To start the semester off, our whole team was faced with running a 5k, with a goal of finishing in thirty minutes of less. Since January this 5k had been eating at me in the back of my mind. I am not a runner. I don’t like running and to a certain extent running does […]

After finishing my second Texas 4000 team workout that began in the early morning, I was reminded of my 4 am work days at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and remembered something. One day, while it was still dark out because the sun hadn’t come out yet, a statue outside of the main building caught […]

It’s happening. Almost a year ago I received a call telling me I was accepted to Texas 4000 and that yes, I really am going to ride a bike from Texas to Alaska to kick cancer’s ass. I had heard about Texas 4000 during my freshman orientation from an upperclassman who recommended it to me after I told her how […]

Tomorrow will mark exactly two weeks since I arrived at the finish line in Anchorage with my sweet 2016 teammates.  Although I still refer to them as my teammates, they have truly become, and will always be, my Texas 4000 family. Describing my experience with Texas 4000 in words has been one of the most […]

Cycling over 4,000 miles for charity is a grand gesture. Devoting 18 months of your life to training for a single event, supporting a single cause, can narrow your focus. Even though I knew it was coming, the suddenness in which Texas 4000 came to dominate my life left me winded and even now I […]

To anyone who is still checking in on my journal, wow, I applaud you and am grateful for your faith in me. If you are here because I sent you the link and waved at you shouting “Wait! Look here! I did something!” I am no less grateful for you giving in to my demands […]

“The truth is: Belonging starts with self-acceptance, because believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable, and imperfect”–Brene Brown If this ride has taught me anything, it is that in order to find my place in the world and feel like I belong, I need to accept myself for […]

On Day 35 we spent our day resting in Bigfork, MT. After 3 century days in a row (300+ miles in 3 days) our bodies were exhausted and we all needed a break from the bike. Unlike most of our rest days up to this point, we didn’t have any checks to deliver or any […]

Sometimes during long days on the bike, your mind starts to wander and you do things to distract yourself from the pain or the heat or the wind. At the beginning of my ride (around day 2) I wrote a poem in my head while I was riding and thinking about why I chose to […]

It seems very fitting to write and submit my first Journal entry at this moment. I am currently sitting next to my dearest role model. She is asleep. She has a drip of toxins hooked to a port on her chest. She is peaceful, but I am afraid. She is beautiful. About a week ago, my family got the […]