conquering challenges

I learned yesterday that my biggest challenge was me, and today I looked at that challenge and said bring it. And the best thing is,  I conquered it. Not only did I conquer it, I demolished it.
I started the day a little tired and very scared of my clips, okay I was petrified.  I wisely decided after hearing about the terrain to take the support truck to the first rest area. I am very grateful I did because I was able to find out why my clips were challenging me and get them fixed. Now I am un clipping like a champ. But truly the best part was sharing a tree dedication with thom and his family for his dad that passed away this past year. To hear his stories and to learn more about the area was incredible. I was honored to share that moment with him and his family.
After the dedication I headed out on my bike for a nice long ride.  I went through some very impressive farms where the corn flanked me on both sides and their leaves rustled in the wind. It was beautiful to hear and it was very peaceful. Thankfully someone turned down the wind setting today and it made the riding all the more enjoyable. It was still windy, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday.  We rode by beautiful lakes and streams all day and even went on a ferry ride.  The best part of the ferry ride was the moose tracks ice cream at the end, that was partly funded by a dear friend. Thats what this ride is about, helping each other when we can.
Then there was devils lake state park and the hills that surround it.  Jimminy crickets they were steep and twisting and never ending. But I only walked a smidgen when I did a switchback and lost all my momentum.  But as soon as I could I was back on and riding with a great sense of accomplishment.  The devil tried to bring me down, but I did not let him.
At the next rest area I knew I was done, it was 5:00 and the hotel was still 25 miles away. No way was I going to do 25 miles in the 1 hour that was recommended.  So I rode the truck back to the hotel. I am glad I did, I learned all about the language of wisconsin and more about the dells.  Did you know they call a sofa a davenpot. A water fountain is a bubbler.  They use the words crick and pop appropriately and when you say wisconsin the first three letters sound like whiz, as in cheese whiz.
I am glad that I did face my biggest challenge today and that I conquered it. Without it I would have lost out on some great conversations, fixed my clip ons and I pushed myself just enough to be happy but not too much that I hurt myself. It always amazes me how much I learn on the tour des trees , not necessarily about trees but about myself. If you were peddaling for eight or ten hours what could you learn? Just imagine it, to be free of stress of work or life and have the opportunity to just be free.  Its an incredible feeling, I recommend it to everyone.