It's been a while, again!

Hello,

I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been up to both a bunch of stuff and a bunch of nothing all at the same time. Since I “offically retired” earlier this year I’ve been stuck in a feeling of arrested development. I’m very unsure at what next steps look like and have been chipping away at the uncertainty to find my way again.

Booting up the old blog machine with some level of consistency is now part of this plan. I am committing to checking in once per week to give updates on what i’ve been getting into, and what’s to come.

So far this year I’ve actually done some pretty incredible things:

In January I traveled to LA to speak at the All Clubs Gala. I was just starting to be able to walk again after breaking my ankle in November so I didn’t get to ride bikes, but it was still a lovely experience being with community.

In March, I traveled to Stillwater Oklahoma for Midsouth, a trail run and gravel race. I did take part in a short warm up run, but because my ankle was still healing, I wasn’t able to do the 25k I’d signed up for. The crazy thing is that during the day of the run, the winds picked up heavily, and a lot of things caught on fire, so they had to close the course early and cancel the bike part of the event the next day. It was a long way to travel to not actually do the thing, but it was another instance of me honestly being happy to be amongst community. I’m considering attending next year and actually getting it done, but we’ll see.

In April, I went to Mallorca with Zwift. It was really fun, and a nice little boost after spending all winter on the couch. I also attempted to fly to Madrid to run a 10k, but Iberia oversold the flight and Will and I never made it.

In early May I participated in the Traka 100, a gravel event based in Girona, Spain. It was a miserable day plagued with rain and mud. The rain started as soon as we did, but i toughed it out and finished the course. It was my first big bike event after the ankle thing, so I felt quite proud of myself. Traka Reel 2. Traka Reel 3.

In late May, Will and I rode our bikes from Bilbao to Barcelona over the course of 3 days. It was truly a challenge covering nearly 700 miles and quite a bit of climbing. The last two days were in the scorching heat where I thrive, but Will crumbles. It was for sure an adventure. We originally intended to ride to our house just outside of Girona, but opted to ride to Barcelona instead to prevent having to climb another two mountains in unbearable temperatures. I’m REALLY proud of us for taking on such an endeavour, and also for pivoting when the original plan no longer made us happy. Day1. Day 2. Day 3.

In June hosted Thee Abundance Mini Grant with two incredible riders, and one of them, Dele Gomih actually won the novice series! It’s getting harder and harder to sustain Thee Abundance Project since the bike industry is currently in shambles, and sponsorship dollars are drying up. My extended period of depression hasn’t helped my consistency and fundraising efforts much, so the future of the program is uncertain, but i’m really thrilled we’ve been able to pull it off for this year, regardless of what comes next… or doesn’t.

In July, I rode the routes of all 9 stages of Le Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift, mostly with past TransContinental Race winner Emily Chappell. Then I doubled back to catch the end of the race as a spectator, and rode stage 8 again as part of L’Etape du Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. This was by far my longest bike packing trip ever, and it was really difficult with less than favorable weather and incredibly ardous courses. But i did it, and naturally I’m SUPER proud of myself. I did a little fundraiser as part of the effort, but of course my marketing wasn’t the best and we didn’t raise a ton, but i’m super appreciative of the folks that donated to the cause! You can do so too, if you’re so inclined.

Now it’s August, and I’m in America for a very short time before heading back to Spain for my final summer adventure. Will and I will be taking on the Ride Across Girona again, except this year we’re going for the full 700km route. Last year’s 400km was already tough and of course super hot, so i just know we’re in for a treat!

So that’s the cliff notes of everything. More to come! If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I have over 30,000 followers on instagram, but the al gore rhthym maybe shows my stuff to like 5 people everytime I post which is definitely not optimal, but I do appreciate when those 5 folks engage with my stuff, it’s super helpful.

Until next time! Tell me what you think, what you’d like to hear about.

I’m an open book and dying to tell someone about stuff in my life like how i discovered i’ve had autism this whole time and how I’ve been taking my grandma to try various cultural cuisines and she just tried tacos, a quesadilla, guacamole, and Jarritos for the very first time, and it made my heart smile.

Okie, same place next week?