So There I Was…
By Angelina Stevens
So, there I was, walking my mountain bike down the long stretch of railroad tracks hovering 30 feet above a chilly Missouri river. In order to reach a new section of trails, I and the rest of my adventure racing team had to either cross the railroad bridge or ford the river. Not knowing how deep the river was, we chose the railroad bridge. As we carefully stepped from plank to plank in our mountain bike shoes, I silently wondered if trains ever still used these remote tracks. Almost instantly following that thought, I looked ahead of my brother, Josh, and saw the lights headed straight for us. The whistle blew, and we instinctively threw our bikes over the side rail and jumped over to hang on for dear life. The train brushed by our shoulders and Josh and I stared at each other wide-eyed and terrified for what felt like an eternity until the train passed. I must say the ride afterward was well worth it even though we got shot at by hunters who thought we were trespassing and forded the 6-foot river with our bikes to get back home. Now that was adventure racing!
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Dr. Angelina V. Stevens, D.C., owns holistic chiropractic and acupuncture centers in Durham and Chapel Hill. She is passionate about healing the body naturally without the use of drugs or surgery and by finding the true causes of pain and illness. As a triathlete, Dr. Angelina has completed in world-class events and has represented the U.S. as a triathlete on Team USA 2001. She currently competes as an elite cyclo-cross racer and can be reached at www.stevenswellness.com or by e-mail at drangelina@stevenswellness.com.
