2008 was a very interesting year for me.  In a 7 month period  I traveled to 9 different countries including France, Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland.  During the same time period I drove  across the U.S. 3 times in addition to up and down the West coast from Oregon to Redlands.  I have logged over 16,000 miles in the team car in the U.S. and tens of thousands of Kilometers in foreign lands.    In 107 days of racing-  I have witnessed amazing triumphs of will and physical strength, champions crowned and life goals acheived.  I have also been there when riders lie broken and bloody on the road-  usually one of the first on the scene- only to leave them as quickly as we got to them- hoping that they are taken care of  and safe after I jump back in the team car and speed away-  there are still other girls up the road that we need to look after.   

The amount of travel I did during the race season gave me a lot of time to really think about my life.  The things that I experienced and witnessed during the course of the season had a profound impact on me that lasted beyond the end of the race season.   2008 was a life altering season for me and its impact hit hard into my own personal life. 

Since September I have made many hard decisions in my personal life.   Many of these choices have not been very popular with friends and loved ones back east, but the choices I have made,  I have made for me.  Today I made another one of these choices and it lead to even more reflection.  Today I set aside some time for myself and I rode my bike and thought.  Yes, there was work to be done, but what I really needed was to hear the clicking of gears and whirring of freewheel bodies and my own thoughts.  I reflected on the decisions I have made and the things I have experienced in the last few months, since uprooting my life and heading to the Pacific Northwest-  and  I discovered something.   I am happy.   It feels weird to say it and even weirder to write it here for the 7 people who read my blog-  but today I came to realize and accept that I am happy.  I have met some great people and I have some truley great friends- who knows what lurks on the horizon, but right here, right now,  I am happy.

 

D.  Out.