Better late than never, Cylance Pro Cycling Adventure!
At one point you stop announcing new adventures because adventure becomes a part of life. It is your mantra, it is your routine. Can adventure become a routine? Yes, it can be an enchanting practice of repetition, especially when it involves a bicycle. This may be my excuse for the extremely tardy update, or perhaps I have been hoarding all these experiences. Yes, I tend to grasp, hold, and keep things for my very own. My bike has escorted me to so many different places the last 7 years and I fear I have begun to lose count or am beginning to forget even the most minor detail. Each place is unique and offers a fresh place to learn and grow. I search for meaning and purpose while living on two wheels, and aspire to do great things. The bike has become a vessel to be a part of a family, to become a mechanism of something greater, and to ultimately change the world. You want to know my goals? Well, there you have it.
This year I am racing for Cylance Pro Cycling. This is a big adventure, yet it is an adventure where I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be. Or perhaps I have always been. This team is important to me for several reasons. First of all, the title sponsor, Cylance Inc, is the real deal. It is an innovative anti-virus firm that is the only one like it in the world, and winning awards left and right for its revolutionary ingenuity. I like representing a company that is forward thinking, intelligent, and of course loves bicycles and life balance. Another reason is that I have dreamed of riding a Cannondale Bicycle for many years. Call me shallow, but I have always been attracted to the aesthetic beauty of the geometry of these American bikes and have wanted to be part of this addictive and contagious Cannondale family. Fear of missing out on a machine so perfect and willing to support women’s cycling made me envious of those able to ride these bikes. Now, I am one of the lucky ones. Besides just the looks and mission of the company, of course I am also thrilled about the practical positives of my new steed such as balance, lightness, and power transfer of such a sexy and fast bicycle. This bike somehow manages to be responsive, yet stable. Light, yet efficient. Yes, I have fallen in love, and I am completely enamored. Pair this dream boat with Mavic wheels, Speedplay pedals, and SRAM components? This girl is in complete bicycle heaven.
Our motto on Cylance Proc Cycling is to #inspiretoachieve and I couldn’t agree more. You can easily see that the support of this team is unparalleled and each rider is ultimately set up for success from equipment to management to sponsors. But I digress. These are the cold hard facts, and I am feeling much more emotional. The warmth that floods my very core is the team aspect of this team. The staff, management, sponsors, and riders are the reason this is a great adventure with purpose and satisfaction. It is one thing to be able to race your bike. It is another thing entirely to be a part of something bigger. Bike racing isn’t a right, or an entitlement. Even as a professional. Bike racing is a gift. It is an opportunity, and you can decide what you will do with this platform. To be on a team where each member realizes this important purpose and can use it professionally to attain their personal and athletic goals all while remaining a part of something greater, is why I race my bike.
This year, I have already been to Australia, Qatar, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland, to just name a few. I have also lost my passport, slept in airports, and traveled in horrendous outfits after not showering post-race for many hours. The planes, trains, and automobile circus will continue the rest of the year, and I will crave time with my family and friends at home. But being a part of something greater and my consistent work with Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer® makes me realize I am on the right path. In a couple of weeks racing will take me to Great Britain and China, all before the Amgen Tour of California! The travel may sound like the adventurous part, and I do enjoy the new sights and smells, but the adventure is found in so much more. Even if I have been to a place before, it is still a new day and a new experience. Every day is beautiful and special, regardless of the terrain and weather, because it is an opportunity to live. To inhale. To pedal. To smile. To embrace each day we have. Yes, I am thrilled to be a part of Cylance Pro Cycling, based in Costa Brava for the duration of the year. Yes, I do like saying Costa Brava. But more importantly, I am proud to be a part of something so much greater that just bike racing. I am motivated in continued challenges, but also accomplishments that extend beyond race winnings. Whether it is the growth of women’s sports, or increasing opportunity in the sport that I love, working in advocacy, or continuing education, it is my time to make a difference and continue to grow and learn more about this world, and myself. It may not seem that pedaling a bike can change the world, but I will find a way to do just that. Adventure time it is! As per protocol.
