It only took 100 miles...

I apologize that it took so long for me to finish this post. I was incredibly emotional after finishing America's Most Beautiful Bike ride and had a hard time putting my thoughts into words. This is still kind of work in progress, so it might change as my emotions stop stealing my words.

I am not a half-way kind of person. I cannot only commit half of myself to a cause, idea, or project. It's not really in me to be overly cautious with new experiences or adventures. I'm of the mindset that if something scares the crap out of you, you should probably do it, because it will probably turn out to be a fun and rewarding experience. So with this mindset, I decided that my first "official" cycling event should be 100 miles long. Yup, I'm certifiably crazy. I thought so myself when I first signed up for the ride, and I'm still not sure that I'm legally sane. With that said, let me tell you what I learned in only 100 miles.

Teamwork:
I learned that there is nothing more powerful than a group of individuals working towards a common goal that they really believe in. Being surrounded by the Team In Training participants from all over North America while I pedaled along in Tahoe was incredibly inspiring. The comraderie and support from total strangers is still absolutely mind-blowing to me.

Discipline: As anyone close to me will tell you, when it comes to personal physical limitations or anything that involves an incredibly exciting outcome, I am not a patient person. Because of this, I found it difficult to spend the time to train properly and build up to that distance was a learning experience. Because of my coach, and the results I saw as we stuck it out, I learned that there's a rhyme and a reason to taking the time to do things "properly".

Faith/Belief in myself:  I learned that I really can do anything if I believe in myself. Sounds lame and cheesy, but it's absolutely the truth. I may not have believed in myself 100% of the time, but when I wasn't entirely sure that I was going to even make it to the starting line, there was my team, cheering me on and encouraging me to keep pedaling. It was because of them, and their faith in me that I made it to the finish line.  Also, faith that what I was doing was helping my cousin and others with Leukemia or Lymphoma fight for their lives. If they can fight for their lives, I can certainly climb some hills to help them out.

Gratitude: I wouldn't be here, writing these words about lessons learned if it wasn't for my team and those friends and family that listened to/sweated with me/donated/sent words of encouragement.

Below is a link to a video that one of my team members made of our adventure. It's kind of long, and I still can't watch it without getting all choked up, but it will give you an idea of what my experience was like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGPSF613Hk8