A friend asked how I was today. I answered exhausted/excited/relieved/overwhelmed/at ease. “That’s a lot going on,” he said.
And he’s right; though these emotions are waving over me in a relaxed way that feels not the least bit rushed, pressed or urgent. Today riding the most frightening, exhilarating roller coaster you can imagine into the brake house when the ride is over. Oh, those rollers rocked your insides — all the twisting and twirling. You’re so glad that’s all over, but at the same time, you’d hop right back into line and ride again (if the line wasn’t so long now.) Finishing up the Tour of California earlier this week feels just like that.
In the past 10 days, there have been 9 wake up calls well before dawn, and nearly 500 pounds of rice cooked that we promptly made into 3500 rice cakes for the peloton. There were hundreds of meals made for hungry riders as they made their way along the 710 miles of the grand tour, and I baked some 500 cookies as well. I don’t know how many bottles we filled with hydration mix, but its possible that this number is beyond measure. Likewise with the numbers of sweet exchanges that took place between riders, staff, volunteers, spectators, supporters and all the other folks that made this tremendous event tick. There were so many great moments, so many new people to meet, new ideas to wax on, new things to think about and exciting new things to put on the calendar (and the distant horizon.) Neutral human support came to California and actually HAPPENED, and we – as a team – learned that it’s the things that we do for others that bring smiles to our faces.
Some of these moments and smiles were captured on film and I looked back through them this afternoon. Surprisingly (or not) my favorite shots aren’t those that I got of famous pro riders goofing, playing, or even pushing their limits day after day. My favorite shots were of the little things that made our efforts, and thus these riders, tick. The little things that kept us going, and the little things that might have gone unnoticed, except that we noticed them. Here they are. Some of these were shared by me on Instagram earlier this week, and a few not. The shot of me mixing up cookies in our hotel room was taken by Mr. Greg Erwin whom followed the Skratch Labs team all week. Head over and check out his perspective + personalities of the race, and THANK YOU, Greg, for being the craziest, most creative sidekick we could ask for.
I’ll be back later this week with a recipe, when I get the sand and rice and bacon shaken out of my head. 🙂
-xo Lentine