Gymnastics Coach Completes Ride for Camp Smile-A-Mile
6/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
 |
|
There was no way of knowing for sure what the heat would be like when they pulled out of the parking lot of the Tuscaloosa I-Hop on their bicycles at 6:30 a.m. to start their 140-mile trek, but 10 and a half hours later, “very intense” were the words they used to describe it.
But David Patterson and Stephanie Wilkins weren’t out for a joy ride that could be put off by the elements. The duo, friends for more than five years, rode through the brutal heat of Alabama summer and over some of the state’s hilliest terrain to raise awareness and funds for Camp Smile-A-Mile, a non-profit organization for children who have or have had cancer in Alabama. The program provides year round programs for them at no cost to their families.
They were riding for a cause near to their hearts, which kept them going through the day. Each time the heat started to beat down their spirit, they would glance down to the pictures of campers they had on their handle bars or at each other and kept pedaling. As Wilkins said, “we get to pick our challenges; those that we are riding for do not.”
This is the second year that Wilkins, a volunteer counselor at the camp for the past three years, has made the ride. Patterson, assistant head coach for the 2002 NCAA Champion Alabama Gymnastics team and a cancer survivor himself, was making his first trip after spending the winter and spring training on his own and with Wilkins.
“It was definitely a warm day,” Patterson said wryly. “We trained a lot in the heat the last couple of weeks so we would be prepared for it.
“And we were prepared for the heat, kind of,” Patterson said with a laugh. “The first several hours were relatively easy. Then we went through about 60 miles of hills. Highway 22 is very hilly, but I just did what we’ve been telling our athletes to do for years and just took the challenges one at a time.”
The pain and sweat of the ‘challenges’ faded into the background when Patterson and Wilkins made their way into the camp grounds, which are on the shores of Lake Martin.
“It was an amazing sight,” Patterson said “We came over the last hill and saw the lake and then we crossed over the bridge and we could see all the campers waiting for us. It was a very emotional moment. I’ve already met one 10 year old camper who had his kidney out like I did. There’s no doubt that every bit of this has been worth it.”
Wilkins had nothing but praise for her partner at ride’s end. And as for the challenges, they were different than the ones she faced a year ago.
“David did great, he did absolutely wonderful,” Wilkins exclaimed. “As for the ride, it was different from last year, when it was overcast and raining, which kept the heat at bay, though it did pose different challenges. This year the heat was pretty intense. But when it got tough, I would looking down onto my handle bars and seeing the pictures of the children I was riding for and then looking to the side and see David there and it was a true inspiration.”
Even before they stepped onto their bikes this morning, the duo had raised over $16,000 for the camp. Those wishing to make donations still can by going to any South Trust Bank branch throughout the state and making a deposit in the Camp Smile-A-Mile Bike Fund savings account.
Wilkins will be staying the week at Camp SAM as a counselor while Patterson will travel back to Tuscaloosa, after dinner with the campers, with his wife Sarah and daughter Jessie who were there to greet him as he crossed the bridge into camp. This time though his bike will be on carrier on the back of the Patterson’s SUV and David will be riding in front, with the air conditioning going full blast.
