Feeling Connected

You'd think buying a house, working a job just up the street, getting a library card, joining the local gym and going to the dog park would make me feel connected. Like I belong here. And they do, make no mistake. But for some reason today that connection - that sense of belonging and the head shaking reality that I created the life I wanted is right here, right now - hit me in full force.

I live in Colorado. A place I dreamed of living for over ten years. A place that every time I visited, I never wanted to leave. A place filled with natural beauty and enormous mountains. Where the sun shines 300 days a year.

As I rushed out the door this morning to my new teams' photo shoot at Porsche of Colorado Springs, I felt like my roots are no longer in the top soil - they are reaching deeper. I am reestablishing my sense of community. I belong to a collective group of woman who race their bikes, who base their vacations around race calendars around two wheeled adventures and who pursue this sport filled with struggles and triumphs and rare wins. And although our long term cycling goals may differ, we support one another in our pursuits.

The sun also joined us today and with promises of spring just around the corner, I was floating on cloud nine.

Riding and training has been my constant throughout my life the past 8 years. It fills my waking hours, my dreams and allowed me to travel. I've made life long friends from the sport and it has carried me through a range of emotions: happiness, sadness, grief, etc. It taught me how to deal with failures and successes. It carried me through the death of a loved one and in turn opened me up to meet a man of my dreams, Benjamin. I feel so lucky, so blessed, so stoked that my life is full and exceptional. And I smile knowing that all I had to do was dream it first.

And yes, the sun is an added bonus. YAY for no arm warmers today!