Our Last Day :(

So i've finally gotten around to writing about our last day in Kutztown. Have to admit, i've been putting this off because frankly i didn't want to face the fact that the trip was over. it was definitly an experience of a life time and i wouldn't change a second of it!!! well maybe just one :P

so after a big night last night, safe to say it was pretty hard to wake up at 4:30am to say bye to Brodie's mum good ol' Kath :p. but shes totally worth it :P She had to catch the bus to NY at 5:00 because she was on an earlier flight. It was definitly sad to say bye because she is such a nice person and she had been a great help! especially over the last few days. Don't know what we would have done without her!!!

Anyway, went back to bed after that for a few more hours then woke up at a more decent 6:30 (glad to see that even after 5 weeks of not having to wake up at ridiculous o'clock, my body still feels the urge too! oh well, guess it'll make adjusting back home a little easier...) to pack up my track bike and cram some more stuff into the box before the rest of the girls made their guest appearence several hours later. we then decided to venture down to the bagel bar for old times sake. I had a egg and sausage bagel absolutely delicious! and even tried a french toast bagel! no joke, it was litterally a bagel ... but it tasted like french toast. pretty much one of the yummiest things ever! thats one of the things i miss about the US is the food and the sheer variety of it! i mean they think of everything! there is just so much to choose from! Your probs thinking that i'm a weird one but hey, what can i say. I love my food and in the US there is certainly a lot of it!pretty sure i was sad to part with my banana bread oatmeal...creamy honey just doesn't cut it! i'm sorry. And Pop's ice cream...wish we had a little ice creamery like that back home.. they had everything! have to admit, was a bit of a fan of the old choc chip cookie dough... never got to try the cake batter or cupcake ice cream though.. oh well, theres always next time ;)

Back to the point, after our breakfast, we ventured down old main street and took some last minute pictures to try and capture the atmosphere and try and remind us of all the cool things we have done here. Thats one of the hardest things i'm finding back home is trying to describe everything and our experiences to everyone... you just can't! like the time in the crit at Fitchburg when all the girls busted their butts off for me. they gave everything! and you can't describe how good it felt working so well in a team like that...and all the funny things you try and recreate but turns out 'you just had to be there'. Like our late night escapades to Turkey Hill to get slurries...:p

I'm getting pretty side tracked ay lol. When we returned home, we pretty much cleaned for about 3hrs lol. i swear to god i dragged 20 bike boxes up from the basement! was feeling my arms the next day! and it was soo stinking hot! we were seriously sweating all over the place. charming. i know :P. Safe to say the house was cleaner and in a better state than when we got there! But it was worth getting all the cleaning and bags done early because it meant that we were able to have lunch with the young medalist crew and say our last goodbyes. Didn't quite realise how hard it was going to be. these people have been like family and best friends to us over here. they have always offered to take us places, keep us entertained lol, listen to our stories...God i miss them. I miss our rides together, our random get togethers and parties at Zach's house and freaking out whilst watching disturbia... the frogs and the bonfire...everything. they have all been so kind to us! and all the people we met at racing.. they welcomes us with open arms! no joke, i have about 100 new friends on facebook and i plan on keeping in touch with each and every single one of them.

So after lunch, we said our goodbyes and Bailey (shes such cutie, wanted to adopted her and take her home with us) gave us some young medalist kit which was great! now i have a new wind vest and arm warmers to face the elements with back home and i will be reminded of the trip everytime i wear them. Then our lift arrived to take us to the airport...When we got there it took us litterally forever to check in. We were tag teaming to get inside to the aircon cause it was about 37 odd degrees or something out there. so we'd take shifts standing outside with the bikes. When we finally checked in, we had some dinner and walked around for a bit until it was time to board the flight. I think it was at about that point that i realise that i was actually heading home...

The first flight didn't seem to take long at all! on that particular leg, i wrote letters to Audrey and all of the girls just thanking them for everything. They are probably some of the coolest people you'll ever meet and i miss them terribly! can't wait to see all of them when they come down for Nationals!! will be on the side line cheering them on for sure!

