Piccolo Player

Photo of Maura showing her in a band uniform holding a piccolo.  From the uniform, it looks like it's for the West Covina High School marching band.  No known date on the photo but I'm guessing her freshmen or sophomore year.  At one point, she must have given up on the piccolo and picked up the flute -- which she played most of her adult life.

Maura's South Pasadena/Longden Loop

I can't even begin to count how many times she had ridden this particular loop over the years.  The ride starts from our house on Harding Avenue and goes to Linda Vista by way of Woodbury to the Rose Bowl to South Pasadena doing most of the Montrose Ride until San Marino Ave where you go south to Longden and take it all the way to Arcadia.  Up to Duarte Road eastbound until you pick up the Montrose Ride route again on Las Lomas and Huntington.  I did this ride yesterday for the first time in a very long time and the 2 hours spent spinning on the route just makes me realize how much cycling really was part of our lives.  The ride is beautiful in that it takes you through the tree lined streets of several cities.  With the nice scenery, those miles just click away effortlessly.  Maura used this as a recovery ride when she was racing every weekend during the summer months -- but on winter months, this is a staple of the miles we build on for the next season.  On this ride yesterday, I definitely was inspired to sprint up every hill as we would normally do.  My riding partner's competitive spirit will always be with me.

A Mother's Painting Of A Daughter

This is a 16"x20" oil painting of Maura made by her mother, Judith sometime in the distant past.  Without really showing the face, one can tell this is Maura by the hair, body type and posture.  It looked like she must have been in high school at the time so that would have been late 70s or very early 80s.  The composition is excellent and the colors are right on -- reminiscent of Cezanne's "Tulips In A Vase" piece -- which I know for a fact that both Judith and Maura are very fond of.  When Judith moved to a nursing home, this was one of the items left behind after her daughter-in-law pillaged through her home.  I can only guess the daughter-in-law didn't really understand the value of the painting and for that I am thankful because it will be in a safe place for future generations.  If you really understood the relationship between Judith and Maura, you would have known that this painting represents every ounce of love between a mother and a daughter.

Killington Stage Race Shirt

I don't have the exact date of this photograph but I believe it was taken sometime in 1994.  Maura did the Killington Stage Race in September that year in Vermont and she got me that shirt I was wearing.  Tonight, I stood next to Sam and I think he is now exactly the same height as her mother was.  This photo would be almost 20 years ago, a good 4 years before Sam was born.  Today, I rode my bike on a perfect day in April and she would have liked the clean, clear air, slight wind from the west and mild temperatures.  Some days, I just miss her.

Before Cycling

Not sure about the dates of these badminton and tennis tournament records at the back of Maura's journal (circa 1980).  I don't play tennis but had been playing badminton since I was a teen and the few times I played against her, I can say that she is one merciless badminton player.  Needless to say, with the exception of maybe table tennis, I try not to go against her in any racquet sport.  Hard to say how good she could have gotten with tennis or badminton if she didn't get bit by the bike racing bug.

Bike Support Tags

The two upper cards are for inserting in the spokes of spare front and rear wheels.  The bottom card is to allow me, the feeder to stand in the feed zone to feed my bike racer, Maura for the Redlands Bicycle Classic in 1996.  I made the laminated wheel cards and were reused for countless road races she did.  All I had to do when I check in the wheels was mark her race number in the card with a Sharpie pen.  Fun times.

Maura and Sam at Manhattan Beach, 1999

This was 13 years ago.  Today, Sam is already 5'8", within an inch of Maura's height.