Stitches Out, Numbers On

It's been a long 10 days since my crash in Utah. I certainly could have done without the crash. People keep asking me, "How are you doing?" My standard response these days is, "I'm doing much better, but I've also been better!" I guess it is all a matter of perspective. That crash was probably the scariest and hardest crash I've ever had and I'm just very thankful that it didn't end up worse for anyone involved, myself included obviously. Since the crash it has been a struggle to get back to feeling human again and the reality of starting, let alone finishing, the USA Pro Challenge is a daunting goal. As the body does though, it heals and seems to begin to deliver a glimmer of hope when a hurting soul needs it. After a week of little to no riding that was a painful struggle at best, I finally had a hint that my body was going to say ok again yesterday. The pain and inflammation in my knee has lessened, I can stand out of the saddle feeling semi "inspired" again, and for the first time since the accident I am walking without a limp. I'll admit that I was getting kind of jaded on having people stare at me as I hobbled around with bandages on both arms and hands. And as of this evening, those bandages are off and my stitches are out. I do still have some protection on my knee for the deep gash there, but the rest is mostly out in the air. So here's the deal, I've got some new scars, I'm still healing, but I have hope. I have hope that I can still race well here and I have hope that I can pull some miracle out. Bottom line is that I'm still motivated (never lost it), I still want to do well, and I am going to try as hard as I can to make this a good race. My stitches are out and I'm pinning my numbers on to start fresh tomorrow.