Does everyday need a picture?

I am not sure who wants to just read my babble.. a picture just adds to it, right? Right, that's what I thought.... And besides I would like calves like these. These are property of my friend Alex --who humbly claims that it has a lot to do with genetics, but I happen to know he rides his bike more than most, and well I've seen my parents calves (sorry mom and dad but you do not have these calves.) However, maybe if I just keep riding. Maybe. Just maybe.

Today I prepared for the Europe ride by riding my bike. I did a nice 2 hour ride with friends from NE Minneapolis (my fine neighborhood). It was good, but hard. I don't know exactly what is was today, maybe it's that I rode with men and they just bike faster than me which makes it harder, but I felt sluggish. However, it was still nice and I laughed out loud at times during the fun moments with those boys, and spent some nice time in the warm sun.

Last year on the Europe ride another participant (who also has MS) stood up and gave a toast at one of the last dinners. He said "if you think climbing these mountains is hard, think about going to sleep at night wondering if you are going to be able to walk tomorrow." I remember that night vividly and I remember I cried. I have felt that fear. Today, however, I try and take that one step further and say well, none of us really knows what tomorrow holds, so get out there.

And that's what I do. Today when I had a hard moment I would just say to myself "it shouldn't be easy"..... meaning that anything worthwhile is not easy and often takes sacrifice and some amount of suffering. So it's hard, so what. When the ride is over my body is stronger and my mind clearer and the best part is I get to look over at my friend John, see him smile, and hear him say "thanks for riding friend" and that, my friend, is worth more than a million dollars.