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Meet Your Neighbor: Meet The Neighbor – Rosemarie Celera Yu
By Callie Thomas
Do you remember the first time you rode a bicycle? Is it the training wheels that made it difficult to make the sharp turn or the sparkly streamers hanging from the handlebars that are still part of your fondest memories? Maybe it was your mom, dad, big brother or sister that was there to run alongside you with hands ready to catch the inevitable fall. Riding a bicycle has opened up a whole new world and a lot of memories for resident Rosemarie Celera Yu.
Celera Yu vividly remembers her dad running along behind her, holding onto the seat as she learned to ride her little Strawberry Shortcake bike, and she also recalls the fear of falling if he let go. She eventually did learn to ride without falling, but at some point, her father had to let go. Today, cycling has become a personal and significant experience for Rosemarie. When her father passed away of non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she decided to ride again thirty years later – not only in his honor, but to raise money toward a cure for the very type of cancer that took his life just a year and a half ago. Little did Rosemarie know that her life would be forever changed by participating in the 102-mile RTC 2012 Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo century ride through Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and Henderson.
She began to work with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training coaches and hasn’t looked back. Her first ride raised $3,000 and Rosemarie was hooked. Today, there are 560 cyclists on her team who hail from thirty-three states. Rosemarie talks with us about her dedication to cycling for a cure and how her dad is still coaching her all the way to the finish line.
How hard was it to “get back on the bike” after so many years?
“My family had made a promise to my dad that we would continue this fight against cancer. My siblings first joined Team In Training with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I was so inspired, I was ready to join, but I was pregnant at the time. My son was actually born on my dad’s birthday and my hands were quite full with a newborn. I signed up last May. I hadn’t been on a bike since I was ten and never a road bike. On Mother’s Day, my husband Rui bought a road bike for me and less than four months later I completed my first Century.”
102 miles is a very long way for your first ride!
“I hadn’t done anything athletic in a long time. In fact, I‘ve had surgery in both knees and am still carrying a lot of post pregnancy weight, but when I am on my bike, every pedal I do is for my dad. I do it for those that have suffered and died from this awful cancer. I do it for those that have survived and for those still fighting.”
How does Team In Training help you get ready for these events?
“There are clinics on nutrition, injury prevention, gear and other essentials to help prepare for an endurance ride. In return, we raise money to find new and better therapies for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma as well as support services to improve patients’ lives.”
You are very dedicated to giving back.
“I really do want to make the world a better place. I am so grateful for my blessings and I want to set an example for our kids Lily Josephine and Dylan Gene.”
It would seem your dad has set a good example for you.
“During the Century ride, there were a few hills where my legs were just spent, but I never stopped pedaling. My dad was in my mind pushing me up those hills like when I was first learning to ride. He always made me feel that I could do anything.”
