this was only a test

well, I’m at the airport waiting to board up and head home. Today was the day I needed. Jerry and I were destroying the pack (3,800 riders) when at the 7 mile point my foot came loose I went to unclip my pedal and the entire pedal fell off! I tried to fix it by banging it with a rock but who knew that wouldn’t help. I sent jerry on his way and I had a decision to make, hang it up or ride with one foot. I looked around and thought about where I was, I was with a group of people who raised 4 million dollars to help people like me. So I looked down and relized I was going 18 mph again. I can not describe how baddly this hurt and I was going to have to come up with an exit strategy. I pulled into the first sag stop just to have a mechanic tell me to hang it up for the day because it was too dangerous to ride with one leg. I told him I was going to find the next sag vehicle and ride in and of course i couldnt do it I kept pedaling. I got to the 20 mile exit and i was deep in thought about the year and I couldnt turn off there either, I was all in now and I was also sure that i was a retard. I got to the next sag stop and the mechanic had a flat pedal he could put on and i was very gratefull for anything. Well great news because that was worse than before because my clip from my shoe was slipping off of the pedal and 2 times i kicked my chain and it came off. So im at the side of the road in serious pain, covered in chain grease when a support vehicle pulled next to me and told me I probably needed to load up. I just could not see how i was going to cross the finish line in a van so I said no. I looked at the clock and realized I had to get moving. I was giving it what I thought was everything when a rider came up behind me and asked if I was the “one with a broken pedal” I told him yes and he said “I heard people talking about you earlier, you’ve got alot of heart.” That was all I needed. I rode in the last 10 miles harder than I have ever ridden. I turned the corner at the finish line and I heard my name over the loud speaker, I heard the annoncer tell them where i had come from and how I got there, I pulled into the survivor lane to be greeted by hundreds of cheering people and it hit me… this will be one of the best moments of my life.
Thank you to everone who supported me with words, gifts, golf tournaments(todd), and most importantly hope. I know we are winning this fight and I know next year we will all stand shoulder to shoulder and show how we have chosen to liveSTRONG.