When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it's welcome.

I don't think it's the worst thing ever to start when you're in your twenties. You're not burnt out, you're going to stick around and most of the best cyclists are in their 30s.

I think, as most of us do, I put such high expectations on myself that this spills over onto other people. And not everyone is wired this way. Some people can shrug expectations off their shoulders like a cardigan, remaining cool and breezy. Others wear them like a parka with a stuck zipper, hot and stifling.

If there were any people who were my role models I would just say it was my family's influence and the family and the kids around me.

What I have learned about the sport of cycling is that you have to love it to do it because you're not going to retire off of it.

When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.

In high school you just kind of go with it, you belong to a sport and you're lettering and there is a very social part. With cycling, a lot of people will steer away because you can't letter, and lettering is still cool and it's very important for scholarships and other stuff.