three

anniversaire heureux à moi !

rituals, traditions, acknowledging anniversaries . . . all extremely important things in my book of how to live.
thus, today, I honored my own anniversary and rode up a hill.
ah, you say, sounds like any other day in susan's life . . . and you would be somewhat correct.
but this was a special hill, on a special day.

today marks my 3rd anniversary of consistent cycling.
on my 1st anniversary, I decided to celebrate by riding up Big Cottonwood canyon to brighton for the first time.
on my 2nd anniversary, I repeated that pleasure.
thus, today, I kept the tradition alive and again, rode to brighton.

I even bought a hostess ding dong at the top in honor of the day. (note to self: these things look better than they taste, especially when the one you purchase is from the brighton store where it's probably been hanging around for quite some time. I dusted off the wrapper and saw that the expiration date was january 20th, but was so hungry I didn't really care to look hard enough to decipher the year. that first bite told me the year.)

God sent rain, hail, sun, cold air, and a great tailwind for most of the ride: of course, there is no better ride than one that lets you experience all of these elements. the creek continues to roar down its channel, and the hillsides are as green and flush as ever. trees still grow crookedly where the snow sits heavily on them for 5 solid months, and the road still climbs upward as steeply as it ever did.

I'm just grateful I had the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate another year behind me, and welcome in the new year which has just begun. big cottonwood will always hold that special place in my heart, not only for its grandeur and beauty, but for helping me to celebrate such an awesome part of my existence.