Christmas at home

It is hard to appreciate things until you really miss them. Having Christmas at home this year was absolutely wonderful. Last year I was alone in Australia and it was definitely a hard day. There is something so grounding and so comforting to going home and being with family. I did break down and cry a few times just being overwhelmed by emotion. Bitter sweet, I guess, knowing that I got a few days and then had to pack up and prepare for another long, exciting, crazy and at times trying year spent everywhere but at home when I'll be really lucky if I get to see my family for a total of a week. I'm not complaining because it comes with the territory of what I do, but merely realizing and noting how important they are to me and how much I appreciate all of their love and support.

Travel back to Colorado today was long - but it could have been worse. I was lucky and flew through Washington D.C. which allowed me to miss the huge storms in the midwest that played havoc on everyone trying to fly through. I think mother nature must have a sense of humor because she seems to always send the snow during the holiday season just to make things a little more stressful for everyone. Fortunately with all of the traveling we do it takes a heck of a lot to ruffle me. I've learned to just roll with the punches - nothing I can do to change it.

Tomorrow I will spend taking my AR1 apart so that I can build up a new frame, a Felt ZW1 frame, which is the bike I will be riding in 2010. It is a 2009 edition that I am going to take with me to get used to while my 2010 ZW1 frames are built and specially painted for me. I'm really excited for the bike as it will be a smaller frame than last year and should give me even more control and power on the road. After the bike is taken care of, then comes the rest of the packing. My goal is to pack the least amount possible... as is always the goal :) but this time around I think I am really going to take very little clothing that is not directly related to training or sleeping as I seem to spend 99% of my time training or asleep. We'll see how I do... got to keep the bags under 32 kgs total...