Jan 2, 2006

Enough already!!!!

The Storm's Most Powerful Images



So...I have spent the better part of three days now shoveling mud, washing bike parts and ripping out water soaked walls. The shop is a small disaster, but in a surreal way, it is starting to look good...maybe even better than before. I figured, hey, may as well make changes now while we have the place all ripped apart, so we are. And, I have always wanted to reorganize the way we store parts and such. So there is a silver lining to this whole muddy mess....I just wish it was not so ...muddy. Mud is EVERYWHERE! You would not believe how turbulent the waters were. It must have been to do this kind of damage. It is in everything we had below four feet. Every nook and cranny of every part. Argh...I close my eyes and all I see right now is mud.

So, I missed two days of training because of this fiasco. (No big deal...life is more important than riding ANY day.) It is important though that I stay on track, afterall, I have come so far already. I took the early morning off and rode in the hills for four hours. As luck would have it, it POURED on me the ENTIRE time.

Shhhhh....can you hear that? I swear I have frogs growing in my shoes. I think I saw an alligator today sitting on the side of the road laughing at what a fool would ride his bike on such a day. I may have been delirious, but it was such a privilege to be out on my bike on a day all to myself. The road was closed due to numerous mudslides, and the rain turned everyone away. So I had the entire Alpine Dam road to myself. I felt kind of lawless in a way. I could ride on either side of the road with no consequence (I did find myself habitually riding on the right shoulder though). I just need it to stop raining and all would be great. It has rained every day since December 17th at 9:00 am. I remember because I forgot my rainjacket as I was rushing to meet somebody for a ride (JP).

I am so thankful and grateful to everyone that has rallied to help whether it was coming down to the shop, rolling up their sleeves and getting really dirty, or those that brought by delicious snacks and tasty beverages, and all of the overwhelming support from friends and family all over the place just checking in and talking me down out of my tree. It gives me great hope to see so many people friends and strangers alike come together in a time of need. The world is not as evil as some make it out to be. Thank you all.



One final thought, I cannot begin to describe how heart wrenching it is to see business owners all around us, losing everything they have. It puts a great big reality check on the new year for me. Be thankful for today and live it like it is your last, for tomorrow it may all change.

more pictures here. (Thanks Deirdre @ THF) and here