Since the 1st day I got on a Road Bike my Life has Never been the Same

For the first time in a very long time, I feel inspired to write a blog and I’m not exactly sure why, or what I want to write about but it sure has been one heck of a crazy year. Maybe it has just been the mere fact of going through life’s battles that have sidetracked me from sitting and writing, I guess sometimes in life, you are just on the front lines of war and you do whatever you have to do to stay standing and not fall, or to pick yourself up after you have fallen. Everything else goes by the wayside except for pure survival. There are so many events that have happened since my last blog that I wish I had written about as they were so great, but maybe now I feel ready to reflect and move on to yet another chapter, the book of my life is just happening a super speed and I can barely keep up.

Since the first day I got on a road bike my life has never been the same, I found something that I had been looking for, for a very long time, something that brought me the physical feeling of freedom that I feel in my spirit, in my relationship with the Lord. I would like my life on the bicycle to reflect my life with my heavenly Father, maybe it does, often I feel it doesn’t because it is so imperfect. Maybe that is the point, that our heavenly Father loves us, no matter what, his love is unconditional and unchanging for us and always was and always will be. As much as I want to be selfless and have my behavior reflect the Lord, I rarely succeed and as a cyclist, I want to win, I want to go faster, I want to be stronger and I want to do that while still loving others. Sounds simple but the last 17 months have proven it to be my most difficult mission to date, a lifelong mission, that I will never get exactly right, but in all my failures, God still, will be the strength in my weakness. That is the essence of my journey with a bike.

I think for the first time I am seeing the kind of fatherly (or motherly in my case) love that God has for me not through children but through a wonderful, beautiful puppy. I rarely do things on a whim, but the things I have done seem to always be the most impacting and greatest parts of my life, for example when I went to Haiti which changed my life and randomly took a job in a bike shop which also drastically is changing my life and propelling me into my God given destiny. So that latest whim, buying a puppy, I have wanted a dog for a long time and in yet the 100th moment of complete and udder disappointment and loneliness I bought a puppy and have not regretted it a moment since. Koa, the tiniest little Chihuahua is the sweetest animal and brings me so much joy, love and laughter. I never really saw myself as a dog person, but this little puppy, within a week, meant the world to me. Training her has been such a reflection of past and present events of how God has been training me for life. When Koa is trying to go on her pee pad, but misses, I don’t want to get mad at her for missing, but rather praise her for trying to get it right, and now I see, that God does the exact same thing with us.

My life has been full of so much blessing in difficulty and at some point I realized that following your dream is not all candy and flowers, it is tougher than I can describe. I get beat down on a daily basis, physically, emotionally, mentally and I can never be thankful enough that God has brought a wonderful man Kevin into my life, who believes in me and my dreams more than I do and who will do whatever it takes to help me succeed. If there were not so many difficulties in life I wouldn’t be the person I am and Kevin and I wouldn’t have such a wonderful relationship, the Lord has truly blessed us through the most ugliest of problems that never ever seem to end.

I had some great success in my first year of cyling, 2nd in the Prospera Valley Fondo, 1st in my first cyclocross race and it has just begun. Today I start training with some national team and pro athletes, defiantly nervous, sick this morning from gluten, still nursing a hamstring injury, but I have never in my life been so excited for this opportunity, another major open door to pursing my dream. I am so thankful. I love this messy life and I can’t wait to see what God has for the future.