A brain tumor the size of a golf ball went along for the ride with Tony Trimboli in Pelotonia '13. It had not yet been diagnosed, but had already begun to affect the James research scientist. Tony’s right foot dragged, chewing was difficult, he had headaches and his hands were numb.

“I wasn’t thinking cancer,” said Tony, 47. “I thought I had a pinched nerve, that this is what getting older is like.”

The determined Tony eventually got back on his bike, riding 50 miles in Pelotonia 14, a few months after brain surgery. Last year, he was finally able to attempt the 100-mile route. But first, before we get to Tony’s epic Pelotonia 15 ride, let’s go back, to Pelotonia 13 – the one he rode with a brain tumor.

Tony handled the 50-mile route quite easily. But something was wrong. A few scans and tests later, doctors at the James found a tumor pushing against his brain stem and cerebellum. It was a meningioma, rather than a glioma. Meningioma are less aggressive and almost always benign. The tumor wasn’t in Tony’s brain, but was between his brain and skull, which meant less-invasive surgery.

“I could live with it a long time, maybe 10 years, and then I could die,” Tony said. “Or get the surgery. There was a chance they could hit a nerve and I’d lose control of one side of my face or my hearing. I weighed the options and elected surgery.”

The next few weeks were anxious ones for Tony and his wife, Kim, a Presbyterian minister, and their sons: Steven, Daniel and Michael.

“I asked myself: ‘Am I ready to die. What have I accomplished?’”

Tony believed he was “on the right track.” He has a loving family, friends and coworkers he cares about, and a rewarding career. He has a lot to live for.

The 6.5-hour surgery on April 2, 2014 went well. “There was some pain from where they opened up my skull and put it back together … but my future looks good,” Tony said.

And this bring us to Pelotonia 15.

The osteoarthritis in Tony’s right knee flared up, limiting his training. A cortisone shot helped. A little. A less determined Rider would have switched to the 50-mile route. Not Tony. Not after all he’d been through.

He did fine for 60 miles.

“And them my right hamstring started cramping,” Tony said. “I’d ride, cramp, stop and stretch, ride, cramp, stretch. On the last big hill, I knew my right hamstring would cramp up if I kept riding, so I walked. And then my left hamstring started cramping.”

Despite these issues, Tony made it to Gambier. “It took me 10 hours, but I don’t quit.”

It’s hardly a surprise that Tony persevered and rode 100 miles so soon after brain surgery.

“My mom is a single mother with three kids, so life was a struggle for us,” he said. “I’ve always worked hard and have the mindset that it’s never easy and that you have to keep pushing on and get through it. You just keep moving forward, just like you do on your bike (at Pelotonia).”

BTW: He’ll ride the 100-mile route this year and “I don’t intend to let it get the better of me again.”