God works in mysterious ways and so often when we are at our lowest He steps in to show us His greatness.
This happened today. I left school frustrated and overwhelmed. I was already nervous about my big race Saturday and it has just been an emotional few days. I wanted to get in one final ride before I start tapering off to get my legs rested up for the big day. So I headed out towards the airport, unsure of where my ride would take me, but knowing that I just needed to ride. I am almost to the airport and as I am climbing a hill in the wrong gear and huffing and puffing an older gentleman named Edgar rides up beside me and offers an encouraging “You can do it!” I get to the top and he rides up kinda beside me so I turn and ask him if he is also preparing for the race. (It was a fairly safe bet that he was) We talked a bit about the race and his four-man team vs. my two-woman team. Apparently I am brave for tackling it with a two person team and taking on what everyone says is the toughest leg. He kept riding with me. As we went along, he helped me with shifting and figuring out which gears are best for flats, hill climbs etc. He helped me with my form on the uphills and downhills. And he just rode with me. Up and around and back-I have no idea where he was actually planning on going or where he needed to go. As we were heading back, he goes “You are a very strong rider.” I have to admit that was exactly the boost of confidence I needed today. I don’t feel like I have had enough time to prepare and I have been so scared I am going to fail and miss our cutoff time. But after riding beside Edgar for an hour and listening to the tips and advice and him coming to the final conclusion that I was an ok rider just put me at peace. Beyond that it made me realize that you just never know who will show up at the right time to be exactly what you needed. There is no one I know that could have said anything to calm my nerves. But this stranger who took a few minutes out of his day to help a struggling rider made more of impact than he will ever know. I will finish that race. I am more excited than nervous and feeling better about it than I did yesterday. So bring on the Hell!
