Day 7 - AIDS LifeCycle - The Final Day

So the week long love bubble is over now and I sit in the airport waiting for my red-eye Delta flight back to Atlanta. I know I get more out of these weeks than I could possibly give so its always a little bittersweet when it is over. The first mirror I really got to look into at length showed me the toll of the week. I leave with an angry shoulder, body and a cold but these are balanced by knowing our 2200 riders are going to buy some days of life for others while the research for a cure continues. That feels good.

I honestly could not have made it without the support and encouragement that you have given me this week as well as the cheers of strangers along the route. This ride is tough and I question if it is do-able alone.

I really am not a skilled cyclist when compared to many of the other riders. I simply have a passion to cycle and a desire to let others know they are not alone. This week, you have done that for me by following, liking, and commenting on my posts. Other people held up posters, sat in their wheel-chairs in their driveway and cheered, rang cowbells or even sat near an intersection and punched the 'walker' button so more of us could get through an intersection. Some people wore crazy outfits, some sent cards, some laid plastic eggs along the side of the Quadbuster path and others simply said "way to go" as they tended to their everyday life.

In one of the stage presentations this week it was said that: Everyone needs something to believe in, someone to believe in and someone to believe in them.

How true. I think that pretty much sums up this week. Thank you so much for getting this bruised, fluffy and exhausted me to the finish line. You may not know how important you were this week -but I sure do!