Pedaling with no particular place to be...: October 2019

“...An old friend calls and tells us where to meet

Her plane takes off from Baltimore

And touches down on Bourbon Street...”

~Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand by Primitive Radio Gods

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Bittersweet is like an old friend at this point. So when Hiedi “calls”, along with the Colavita Cares ladies, Mary and Ande, and tell you that something amazing is in the works, you make sure you hop on any “plane” to be there to help out, in any way you can.

So when I heard the song above at Bittersweet, in what has been likely a decade plus; it totally brought back memories of being a wishful 15-16 year old dreamer with inspirations galore!

Reality hadn’t truly hit yet.

I used to listen to this song on repeat when I was in high school. I found it off of the Cable Guy soundtrack. I never saw the movie, but the song stuck in my temporal lobe for some unknown reason, so I paid the $20 bucks needed for a CD, for the one song.

The song has techno overtones bits mixed with some piano undertones, combined with a “Do do do do do do...” chorus, which sparks a daydream type mental image of falling asleep dreaming of what’s to come, and on the flip of a coin, being woken up by the waves of reality that life can throw at you, but then have other events happen which make you question the reality that you are in.

The aftermath of Bittersweet 4.0 has me glowing, still, almost two weeks later. The aura that surrounded this rendition hit a mark into my soul.

It hit me hard.

It hit me good.

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“Sunday comes and all the papers say

Ma Teresa's joined the mob

And happy with her full time job…”

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Is this real?

Kinda like shaking your head and blinking your eyes to make sure you were hearing and seeing things correctly.

That you were truly in the correct reality.

It was one of those days, ya know?!

It was one of those days where you have to keep pinching yourself to make sure you were awake.

It felt otherworldly at times.
To be surrounded by so much awesomeness.
So much authenticity.
So much inspiration.

Yet I know it was the real deal, for it was cemented in every smile, laugh, heartfelt/inspiring conversation, new found friend, and conquered challenges.

And to do it all again on Sunday, it was mind blowing awesomeness and perfection.

Damn!

It was so freaking good.

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“….Am I alive or thoughts that drift away?

Does summer come for everyone?

Can humans do as prophets say?”

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I am a hopeful person usually, but sometimes the day to day down dreadfulness that we see on the news cycle and in real life, can get to you at times. You begin to wonder where the good is, where the people who do things for the good of doing things for others, hang out.

I found them.

They hang out at events like Bittersweet.

I mean truthfully; how often do you get to hang out with game changers across so many different aspects in life, in mixed sports and day to day professional lives?

Aunt Jean moving as fast as an Olympian

How often do you get to meet a 75-year young Aunt who is willing to conquer new adventures with 22+ complete strangers, but trusting each of us?

I know that everyone makes an impact in this world.
But to have so many like-minded, strong, fierce women to share the crisp fall air with, to laugh with, to share stories with, to learn from, to lean on, and to lend a helping hand no matter, is humbling, but also uplifting.

To hear the founders of the 50/50 On The Water campaign from Orvis, showcase and promote a national program for gender parity in a sport that takes finesse, skill, and being respectful of the environment.

K caught a fish!

To have an Olympic medalist who fought, and continues to fight for equality and equal payment in the sport she loves.

To have a tag team duo of pizza making rock stars who travel the country educating and helping support programs such as building tons of bikes for low income areas and teaching them how to ride on top of it.

To have another Olympic star and World Cup medalist who shows others that you can be your authentic self in sport and have sponsors support you in that, while proving that you still can race at the top level.

Heart these two!

To have a national cycling darling come back after a horrendous accident, who is still willing to swing their leg over a bike and promote a growing fundo that supports after-school and summer programs.

To have a dedicated promoter who is fighting their own horrible disease, keep putting on meaningful events that spur togetherness, inspiration, commitment to community, and bringing more women into this crazy cycling world.

To hear what participants are doing in their communities, big or small, in order to make it better for the next generation that comes after us leaves me with all the feels.

