Dear Mr. & Mrs. Morgenstern,

Where did I first meet Nancy? At the Women’s NYC crit, at Grants Tomb, in September of 1999. After the race people were standing around enjoying the September sun, just feeling good about racing. Nancy was exhilarated, she had a good race and she was glowing. I can’t remember who introduced us, if anyone, but we ended up talking. I told her I was relatively new to the New York City racing scene. She said I could ride to races with her whenever I needed to the next season, that she had gone alone out-of-town to race a lot that year and was happy for company. We were the same category. I was struck by Nancy’s energy, her vivacity. She was a fireball.

That fall I joined the Renaissance women’s team, which was the team Nancy had ridden on that year, as the only woman. Kyoo Min put together a women’s team that fall. Nancy decided to stay instead of leaving to join Randy Sharp’s Psoas-Axis team. She was excited about the new team. Nancy and I were the “co-captains” of the team and we spent a lot of time on the phone and on our bikes, together, that fall and winter. We spoke almost every day, and it was really wonderful for me to get to know her. She made friends with my friend Kelly as well, and they talked on the phone often if she called before I got home. Kelly grew to love Nancy too; she was good for us, bringing us into the spirit of New York, and helping us to make a new home here. She really filled a gap in my life—she and all the Renaissance women. As someone new to the city, Nancy and Andrea were my first real friends here. She picked up my new bike for me from the shop and shared in my excitement of getting my first new bike. She was so energetic. Through her, and Andrea Grossman, I learned a little about Judaism also. Our friends always open new worlds for us.

What I remember most from that winter were the long, long, cold training rides that Nancy, Aubin Sullivan, Catherine Powers, and I went on with our coach Lance Leener. The other women on the team couldn’t stay out as long as we did on Sundays so it was usually just the four of us and Lance. Lance taught us all how to ride, and to ride fast. He spent a lot of time with all of us, and he was a good friend to Nancy. They were hard rides, and I watched Nancy push through her dislike of hill climbing and always give it her best effort. A good enough effort so that she turned into one of the best climbers in our category by the end of another year. We learned how to depend on one another, but also to not be afraid of competing with one another. That’s a hard thing for women to learn, I think, and there were many difficult times. We learned why we all love to race so much, because it brings out the best in each of us, in all sorts of ways. Nancy loved to race.