June 12th has been keeping score for a long time. Back in 2001, the day opened with a broken car and a bureaucratic standoff with a university that apparently needed convincing to confirm a graduation that had already happened. Classic June 12th energy. Not hostile exactly, just... resistant.
By 2003 there were photos of Blake and Colvin, and by 2005 the day had traded car trouble for rain-soaked plans, channeling a washed-out ride into a whole website rebuild. Adapt or sit inside refreshing the radar. Those seem to be the options.
The riding years were something else. A 56.7-mile monster through Montana gravel on a cross bike called Askia, followed by the strange quiet pride of seeing your name in the pro results. Then snow on Mount Sentinel in June, which Missoula apparently thought was perfectly reasonable. A late-night solo ride at 11 PM just because the legs were there. A hike hunting bitterroot flowers that turned into a weed-filled sinus attack and a small miracle at the end. The Shannon Ridge ride above Lake Como that brought back Vermont and upstate New York and every good trail memory folded into one.
Then some quieter June 12ths. A sick day in 2012 watching the Tour Divide from the couch. A grouse metaphor in 2014 carrying more weight than it let on. Flooding and flowers in Livingston in 2020, family medical stuff pulling the day sideways. A sunrise ride in 2022 that spoke mostly in images.
And then 2024 at Homestake Pass, where a purple-framed bike named Hendrix and a very persuasive butterfly led somewhere unexpected, ending with a cold beer on a wooden table in a clearing. Nobody will believe that story. Good.
Most recently, 2025 brought spreadsheets and AI agents and the dream of a financial co-pilot who reads fine print so you don't have to. A long way from wrenching a graduation confirmation out of PSUC, and yet, somehow, the same project. Still trying to get the systems to cooperate. Still adapting when they don't.
June 12th keeps showing up with a mix of resistance and reward. The receipts are all here.