Project Blizzard, Part I

Tuesday was not a good day. Who am I kidding? It had not been a good week. In fact, this entire month has been an emotional challenge.

I struggled through two somber errands after work. I got home, expecting to see the light of day shining from My Lizard's soul because it was Triple Bypass drawing day. He's been on pins and needles since the beginning of the year after registering in the annual event's first-ever lottery, throwing his hat in the ring for the event's inaugural Double Triple. He made it through work all day and rushed home to check email.

One look at his face, and I knew. What a way to begin the cycling season -- being left out of your favorite event because you didn't get drawn. What kind of harbinger would this be for other ride lotteries we annually hope against hope for?

"Oh, well," he muttered at one point, between a couple of checking-email-one-more-time sessions. "The Silver Rush 50 is the same day. Maybe I can do that instead..."

He'd check Twitter (neither of us have Twitter accounts) and see that other riders had already joyously registered. He'd check Facebook (he doesn't have an account) and see that other riders had already ceremoniously registered. Then he'd check his email again, one more time, just in case.

Nothing.

Our house was so quiet that night. The mood was so solemn. I realized we need to come up with a Plan B just in case this happens again when Ride the Rockies lottery results are announced in March. We're too close to anniversaries that are difficult for both of us to take a chance on letting this winter moodiness seize our core.

Finally, it was time for bed. It would be a restless night. The Lizard wanted to check email one more time. Just in case. I was sitting on the floor, crocheting a pair of neon baby socks because bright colors sometimes cheer me.

"Be sure to check your spam folder," I softly suggested.

Quiet returned.

About six minutes later, the silence was punctured with the elation of a teenager who just busted into a secret realm in an electronic game.

"I'M IN!!!" The Lizard shouted! "I'M IN!!!"

Sure enough, his notification was in his spam folder. It had arrived at midnight Monday. If he had checked his spam folder before going to work, he would have known all day, and we wouldn't have wasted an evening being sad. But, as he says, now he appreciates being drawn even more. And he feels for all the riders who didn't get drawn. Because he knows exactly how it feels.

Tears spilled. But they weren't the kind of tears that have been falling all week. These were the tears I wish we could crystallize and hang upon my crocheted snowflakes in the windows so they can catch sunbeams and transform them into sensational prisms of rainbow shimmers. This was just the boost we needed to get us through the remainder of this winter!

Our cycling lotteries give us something to look forward to while we wait to find out if we've been drawn. Being drawn gives us motivation to get out there and ride, even if winter refuses to let go of our landscape. Big rides give us reason to seek the sun when short daylight hours and cumbersome work commitments keep us indoors.

I've been diligently seeking reasons to smile all month and coming up short more than I care to. The first-ever Double Triple is making me smile now. And I won't even be pedaling it!

The Triple is his favorite ride of the year. And this year, he is one of only 500 people who get to do it twice!

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