The sun is warm and the world is a beautiful place

“Yesterday I rode my bike to he pacific ocean with a group of the most amazing people I have ever met. Nc2sd 2011 wasn’t just about following the cue sheet, it wasn’t just about the climbs, or the descents. It wasn’t about the next lunch break in 11 miles or the incessant winds of Kansas. It wasn’t about surviving the million dollar highway or the elevation sickness, or dominoes pizza. This trip was the epic journey that it was because of the 32 individual people that put their regular lives aside for two months to share this trip with me. I am completely at a loss when I try to begin to explain these people to anyone. They are some of the most talented and driven, yet also the most insane and goofy people I have ever met. You do have to be slightly crazy to bike from north Carolina to San diego… But you also have to be independent, strong and passionate. These are the people that are going to change the world. They already are. I am sitting in the San diego airport with a huge knot in my stomach and a barely touched pizza in my lap. Memories are flooding my head like a film in fast-forward, and each image evokes both a laugh and a wince (I haven’t cried yet, Chris!). I have sand in my ears and a broken toe and I am wishing I could eat something but I can’t. Every other song on my iPod reminds me of someone or something from the trip and the coke I’m drinking just doesn’t taste as good because i didn’t donation magic it from a gas station after riding 50 miles in 100 degree heat. I love you bike and build. You all brighten MY day… and I’ll never be the same because of what you’ve given me.”