Cheers to the the small victories.

 Last week I wanted to see how I was doing physical. Could I do a ride up Hwy 66, passed the winter gate? I had done it many times in the past, but I was nervous this time, and I was going alone. It was a nice mild spring like day, in the middle of an Alberta January. I wasn't sure what bike to take, so had my analogy skinny tire, and fat tire bikes in my van. I set out on the skinny tires but there was enough snow on the climb to make it a tough ride, so turned back, and swapped it for the fat tire bike. It was slow going on the studded fat tires, but so peaceful. I got to the top of the climb, had a quick rest, and as expected the other side of the pass was bare pavement. Not fun to ride pavement on studded fat tires. So I paused, had a bite to eat, and contemplated going home. A year ago I was so weak I had a hard time walking up, and down stairs, the Whipple Surgery recovery was going very poorly at that time. This is one of the adventures I dreamed of doing again on those rough recovery days, the thought of doing it kept me going. Sitting on the side of the road I watch a small herd of wild horses. They were beautiful, 4 of them, they took turns keeping an eye on me, and made sure I kept my distance. It was so nice being there, sun shining, it felt warm, and I decide I had to go down to the river, even if it meant I had to walk back up the hill to get back to where I was now. I have done it before in years past, and it was fun to ride on the dirt shoulder of the road, or small patches of snow / ice / dirt  mix in the ditch. I would have to come back up the same way. I was there to try a ride I had done many times in the past, and today was the perfect day to try it. I got to the river, and sat on the bank, I had the place all to my self. On the way back up I realize I had complete the goal I had set out, got to the river, and was safely on my way back up. It felt so good physically to do this, but the mental lift I got was a great surprise. No I deal how things will go in the future but this felt like a success, and I needed this mental lift. Cheers to the the small victories.