So, wow...today is June 9th. It is really incredible how time just drifts by like those big fluffy white clouds on a summer day. One day effortlessly goes by and blends into the next and next. I seems like the less we watch and measure the days in hours and meetings and appointments and lunch breaks the faster time goes by. Somehow that seems to be the opposite to me. I feel like the relaxed careless lazy days should be longer. Anyways, the point of all this is to mark an anniversary. A very memorable anniversary for me. As I sit here typing this, exactly one year ago I was on my bike riding through the streets of Santa Monica and Hollywood California starting day one of a cross country bike ride. I remember it so well and clear even as I sit here typing. I was engulfed with a whole assortment of emotions and my senses were being assaulted with the sights and sounds of a beautiful California morning. I won't lie...I was so scared I was barely breathing, especially as the Hollywood hills loomed large ahead. I knew what was in store for this day as I “cheated” and used Google maps to preview the terrain we would cover this day. I seriously couldn't even think about it as it was debilitating for me personally. Our spirits were high but there was an undercurrent of anxiety as thick as molasses. We rode on and the day heated up as we left the coastline and started to climb and climb and climb...WOW. The scenery was beautiful but the negative self talk was raging in my head. Shut up...already, I'm trying to ride a bike here. The defeating part was looking ahead and at where this road was heading. Not good. Must keep head down...don't look ahead. Well, that worked only for a couple of miles. Hmmmm...now what? Just keep pedaling. So, one crank after another it went. The climbs were not easy for me. I reveled in the infrequent downhill only to have to go back up even more. I remember someone saying if you're gonna give up, do it on the first day. Well, the fact is that I am not a quitter and so I just rode and prayed a lot for strength and stamina. I pedaled until I was just completely depleted and exhausted. The combination of the heat and the exertion and the lunch stuck in my throat began to take a toll. I started to feel a little nauseous but I pressed on and up at a snails pace. I looked down at my speedometer and couldn't believe I was still upright at 3-4 miles per hour. At this point it was just a grind to the top. My nausea increased and now my heart rate was increasing more and more as I continued to pedal. I was maxing out. The battle was in full swing now. My stomach lurched with each turn of the pedal and the chatter in my head was screaming..QUIT...QUIT NOW. I would stop for a minute and then start again and repeated this cycle until that didn't work anymore. I thought I could rest for about an hour or so and then go on but it was getting hotter and the top was yet ahead. Finally, my heart rate got up so high I was feeling light headed and the nausea was in complete control. I spotted a place to stop with no other plan beyond stopping. One of my teammate riders, Don, stopped with me and waited patiently to see what was next. While waiting, Aaron came by and saw me “broke down” by the side of the road and came to assess the situation and help. It was decided that I needed to quit for the day and get a ride in to town. Aaron walked out onto the road and flagged down a truck whose driver agreed to take me in. We loaded my bike in and took off. When I saw how close I was to the top I was really disappointed, as the rest of the way in was one really long downhill glide. I learned a lesson right then and there. I will not quit, I will not give up or give in to defeat. I will ride this ride. Whatever it takes, however slow I must go, whether I am last or not, I will ride this ride and I will finish something for once in my life. So, yeah, that's pretty much what I was doing a year ago today. My how time flies by.