Day 40: A toast to the hero of S4S

Day 40 miles to/from work: 27.1
Total miles for S4S: 1066.0

The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make—not just on your wedding day, but over and over again—and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife.
                                                                                                                              -Barbara de Angelis

For the past two months you've been reading the daily reports about all manner of weather tedium and the gear/attire carefully selected for biking in every climactic nuance. This morning I couldn't access the Internet, which meant no weather info. I could make a good guess about what to wear; but the small details of having one layer too many or too few, the wrong socks, or unsuitable gloves could make a big difference in just how much kvetching you would have to endure after the fact. (See? It's all about you.)

When Scott learned of the situation, he stopped his morning ablutions and immediately went to the basement to apply some kind of shock therapy to the router. He then planted himself at the computer, fully dedicated to ensuring I had every meteorological detail of the day. This is my husband:  the hero behind—and sometimes at the forefront of—S4S.

Many of you know him and need no introduction to The Hero aka Scott Zimmermann. All of you have caught glimpses of him as he has made cameo appearances in S4S blog posts. What you haven't seen have been the many evenings that he has cooked dinner after I've gotten home late, tired, and sweaty. "No, you go upstairs and get into warm clothes. I'll take care of this." Or the follow-up when I start to clear the table, and he insists, "I'll do dishes. You get started on your blog." The miles he's walked the dog because I've become derelict about what used to be routine runs with her. Scott often stays up past any sensible bedtime so he can read a post as soon as I've published it.

This project has been all kinds of wonderful. It has also been all-consuming and in many ways a disruption to the comfortable routine of our home life. Scott has been inhumanly patient, never complained, and been unfailingly supportive in ways both large and small.

Some of you have shared what S4S has meant to you—that it has inspired you, changed your perspective, given you something to read with your coffee, and motivated you to change a habit or two. My friend "Cyn" (Lisa Jeanetta) even referred to it as "proving you can work miracles doing what you can, with what you have, from where you are." As the S4S community, we have all accomplished it together; but I want to pay special tribute to Scott—the unsung hero of cameo appearances—for being instrumental in making it possible. Thank you, Darlin'. I am so lucky to have you as a friend, life partner, and unflagging supporter and cheerleader. You are The Best! Here's to you, my hero.