heard her voice, and some days like yesterday.

So this ride, again, is for my mom and my Louie.