Cycling is a journey of ups and downs just like life! Enjoying family, protecting those I care about and challenging myself is what I love to do!
My cycling journey began in my early 20's single while living in Los Angeles. I would bike the Santa Monica Mountains, down to the beach, and glide along the Strand through Venice and Marina Del Rey taking the ocean air. I even used my regularly schedule mountain biking window as my cover when buying my wife her engagement ring. Once engaged we decided to move back to the central valley to be closer to both our families...and eventually start a family of our own. As in most marriages, our life was in for many ups and downs. In 2008 our very successful construction company was crushed by the economic collapse and I had to consider other career options to support my wife and new baby.
I began working at New York Life in May of 2009 as a Life Insurance agent. I enjoyed the business and helping families so much that I worked and studied my way into financial advising as well. Mountain biking and exercising were on the back burner.
The Discovery
In 2011 after years of dealing with a torn ACL, my wife was looking for a way to get back in shape and was introduced to WOW (Women on Wheels) through some church friends. I continued to mountain bike myself off and on at Woodward Park and Millerton Lake. Road cycling seemed so time consuming and foreign to me at the time plus I couldn't get past those bike shorts! Watching my wife train and make so many new friends was very exciting. One day she told me about another bike club she heard about called Parkers Team. I figured it was the time I conquered my fear of the cycling shorts.
The Decision
In 2012, I attended the Parkers Team introductory meeting of the new season. They introduced the 4 charities fundraising would benefit, the coaches spoke about the training and the support we would get, I joined Parkers Team and began my journey!
I found my first bike on craigslist for $350! Knowing how much bikes cost these days I decided I would not invest too much money initially on equipment just in case it didn't work out. Score! I had no idea what I was buying, if it was the right size or even how to shift the gears at that point. Clipping in was not even an option yet! Once I did decide to get clips I remember falling over at a major four-way intersection in front of God and everyone, boy was that embarrassing!
Those next few months were quite challenging as I pushed my mileage higher and higher. I formed a great relationship with my mentor and all the amazing coaches through the season…bonks and all. Training was 2 days a week. After the long Saturday rides, I would have to take a long hot bath to soak my tired and sore muscles and then take a 3 to 4-hour nap just to try and recover. I have an amazing wife who was very supportive and understanding! I begin to meet some amazing people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. I was blown away by all the old-timers who dominated us on the road. Just trying to keep up with them was daunting. One time I was struggling to climb up the back side of Millerton. Barely able to catch my breath at a crawl, two fellow riders passed me casually on my left side chatting away like it was no big deal. I squeaked out with the little breath I had, "You guys are amazing!" One of the riders looked back to me and said, "We're twice your age as well!" It was quite a humbling experience.
Saturday morning rides steadily increased in miles from 25, 40, 50, 75 to 90… I was on my way and the Century was right around the corner.
My First Century
The Cambria Century arrived and was easily one of the most challenging physical experiences of my lifetime! 8,000+ feet of climbing, 30-MPH headwinds coming off the coast. (seriously) I mentally quit at least three or four times that day, but thanks for my mentor I kept at it. At mile 80 or so we were presented with a steep winding climb up Ragged Point that I had no interest in doing. I was spent after battling the headwinds on PCH. Normally I clip along at a decent speed of about 19 mph but with the headwinds, our pace line couldn't break 8 mph…. brutal! My friends somehow convinced me to take the final climb and I did it. On the way back from that climb, about 25 miles from the finish, we got a back wind that carried us all the way to the finish line at about 25 mph without even peddling. I was flying! What an experience pulling into that finish line and completing my first Century...I was hooked!
I think I signed up for Lighthouse metric century as soon as I got home. Having some miles under my belt I went into my second season much more confident but still learning tons from Parkers Team. Season 2 included my second full century America's Most Beautiful Ride, The California Classic, Tour De Fresno, and Lighthouse.
Community
I love the community aspect of this sport! From the clubs like FCC, TC3, and Parkers to the bike shops and the restaurants. Everyone encourages and supports each other, it's awesome! Since joining Parkers I have also joined FCC and TC3. More community! And thanks to social networking we can share in each other's accomplishments on the road and beyond!
It's Not "If" You Fall, It's "When" …
We are fortunate to participate in a very fun and engaging sport; however, it can also be very dangerous. I would occasionally hear about the fellow cyclist being hurt or worse killed in accidents. It all seems so distant until one day… I was run off the road and my friend behind me was hit and knocked into the medium… Helmet cracked and banged up, we loaded her into an ambulance to get checked out. These incidents always seemed so distant but now I experienced it firsthand and my friend was rushed to the hospital. Thank goodness, she was ok and was riding a couple months later.
That same year a friend of mine from college, an expert cyclist, accidently rode his bike off a cliff and was paralyzed. It hit hard seeing someone that was so strong and so fit now be unable to walk. Thankfully he has an amazing attitude and is now competing in para-triathlons. His journey is inspiring. I was so fortunate to ride the California Classic with him this year.
In 2016 sadly another tragedy hit way too close. One of my friends who I had been riding and training with since I started Parkers Team died after a bicycle accident coming back from Spring Valley. She was such a strong rider and her group of ladies was(is) so supportive and fun to ride with.
People in my community were getting hurt.
I felt helpless and scared. How can I help? Should I stop riding? Is it too dangerous? I have a wife, 2 kids and I'm the primary breadwinner of my family. If they lost me I knew they would be taken care of financially because I deal with life insurance and investments every day but what about my friends in the cycling community? What if they had an accident, couldn't work or even worse if they lost their lives taking part of their favorite past time? Are they covered? Are they and their families being taken care of?
Working in the insurance and financial services industry for over 8 years now…most of my closest cycling buddies knew the line of work I was in. A few had become clients through the years. In this business, you know you can help but never want to be pushy. I was trying to think of a way help my friends & community…
As a result, in 2016, I launched Active Life Insurance Solutions to service my cycling community. The idea came to me sitting in church one day. Why don't I create a company that services this great community of people? These people are active, healthy and take amazing care of themselves. Some of them make dramatic transformations in their first year on the road. These people should be rewarded for their Healthy Lifestyle choices. Many can get newly reduced rates on their policies that they are probably not aware of. I can negotiate better deals for them!
Taking care of this amazing community is what we do and we are excited to continue to get involved with great local events. We love helping at FCC Rides and helping at the rest stops. We hope we can be a resource for all road warriors out there and help give you some peace of mind while you enjoy your passion for the road.
Since we began we have now serviced many athletes in the Triathlon, Running and CrossFit community as well. Helping many of them get the rates they deserve for all their hard work!
Let us be a resource to you and your family!
See you on the Road
Edward Gonzalez
I offer a variety of products that can help you meet a number of insurance and financial needs, including, but not limited to college funding, retirement, managing costs for extended periods of care and lifetime income strategies. Please contact me to help you fully analyze your needs and recommend appropriate solutions.
Edward Gonzalez is an Agent licensed to sell insurance through New York Life Insurance Company and may be licensed with various other independent unaffiliated insurance companies . Additionally, I am a Registered Representative of and offer securities products & services through NYLIFE Securities LLC, (Member FINRA/SIPC), A Licensed Insurance Agency.
3563 Luminary Way
Clovis, CA 93619
888-206-1593
My California Lic# 0G53832
I am not licensed in all jurisdictions
Neither Active Life Insurance Solutions nor New York Life Insurance Company, or its agents, provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal, or accounting professionals before making any decisions. Active Life Insurance Solutions is not owned or operated by New York Life Insurance Company or its affiliates.
