In 2004, Barbara Trenchi’s decades-long cycling nearly came to a halt.
Up to that point, cycling had transformed Trenchi’s life when she moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1981 where she became a cycling club president.
Trenchi proactively went for a cardiac stress test and a nuclear stress test, both of which were abnormal but inconclusive, after her father and younger brother experienced serious cardiac surgery.
It was during a third test, an angiogram, that her blood pressure fell like a rock.
“Tears flooded my eyes as cold reality struck,” said Trenchi. “… Reactively, I exclaimed, ‘I can’t do that, I wouldn’t have an income if I undergo surgery!’”
Trenchi recalls the cardiologist saying: “If you don’t agree to surgery, your job is not going to matter.” And she had surgery the next morning.
“It was far from easy,” said Trenchi.
Two years later, she went on to complete the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.
“I think just the fact that I was in good shape helped me recover more quickly,” said Trenchi.
June 29 of this year marked Trenchi’s 22nd anniversary of the surgery. In July, Trenchi, a current Coronado resident, completed her eighth Seattle to Portland bike ride across two days, pedaling over 200 miles at the age of 74.
“I don’t know how many days I have left. That’s why I decided to do the ride this year ‘cause I knew I could get into the shape to do it,” said Trenchi.
‘It didn’t change my motivation’
Trenchi, born in Nashville, graduated from Vanderbilt with a bachelor’s degree in English. She also holds a human resources certificate and MBA in marketing from Seattle University.
Trenchi’s professional career included jobs in management and human resources which led her to the Seattle area.
It was there where her cycling journey began 45 years ago when a colleague introduced her to a local biking club.
“There were a dozen people, 65 to 80 years old, who could do 100 miles on a bike and that blew my mind because my parents weren’t big exercisers and I hadn’t been either,” said Trenchi. “At 29 that was one of my best life decisions I have made. I said to myself, ‘If you even want to think about doing this when you get their age, you better start now.’”
In 1982, Trenchi completed her first 100-mile bike ride. Five years later, at 35, she finished her first Seattle to Portland in 1987.
“I think the best moment of the whole thing was crossing the finish line and having somebody from my bicycle club hand me a beer,” said Trenchi, chuckling. “I don’t even drink beer. But it was the best beer I ever had.”
But in 2004, at 52, Trenchi underwent a double bypass surgery which halted her cycling for a couple of months.
“I did everything a person can do right but I learned family history weighs more than doing everything right,” said Trenchi. “It didn’t change my motivation.”
“To get back on the bike was one of my goals,” added Trenchi.
In 2002, Trenchi’s car got stolen and she said the hand of God kept her from taking one more step which kept her from getting run over by the thieves on her way to work that same day.
“God has sustained me even when I had nothing,” said Trenchi. “… I don’t stress too much even when I’m down to my last penny.”
During her life, Trenchi said she has experienced losses but cycling has remained a constant, along with friends she’s made while riding.
“I’ve had to come back from a lot of things,” said Trenchi. “It’s a community that accepts you if you have a bike. They don’t … care what your job is or any of that.”
When Trenchi rode from Seattle to Portland this year, it was the eighth time she’d completed the challenge.
“The first time you do it, it’s more physical than mental,” said Trenchi. “After that, it’s more mental than physical because you know what to expect.”
Completing the 47th annual classic
Apart from cycling with groups in Coronado and San Diego, Trenchi is a licensed cycling instructor with the San Diego Bicycling Coalition and advocates for bike safety locally.
Trenchi also owns SoCal Food Tours which offers 3.5 hour walking tours of Coronado’s early history and local cuisine.
To prepare for this year’s double century bike ride in Washington, Trenchi started increasing her biking mileage in April, riding against the wind along the Silver Strand and practicing on hills at Torrey Pines
On July 11, wearing a Coronado jersey, she joined thousands of others on the starting line at the University of Washington, and traveled 95 miles the first day before stopping at a church.
Trenchi said her bedding didn’t arrive, so she had to borrow a sleeping bag and pillow from a woman serving spaghetti and brownies to the riders.
The following morning, Trenchi stopped in the town of Winlock for a photograph with the “world’s largest egg.”
“Suddenly I lost my balance, I fell over the curb onto the street,” said Trenchi. “I have bruises from my knee all the way up my thigh on my left leg. I got a cut on my right elbow and I fell back hard enough that I dimpled my helmet on the back.”
After wiping off blood and adding bandaids, Trenchi still had about 80 miles to go.
At the finish line, Trenchi was met with the sound of cowbells and goodies included with registration. She immediately paid for a $45 massage.
Trenchi said it was inspiring to see people who have more challenges than her doing the ride.
“I needed a goal this year and it gave me a goal to work towards so that was part of it,” she added. “But it’s an adventure. I mean 7,000 people… It’s something you can’t even fathom until you’ve done it. It’s amazing.”