It makes you take a step back.

Good is being done and it’s for real.

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“Can money pay for all the days I lived awake

But half asleep?....

...

A life is time, they teach us growing up

The seconds ticking….

….

You ride the waves and don't ask where they go…”

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The daily routine is just that: a routine in steady waves of time increments.

Some Up, Some Down.

Riding the waves of everyday life.

For most of us, I am sure it often it feels as if we run through the daily routine, with only a little bit of time, and truly are half asleep.

Heck, my routine of time crunching waves is: Get up at such and such time, workout for a predefined time with micro time intervals settled within, calculate the time needed to stretch, roll, eat breakfast, get ready for work, commute to train, hope that said train isn’t late because it matters what time you end up arriving to work, where you spend most of your waking hours to pay for the food on your table, the shelter over your head, and the hobbies you like to partake in, to rushing out the door at the end of the day hoping again, that time is on your side to catch the outbound train that doesn’t make any stops to save more time at home, so it isn’t too late to see your loved one, make/eat dinner, so you can digest it before getting stuff ready to help save time for the next morning, to figuring out how early you can go to bed so you aren’t a walking zombie in the day to day.

A recurring cycle.

Reality.

Bittersweet and weekends like it are separate from a predefined time schedule and they give me hope away from the day to day grind. Even though there is time increments of start/end for our adventures over the Bittersweet day, the beginning/inetween/after, is always a go-with-the-flow piece of goodness.

You lose track of time.
You don't want the time to end.

Why? How?

It is getting lost and engrossed in meaningful conversations.

It is finding ways to support others and the challenges they face in the day to day reality.

It is belly laughing wholeheartedly and smiling at every moment possible.

Newfound friends

It is watching a couple of two-year olds just meet, become instant buddies, and start holding hands.

It is being okay with letting go of all of the stresses that the time constraints of reality puts on us all.

It is refreshing.

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“I've been downhearted baby,

Ever since the day we met..”

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Bittersweet hangovers are real.

It had me wishing that every weekend could be hanging out with ladies who not only conquer obstacles in front of them on the bike or on the pole, but in everyday life.

I am NEVER downhearted that I meet so many extraordinary people at Bittersweet events.

I guess you could say that I find myself in low spirits when we leave the authenticity that happens and all the feelings that occur during Bittersweet.

These events make the time crunched/pay the bills/work like crazy/answer a zillion emails/make sure you checked all your boxes/dotted all of your i’s for the day/only to do it again the next day; a kinda boring reality.

Photo Credit: Brooks Curran

Yet, I guess if the day to day reality was this outstanding all the time, it wouldn’t make Bittersweet so gosh darn special, meaningful, and inspiring.

Photo Credit: Brooks Curran

I’m trying to find a way to make All The Feels of Bittersweet, the extended reality.
I am inspired by all the dreams, the euphoria, the happiness, the conquering, the desire to challenge oneself, the connections, the surprise, the wonder, and the doers.

It’s hard to come back into reality when there is so many highs to leave.

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I keep coming back to the definition of Bittersweet:

bittersweet

noun bit·ter·sweet \ ˈbi-tər-ˌswēt \

Definition of bittersweet

1 : something that is bittersweet; especially : pleasure accompanied by suffering or regret

These events are pure pleasure of inspiration wrapped up in laughs, dance moves, building confidence in new challenges, hugs ‘n high fives, fully supported-ness wrapped up in radness and warmth. The bitter part comes when you are thrown back into the day to day and only want to go back to experiencing that pleasure once more.

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Photo Credit: Ande

To all the attendees: Thank you for being a part of the Bittersweet family!

To: Hiedi, Mary, Ande, Lea, Alix, Whitney, Georgia, Frazier, Chrissy, Amanda, Cori, Els, Adam, Brooks, Matt, and Chris: Thank you for giving your all into making this Bittersweet a phenomenally memorable experience.

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead