Hey, CELEBRATE!  You’re making FANTASTIC progress!  Remember that first day on the road bike when you took a spill in the middle of Chicago Avenue and all those drivers stopped to see if you were okay?  Or how about the time you put your helmet on backwards?  Even we hadn’t seen that before!

We’re impressed you stuck with us given that uneven start and how much you disliked riding up – and especially DOWN – McClure Pass.  That takes some chutzpah.  How about the time it took you so long to descend Maroon Bells that Edward fell asleep in the car?

Clearly, you’re a slow-twitch, scenery rider.  Racer – not so much.  Congrats on finally getting the hang of shifting! Gone are the days when you were so shift averse you rode in the same gear for fear the chain would fall off.

Thumbs up on pumping up your tires before every ride.  Even if you can change a flat – albeit very slowly and with the help of YouTube – why ruin a perfectly good ride doing so?

We heard you chanting “Keep the bike upright” long before pro cyclist Chris Horner mentioned it on The Butterfly Effect.  Common sense and, as you know, easier said than done.

Fortunately, you’re doing much better with the apparel!  No more wearing an undershirt in lieu of a jersey.  How handy are all those pockets – especially the zippered ones for your id, credit card and patron saint cards featuring Catherine of Siena and St. Francis.  That’s new.  We’ve not seen other riders carry saints on their rides.  But, hey, if it works for you!  Weird as though the padded shorts may look off the bike, we can tell you appreciate the comfort on those long days in the saddle.

Yep, in our estimation you deserve those purple cycling shoes Edward gave you for your birthday.  You took to the clip-on pedals way more gracefully than we expected given your previous track record.  And while you were learning to wear them, you mastered an important cycling and life lesson.  “Do it your way.”  We handlebars have plenty of time to listen to you humans talk and it’s apparent to us that offering opinions is easier for most people than riding a bike.

We’ve been watching you and here are a few pointers/reminders we would like to humbly offer:

• Remember to keep riding your ride and let everyone else ride theirs.
• Stay true to your objectives – fun, fitness, scenery.
• When in doubt, breathe.  Holding your breath takes pedaling energy.
• Keep ridin’ with that smile.  It reminds those drivers that this is supposed to be fun, right?
• Stay with it.  You’ve already ridden in three states and three nations which means we still have a lot of ground to cover. 

Pedal on.