It seems like a million years ago but actually it was only yesterday. I rode with the team about 40 miles back to Seattle. One rest stop at an AM-PM, a few scary interactions with some narrow suburban roads, and then we were there. First we met up with some old friends like Mike Platania and Mike Swan, then the final 7 miles (with them on crappy rental city bikes) until the tire dip in the water. I submerged in the cold salty water, took a bunch of pictures, then we headed over to the hotel where there was free food and drinks. The whole weekend has been just a celebration of who I have become and what we're here to do. Another 60k was donated to the Swedish MS center. Don (the founder) had a friend come speak, and he told everyone what was on my mind. He spoke about how the cycling had impacted him, and also about the community that we had created. But then he said something more profound, which is that of all the impact the organization had on him, the most deep was that now his bar for what “crazy” was had shifted. That is, the things he might have previously thought were beyond him now felt achievable. Indeed, he dared to think they were possible, and as we all know, that is the hardest thing of all - to think you deserve it, that you deserve happiness and that you can accomplish your goals. Just daring to try gets you halfway there.
There are more things to say about the rest of the weekend. And don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the time in between. But tomorrow, it’s time to do amazing things again.
