ALERT ALERT: I have recently pressed up my fundraising goal to $4566. It may be a random number to you, but to me it is very important: the 2014 route takes us through 13 states and 4,566 miles. I'm hopeful that having raised a dollar per mile will give me the strength to continue pushing through those days when the heat makes me feel sluggish, those miles that feel longer than just one, and those muscle aches that make me want to stop pedaling.I'm super excited to make this goal! If you'd have asked me in November if I thought I'd be aiming a thousand dollars over my initial pledge, I'd probably have choked on my diet coke. Actually if you'd have asked me a year ago if I thought I was ready to bike across the country, I'd be laughing and diet coke would be running out of my nose. It's funny how time changes things, no? (Except for the diet coke addiction. That's still the same.)Okay, so enough about that. Let's shift gears a bit (ha ha bike pun, @Kevin Daliva that was for you). This past week and weekend have been pretty trying for me. For those of you who don't know, I've been struggling to ride my bike without shoulder pain; this means my bike time has been extremely low lately. Throughout this stuff, I'm teaching myself the importance of keeping perspective, and I'm learning how my emotional strength naturally ebbs and flows. When I wake up first thing in the morning, I feel invincible. And then as the day goes on and stress creeps in, my perspective clouds up and sends me down a bit. But recognizing this pattern has allowed me to manage it; so much can be different by changing how you consider a situation.I4K is one of the greatest things that I have done this year because it has taught me everything about perspective. There's something about being part of this organization that gives us all a rosy glow in our cheeks, I swear it. Never in my life have I been so consistently surrounded by good vibes, warm spirits. You guys, this organization rules so hard. It is full of such enthusiastic, powerful, beautiful people. My teammates and my Board of Directors are so admirable; they are smart and positive and altruistic and caring and cool. They know to be strong when it's hard, and they support me in the most perfect ways when I need it. They are full of light and passion. They glow. I feel so proud to be part of this organization and this group of people. We started this journey so many months ago, and now we're 16 days from departure. My time so far has taught me so much, and it only gets better from here.