thankful for the long road...

Yesterday was hard.
I went on my fourth bicycle ride of the year.
Fourth.
Pretty much most of the last 7 months,
7 MONTHS!
Have been crap and have looked like this...

I feel out of shape.
I feel angry.
I feel down.
As the cold wind was chilling my ears
and slowing me down
and the heavy clouds were feeling ominous
I forced myself to once again
get over it.

An incredibly sad event happened here this week.
A young woman, Kimberly Yeong Sil Hull (Audrey), was taken from this world.
She was riding her bicycle through an intersection I ride through
on just about every bicycle ride I go on,
hit by a commercial vehicle,
and died.
I was thinking of her my whole ride
and when I passed through the intersection on my way home,
and saw the flowers in her honor, I could not help but well up.
I sent my thoughts out to her and will think of her often as I pass this spot.
To be robbed of a life at only 25 years old immensely saddens me
and my heart goes out to those around her.
Then a city bus came up behind me,
and I had to return to the moment at hand.

So for all my complaints about the weather
how out of shape I am
and how few weekends of the summer lay ahead of me,
I have bright flowers to make the grey days beautiful,
I have sunshine today,
and I am thankful for what is hopefully a long road ahead of me,
because I have it.

Happy Sunday Everyone.
In a few hours I am off for a ride.
May your day be what you want it to be,
May you be thankful for what you have today and tomorrow,
and may you stay safe out there ~
make eye contact with those drivers,
cycle defensively,
don't assume.

There is a Memorial Ride for Audrey on Wednesday Night.
Information here.