The next leg was the long one, Stockholm - KL. Mind you, with a little help from too many $1 sleeping pills i bough over the counter, was pretty much out for the whole flight! which wasn't such a bad thing...think i watched about 1/2 a movie? and got woken up for meals.. which really probably weren't worth waking up for lol.

In KL was when it started to get tough. This was where we were splitting up with the WA crew (ie Audrey, Mickey and Lara). Needless to say there were tears on all the girls' behalf...Who would have thought we would create such a strong bond in 4 weeks? pretty sure i would adopt them all if that was possible! Mickey bough Brodie and I comfort food (ie choclate lol) for the way home.. got through about 1/2 of it before i even started to feel the teeniest bit better!!

So we said our goodbyes then headed to board our flight. This was it. 1 more flight then i was home. The dream was over. It was back to reality. We got into Syd and said goodbye to the QLD people (Brodie, Thommo and Mitch) which was equally sad then headed to coustoms so we could all catch our domestic flights home. Our plane got delayed in KL so we litterally had about 30min to get our bags and clear coustoms. it was tight. we didn't really get to say bye to Pat, Pete and Angus because they were rushed to their connecting flight in a seperate terminal but we still keep in contact. Sam and I were met by our parents who were freaking out trying to get us on the last plane back home. we had about 4min to get everything checked in then had over to domestic. it was a close call but we made it. Then it was simply a 30min flight back home where i was greeted by my sister. It was great to see her again. safe to say i missed her a bit. So said goodbye to Sam and wished him all the best for the VIC states that weekend (bet he would have been stomping) then headed home.

So yeh, that was it. I was back home. Unpacking my bag, i was reminded by all the good times an things i have achieved over there. I went over there having just come out of a massive hole, feeling pretty down about things, never having won a bike race and generally at a loss about things. Over there, it was like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was able to forget about everything that was going on back home and finally be the person that i have always wanted to be! Have to admit, thats one of the toughest things i'm finding at the moment. When i stepped off the plane it was like i hit a wall. it was back to reality. everything i left behind had come back. it was back to the same old stuff... the same daily grind. the honeymoon was over. It is really hard trying to refocus at school because i have realised that there is so much more to life, so much more that i could/would rather be doing. But with any luck, i'll be back there next year. for longer.

I hopped back on the bike on Monday. safe to say i basically wore every piece of clothing i owned. thats another tuffy... went from riding at half way decent hour, in the warmth with probably some of the nicest/funniest/coolest people you'll every meet to waking up at 5 to train in the dark and freezing cold hans solo. oh well...guess i can't complain.. people are a lot worse off. and if it means i'll be able to go over there next year or continue my form back here... then it's totally worth it.

Just like to say a quick thank you to everyone who helped make this experience probably one of the best experiences of my life so far. It is definitly one to remember. it has given me hope and the friends that i have made are pretty much awesome. So to those who have stuck by me, supported me and believed in me i'd like to say thank you. Would list you all individually, but that would probably take years lol :P and besides, you all know who you are ;). Who would have thought that in 4 weeks we would have achieved so much? met so many new friends? or been to so many places? i certainly wouldn' have.

as you can tell, i'm avoiding wrapping this up because like i said earlier...i just don't want to face the fact that the trip is over. but i guess i'll have to. one day. but for now, i keep my photo keyring attached to my bag and look at it at every chance i get.

Just another thing, this blog started off as a diary just basically for me and my family to keep track of things whilst i was over here. Little did i know i would have randoms coming up to me at races saying 'oh your miffy! i've read your blog...'. So turns out i got a few more people than my Mum reading this. Got me in trouble a few times but hey. Just like to say thanks to the people who have been following me (not litterally of course lol) throughout my trip and for sitting through my long and pretty average entires lol... you deserve an award :)

wow, this entry is massive.. pretty sure i have written a novel. if only i put this much effort into my school work :P

Until next time (cause there will definitly be a next time ;) )
take care
and safe riding

xo Miffy

P.S If your ever looking at coming the AUS/ would like me to send you stuff from back here, let me know and i'll be sure to hook you up :p