1. Best riding that i’ve ever done. From Arizona in January, to the awesome long solo training rides, to Durango in September - the riding this year was beyond anything i’ve ever enjoyed.

2. Training. This stuff really works. I know many people who pride themselves on how they don’t train, and I guess that’s good for them. But I’m totally digging having a schedule to follow that keeps me honest and somehow it worked out that I was totally ready to have awesomely strong days when I needed awesomely strong days.

3. Singlespeed. I poo-poo’d the singlespeed for a long time, this year that’s pretty much all I rode and love it.

4. Travel. Flying in planes really messes with your body, every time I returned from a trip it took 2-3 days to recover. I did far too much traveling in 2009 and hope to do a little less in 2010. The only negative, is that I really like going places and having adventures and planes allow you to do that in less time.

5. Riding solo. I actually love this.

6. Riding with friends. This year the Tuesday Night Ladies Ride really started to come into it’s own. I really enjoyed watching the ladies get more comfortable on their bikes and become stronger riders.

7. Most fun race - Fool’s Gold. I’m not a racer, this was pretty far from home, but I’m so glad I did this one. All the people were cool, the course was a lot of fun and the whole package was very rewarding. Hope I can do it again.

8. worst crash - the first time I rode with George all summer, I was really beat from the hill intervals the day before and was trying to take it as easy as I could while not looking like a wimp. I spun out on a rock and fell over smashing my leg and my noggin. Hurt like heck for a long time.

9. Best thing about 2009 was setting a big goal, something that was actually a huge journey for me to reach, and then reaching that goal and going beyond it. Not sure who can really understand the pride I felt when I crossed the finish in Durango, knowing that a year earlier I was overweight, out of shape, and dealing with heart problems. I know I didn’t have a great finish, and it sucked that none of my people were there to help me celebrate but for me it was a big win.

lady slippers along the trail

lady slippers along the trail in Cape Cod, June 2009