Today we were headed into Austin on a mission.  Our first stop was to drop Dave’s Trek off at Bicycle Sport Shop for its first tune-up.  After some browsing there, we drove the short distance over to Mellow Johnny’s, Lance’s shop. 

This is a cool place.  Okay, guys, you said I could take photos, so boy did I!  A nice selection of LiveSTRONG items…go figure!  I did get a pair of LiveSTRONG bib shorts, a Mellow Johnny's t-shirt and some gel (thanks, Dave).  I have a few pairs of bibs which are probably about 10 years old and a pair of black ones a little more recent than that, but they all have the old-style pad in them.  This is my first pair with the new type of pad, so I’m hopeful this will be an improvement on comfort and keeping happy during the summer months.  Been kinda wanting a pair of the LiveSTRONG bibs for a while and hey, the price was pretty darn good.

Yes, lots of bikes, clothes, shoes, and so forth upstairs in the shop.  There is also the Juan Pelota Cafe, where Dave got a coffee and me a smoothie.  We sat outside on the porch with these. 

The highlight of Mellow Johnny’s for me personally?  Downstairs.  Three of Lance’s bikes from recent times on display.  Walking up to them.  Touching them.  Powerful moment for me as a cyclist, yes, but as a survivor…as a survivor having just lost my precious cousin Karen to cancer….as a survivor having lost other family and friends over the years to cancer.  Standing there with these bikes…I felt the old passion, the strength, the determination, the joy I have felt for cycling….which I have not felt in some time.  I’m gettin’ there. 

I’ve never met Lance and chances are I never will.  I know nothing of the man personally.  He may be the biggest pussycat in the world or the biggest jerk.  But I tell you what, folks.  What his cycling and his story have done for me not only during my cancer experience but in cycling and in life, well, I am forever grateful.  I know it’s that way for many others out there, but I still have this dream of one day getting five seconds with him to shake his hand, look him in the eyes and say, “Thank you.”

The times during treatment mowing the yard or on the bike trainer, feeling absolutely like hell but thinking “If Lance did what he did, I can do this.  This is nothing compared to that.”  Those darkest of the dark days in the months following treatment when my marriage was dissolving and my heart was breaking, somehow calling on that inner strength I had found in cycling to get me through the storms of those days.  When I was able to finally face getting back on the bike, making cycling my own again…riding alone around Brenham or with pals…making it my own again.

LivingStrong…rebuilding my life after cancer “going solo” for a while…venturing out on my own to participate in LAF activities…finding joy the everyday activities of life…shelving my timid self and getting on that plane for Washington DC in June 2005 to attend LiveSTRONG Day on Capitol Hill and meet my beloved Scotsman for the first time.  Finding “the” wedding dress at a vintage store in Scotland…the store is called “Armstrong’s.” 

Out on the bike, being one with the bike, slipping into a different cadence…a bit faster one…getting stronger on the bike, getting faster on the bike, focused on the bike…having male cycling pals comment things had changed.  Hangin’ with the guys got a whole lot easier.

So many other moments….so many ways cycling and Lance’s inspiration have been, and continue to be, part of my life on the road and off the road.

Tears of sorrow for recent and past losses, tears of joy, tears of strength…were in my eyes as I stood there with Lance’s bikes this morning…and touched a handlebar….”Thanks, Lance, man, for everything.”  Tailwinds to you always.

Dave and I had lunch at Romeo’s on Barton Springs, sitting outdoors on the patio.  Afterwards it was back to Bicycle Sport Shop to pick up his bike and then head north back home to Cedar Park.

It’s been a good day.