Peace Out, 2011

My dream come true

Man, what a year. What a year of highs and lows. I can honestly say this has been the best and worst year of my life. I can say it's been the hardest year. It's been the most stressful, but it's also been the most enlightening. I've learned more in these last 12 months than I ever thought I could cram into one year. I've been to so many places, made some incredible new friends, and learned some good lessons as well as some hard ones. I've run the gauntlet of feelings from complete bliss to complete and utter hopelessness. I guess that's life, eh?

I'll start with the good. Travel. I finally learned to travel. Whistler, Aspen, Winterpark, Tahoe Tahoe Tahoe, Santa Barbara, Vegas, Vermontucky, Atlanta, Monterey,and VIVA EL PERU! I finally got to go to Machu Picchu, ride my bike in an amazing country with amazing people. What an experience that entire trip turned out to be. Now it's all I can do not to daydream where I want to go next with my bike. New Zealand and Switzerland are on the top of my list. Hopefully I can hit one of those in 2012. And, yes, I will buy travel insurance. And wear a really good helmet. My travels have been the absolute best times of my year. From biking in the best places on the planet with the best friends, to drinking exotic drinks, eating yummy food, staying up all night having way too much fun, exploring new alleyways and streets, discovering new things to love, hiking the local mountains, and basking in LIFE. What a fucking blast.

The music that represented this year (to me, at least) was phenomenal. Lots of it wasn't even from 2011 but the songs were all from memorable times throughout the year. Songs from The Naked and Famous, Grouplove, Bon Iver, Deadmau5, Wombats, Austra, Phantogram, M83 (undoubtedly one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard) and D.I.M. All fantastic groups with great sound. I guess I find my tastes slowly changing from a rock background to a more electronic feel. It's no secret to anyone who reads this blog (all 2 of you) that music is a big part of my life. These songs represent some of the best and some of the toughest times of the year for me.

Discovering new friends and new places. Both are amazing.

Biking! Biking is just simply the best thing ever. My two-wheeled friends are always there for me. Sometimes battered, often rusty, but always there, always fun, and always happy to see me. From Whistler to Cusco, the happiest times of my last 5 years have been spent on my bikes with my friends. This year I got to meet so many amazing people because of my bike. My riding circle continues to expand into the best possible family I could ever imagine. One of the reasons I love to travel is because I know I'll always have someone to ride with wherever I go. It's one of the best social tools ever.

But, with the good comes the tough.

Things have been hard this year. There has been a lot of stress, a lot of drama, and a lot of heavy weight to bear. Newman, the greatest kitten of all kittens died a very sudden death 3 weeks ago. He was extremely sick. We didn't know. He had heart disease and was suffering greatly. My heart hurts for him. He was the coolest pet I could have ever asked for. Don't get me wrong. I love Roscoe and the other cats with all my strength, but Newman was the one animal I wish would have outlived me. Now I can just remember feeling his heart stop in my hands. What agony to go through - losing a pet. At least now I kind of know what to expect, not that it will ever get any easier. Now every time there's an amazing sunset I thank Newman for that. I just tell myself he has a little "awesome sunset" button he pushes when he's bored in the evening.

The wedding of my best friend in the world. Xoxo, Susi.

Personally, things have been tough. I make things hard on myself. I get picky about things and stressed about things. The funny thing is that most of these things are pretty much under my control.  Suddenly nothing is good enough. Maybe that's not a bad thing. I just don't ever want to feel like I'm ok with the status quo. I'm not. I never will be. I will always want more, even though I'm grateful for what I have. I want to be better at things, better with people, better at work. Self-inflicted pressure helps me to improve everything, I do, but sometimes it drags me down and I get lost in my own head. Maybe I'm delusional. Who the hell knows.

And while Peru was undoubtedly the highlight of my year, it was also the hardest part of my year. I've written so much about this that there's not much left to say. There will be a full article about it in the next issue of Decline Magazine

I have the best riding friends in the world. I love these guys.

Good bye, 2011. Thanks for the fun times, the laughter, the bottles of champagne, the friendships, the bowling with bicycles, the Pisco Sours, the loam, the powder, the animals, the best girlfriends, the best guyfriends, patience, humanity, and hope. I'll take the tough times and move forward with my lessons learned. I'll sum up my year with this quote from Mark Twain. I couldn't say it better myself.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER."
-Mark Twin

Hell yeah, Mark.

Me, doing what Twain told me me to do.