The Learning Curve

Wow! What an exciting few days for me and the Spotted Wonder.  Journey looks great, and hey!  She even still likes me ☺  The learning curve for the past few months for me has steep, and the ride itself taught me a lot.  So much the same with moving up from LD to Endurance, but so much different too.  I finally slept the sleep of death nearly last night.  My emotions have been all over the map.  Initially kind of numb and stunned that we'd finally done it, to it hitting me like a ton of bricks the next day at a restaurant while chewing on a fried chicken wing my eyes started leaking and I had to really suck it up to not completely melt down in public.  Can only imagine what the table across from me was thinking as I'm smiling, crying, and chewing on chicken at the same time.

In truth, I still feel so much the beginner, but on the other hand it is like the ground has shifted for me.  I recognize that I'm tougher than I think, more persistent than a pitty with his tuggy toy, and GOD I'm proud of The Spotted Wonder (TSW).  Connecting with a more positive forward thinking group of endurance people rather than the closet "we'd like to see you fail" sort of people did much to restore my faith in human kind. UMECRA,  women from the north east, you rock, just sayin'.

Dare I say I'm happy?  Happier than I have been in a very long time.  If I never get to do another ride of any kind, I've done this. Something most of the people I know will never do.   Among the endurance crowd at large this is small stuff.  But for me, my friends...I just can't quite find words for it (though it doesn't stop me from blathering on).

Back to work tomorrow.  TSW is on hiatus until the weekend, and we will attempt to maintain our base as best we can through the winter months.  You know...just in case, we might want to do another endurance ride ☺