It's all about the clothes, right?

Back in the day (like April), before all of my disposable income went to bikes, I loved the store Anthropologie. I like clothes. Now I can only walk past the storefront and remember a time when I wore more than spandex.

Last night, I got something I could never buy at Anthro: my team clothes. At the last camp, those of us that were new didn't have team clothes. Even at dinner one night, a waiter asked why we didn't match the rest of the team. I received a backpack full of USA clothes. This morning as I pulled on my USA Paralympic kit, I felt pride and some sort of fulfillment for all of my hard work. I know that I got here faster than some, but that doesn't take away any of the pride that you feel when you wear those colors in public for the first time.

There are a lot of things that I am sentimental about in my life. Most of the time, sports isn't a place to be a "girl" about things. Winning means pedaling faster and you don't pedal faster for any other reason than you work harder. Mean Coach bought me a "Man Up" shirt for a reason. But along the way, my girlness has some benefits. Everyone (just about) has the same track bag and do they often get confused. I wanted to put a patch on mine to mark it as mine. I asked a friend to look for a Notre Dame patch when he was at a game. The bookstore didn't have any - but a week later a strange package arrived from somewhere that is not South Bend. In it was a Notre Dame patch that my friend had ordered for me from eBay. Every time I see that patch I remember that he is rooting for me and pedal just a little bit faster! Thanks ChooChoo!!!!