October 26, 2007

Hello everybody from beautiful Durango Colorado! What an amazing fall we’ve had here. Warm days, blue skies, and amazing color from the trees have greeted me each day. While it’s been gorgeous here, I’ve definitely had a different fall. Normally this is my time to unwind by tearing up the mountain bike trails, go fishing, and spend countless hours on the corner of 6th and main people watching with my friends with a big coffee in hand. Instead I have enjoyed breaking my shoulder in half and all the nice struggles that go along with rehabbing it. Fortunately, I had the best shoulder surgeon, Dr. Field Blevens, do an incredible job on a very difficult surgery. Tonight as I write to you I now am 4 days away from riding outside again! Something I have been waiting a log time and working hard towards achieving. It has been a rough 2 months, but it’s changed me, made me stronger, and a person who knows what he wants. What’s that? You’ll see.

While recovering I have done my best to stay active. I’ve been doing everything from 3 hour runs to 3 hour trainer rides. Both I do not particularly enjoy, but now put a nice smile laced grimace on my face (my favorite kind). Although this year has been full of ups and downs, but I am finally on what seems to be a rocket ship. I go to bed seeing who I want to become and waking up this person. I’ve never been so focused, so happy of the opportunities I have, and so driven. It’s amazing what a traumatic experience does to you as I can attest overcoming this experience takes you to another level.

All of us have our expectations of who we should be, or become, or should have became. And then we add a time line on top of that. For me I am no different. I have all kinds of ideal situations programmed in my head, but it wasn’t until I had two days of intense suffering in the hospital did I realize I had to let all this go. Its not about could, should, etc. It’s about doing it. I realized that I am going to stop dreaming and make these dreams my reality.

I am very proud to have such amazing supporters and people in my life. Without you guys all of this would have been so much harder. While I won’t tell you all of my dreams, I am very excited about showing you all of them on a road near you in ‘08!

Tom Danielson