All Things Broken: CTR FAIL

Dear Jill,

Don't change things the day before a race. Maintain your drivetrain properly.  Take note or one day it will come back and bite you in the ass....

Sincerely,

Knowledge and Experience

I didn't make it much past the pre-race powwow for the Colorado Trail Race this year. Instead I found myself fighting chain suck, a skipping chain and the resulting inability to climb even before mile six. So there are no stories from the trail, no forum posts about my swollen feet and soaring spirit, no pictures at Junction Creek on Saturday morning.

So maybe my temporary blog title is now "All Things Broken." Things like my bike which is awaiting a completely new Shimano drivetrain. Things like my heart which will have to wait another year to accomplish its goal. No ITT at the end of the month. Life, work, logic and logistics are pointing me north. North next month to the Canadian Rockies instead.

But bikes can be fixed and hearts mend.

My heart is vibrant, young, strong, hopeful, alive and passionate. It dreams big and goes bigger--in life and on a bike--and fears little. Inevitably it breaks. And fails. And falls. And screws up.

But each time it learns. And grows. And, like a broken bone after healing, becomes stronger.

And wiser.