Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. The insistent bleep of the alarm roused me, yet I was feeling deep down tired, really not wanting to go to work, thinking only of how to get more sleep, please more sleep. Instead I got up, walked the dogs and went to work.

I made it through the work day. It wasn’t exactly smooth perfection, I cursed, I got pissed off and held onto my grumpiness which is never a good idea. Somehow the day turned out OK.

action!

Came home to my excited doggies. Laid on the floor with them and stretched a bit. Pulled some energy together and got out for a hike.  A familiar spot to let them run free. It was refreshing to see the pockets of snow fading fast. Oh Spring where art thou?

they can not wait to find it, I can not wait for it to go away

Finally I got out for a ride. The wind was flapping with swift invisible gusts that slapped me around. The sky looked ominous with dark curtains of heavy clouds surfing the mad wind. Still my bike managed to keep going. Straight into the storm.

it is coming, oh yeah it is coming

The foreboding sky held it’s promise and unleashed droplets of rain into the relentless wind. The warm sun of the past week was long gone, the air clogged with grey and white.

Luckily I had a loaded bike, with bags full of rain gear, warm gloves and more insulation. I layered up and kept on riding. The roads soon became shallow streams of sudsy water. My bones were soon soaked. My hands cramped up with the cold making it hard to zip up zippers and pull on gloves. My toes ached with the chill of wind driven rain.

whole lot of wet

Thing is, I was laughing. Smiling. I couldn’t have been happier. What started as a day full of exhaustion, doubt and self pity turned into a strange kind of joy that comes with realizing you really do love what you are driven to do. I am driven to ride. To be outside. To reach for experiences that make me feel small, challenged, scared and enlightened. Total day changer and all I had to do was go ride in the rain…..

cold, wet, tired, bonking…… and smiling