83.BicyclistsArrival.PUT.NLEOM.WDC.12May2010

my first recollection was learning that one of my closest friends had drown after falling through the ice of a lake ~ first grade,,,seems, in retrospect, like something that was more misunderstood than feared by 6 year old me at the time. i recall being really sad. however, later in life i have come to accept that it affected me in ways that were deeply rooted...subtle.... i am certain that the experience of being taken out to dinner, to one of my favorite places (after missing the information at school because i had been home with a sprained ankle), and being given the news is something that has stayed with me. it has effected me in how i have chosen to be succinct and to the point with my own children and also how i prefer to shoot straight and when others shoot straight as well. as an adult, having lost quite a few close people (luckily no family) i have found ways to honor each person in my own little way. of course, riding in a 300 mile bike tour was not such a little thing ~