It's Nice To Win. I'll

I'm Not Trying To Justify Myself, Or Say I'm Not Sorry, Or Not Contrite.

We Each Cope Differently With The Specter Of Our Deaths. Some People Deny It. Some Pray. Some Numb Themselves With Tequila. I Was Tempted To Do A Little Of Each Of Those Things. But I Think We Are Supposed To Try To Face It Straightforwardly, Armed With Nothing But Courage.

The Idea That Anybody Was Forced, Or Pressured, Or Encouraged, Is Not True.

Suffering, I Was Beginning To Think, Was Essential To A Good Life, And As Inextricable From Such A Life As Bliss. It’s A Great Enhancer. It Might Last A Minute, But Eventually It Subsides, And When It Does, Something Else Takes Its Place, And Maybe That Thing Is A Great Space. For Happiness. Each Time I Encountered Suffering, I Believed That I Grew, And Further Defined My Capacities – Not Just My Physical Ones, But My Interior Ones As Well, For Contentment, Friendship, Or Any Other Human Experience.

I Know What Happened To Cycling From 1999 To 2005. I Saw Its Growth, I Saw Its Expansion.