This Life Would Kill Me...If I Didn't Have You

Well another weekend of long rides and decently good weather has come and gone. We have been relatively lucky this winter with the weather. A quick recap of the riding:

Emma and Ashton, best riding partners ever.

Friday I headed out with Scholars Inn Bakehouse/ IU Club teammates Emma and Ashton. We had fun dealing with some major wind and chit chatting about racing as well as the typical gossip. We are girls after all haha.

Bonnie working her way up the backside of Hindustan

Saturday we took the Cru team out for a rough ride, the wind took a toll on everyone. It was a day for a lot of tough love with the rookies. I was happy to catch three guys from the Cutters who pretty much pulled the group in and provided some amusement to keep minds off the wind. I then headed back out for a Bakehouse ride, getting lost along the way and doing a couple of miles on gravel roads.

You know you're lost when suddenly there is only gravel in front of you...

Sunday I left with the Bakehouse team and although I hung on through the first few surges, I got dropped on the run out of the causeway. I was in for a long three hours out to the end of 446 and back. The weather was nice, but the quiet and the ever present wind was taking a toll.

It was in that moment that I passed the first group of riders that had turned around, a teammate Cameron shouted some encouragement, and maybe twenty minutes later the same happened when I passed the second group of riders. Finally, on my way back into town I passed an old friend who shouted "Keep going Palmer" or something to that effect. According to him I don't smile enough when I ride.

As I rolled back into town I realized how lucky I am to be riding in Bloomington, and how lucky I am to receive encouragement out on the road. A lot of people who ride as much as I have been lately are relegated to long hours alone, and while I do my fair share of that, there are always people around, encouraging me. I am blessed by three amazing teams, and over a hundred local cyclists. They've pushed me up hills, encouraged me to keep going, and have provided joy when the long hours on the bike become a little too much.

Anyways, this is rambling, as per usual. But long story short, this life would kill me if I didn't have you. So I guess what I am trying to say is, thank you.