The Race Inside
Who wants to run around like a chicken with their head cut off in a country where you don’t speak the language, having no concrete details organized, and are not sure how it’s all going to unfold? Raise your hands!

How about this – Who wants to go for a big dream, not knowing what’s on the other side, wondering if it’ll all happen like that whisper of your imagination told you it would?

Then, who wants to go on the wild emotional ride that comes with not being certain of much of anything?

Raise your hands!

We at Bicycle.net believe that anything – yes, anything! – is possible when you put your mind to it and have the right attitude.

Napoleon Hill states in “Think and Grow Rich” that “’Thoughts are things,’ and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into…material objects.”

Today I sit in the press center (centre?) at the Tour de France, enjoying the air conditioning, wireless internet, and live coverage of the Tour surrounded by a sea of journalists from around the world. I am overjoyed, awed, amazed, and thankful.

Thankful that Europe is a safe place after all.
Thankful for the love and support of those who believed in me, most especially the guys from Bicycle.net, JT and Howard.

Even thank you to those who didn’t believe in me, who looked at me sideways when I shared my crazy idea. You’ve helped me to want to prove you all wrong, and to keep my word after blabbering on about what I said I wanted to do.

Thankful for the turn of events in my life that have allowed for this to unfold as it did.

Thankful to Matt Walsh of The Twisted Spoke for sharing tips that helped my case for a press pass, and thankful to Mattiew D. who waved his magic Tour de France wand over my head and got me a press pass.

This gratitude comes after waves of nausea, and those awful voices in my head who tell me I’m a nut job, I made a dumb decision, and I’m just plain irresponsible. The moment I purchased my ticket to Brussels, Belgium, what seemed like a great and fantastically adventurous idea instantly turned bleak, hopeless and scary.

The beauty of staring risk, fear, and perceived dangers squarely in the face is that, over time, they begin to seem like little puppies instead of seeming like evil, rabid pitbulls.

The race inside, most definitely, as my mind raced through all the possibilities of things gone wrong. The nausea was incredible – who knew just plain ol’ nerves could manifest with such physical repercussions.

But I realize, what’s more irresponsible: leaving your dreams – the seeds of joy and purpose that God plants quietly in your mind – out to die, or daring to cultivate the environment that will see these seeds of “crazy” out to fruition and realize that it’s a beautiful new strain of some unique and awesome flower?

The Race Outside
One thing fascinating about cyclists is the complete dedication required to make it to the world’s greatest stage of bicycle racing, the Tour de France.

Stage 1 included a bundle of nerves and excited and wily fans. Three crashes in the last 2 kilometers! A WALL of downed cyclists, covering the whole width of the road at just a few hundred meters to go. It was an awful sight to watch on the press room monitors, and we all gasped as we watched the carnage.

No major injuries, but definitely shook everyone up.

“The nerves and intensity will be high,” explained Lance Armstrong (Team RadioShack) of the first few days of the Tour.

As we finish the last 2 days of cobbles and rougher Belgian weather, we’ll see how attitudes will shake up across rough patches and predicted rain.