I came back for redemption. For revenge. For solace and solitude. To embrace whatever those Flint Hills wanted to give. I came back to Unbound XL in search of me. To find my smile, buried deep in the mud of years past. I came back because I love it here, and I needed a patch for the mile 275 DNF scar on my heart. My Kansas riding has been a metaphor for life. Riding the ups and downs. The highs and lows. The successes and failures. The boredom in the mundane and the excitement in that too. As I have said before, Kansas has my heart, and once you give yourself fully, it becomes effortless.