Cycling on the trainer became more and more of an obsession. I even bought more of those silly shorts, and no longer felt like I walked funny in them. I lost 20 pounds, and won the first two quarters of my company’s weight loss challenge! (I’m not sure all coworkers shared my excitement in that…) But the best part? I was still eating and drinking pretty much whatever I wanted! (Maybe THAT’S the part my coworkers weren’t thrilled about…). This was great, because I really had no intention of giving up wine and donuts.
Around this time, Kent began mountain bike racing. He joined a racing team and competed in the endurance category. This entailed riding a mountain bike in the woods for FOUR HOURS at a shot. I thought this was ABSOLUTELY NUTS, but I always went to proudly cheer him on. I’m mostly an introvert, so I figured I’d take a book and relax outside while cheering him on. I didn’t know anyone, and wasn’t going to meet new people ALL BY MYSELF. But Kent said that I wouldn’t be alone – that I could sit under the team tent and talk to his teammates and their significant others. Hmm… I wasn’t sure how that would fit into my solitary book reading plans…
What I didn’t know at this point, was that I would go on to meet some of the best, friendliest, most supportive, and amazing people through his cycling, and eventually, through my own. I met his teammates and their girlfriends. It didn’t take long (maybe about 5 minutes) before we were talking non-stop, sharing our life stories, and completely missing our significant others as they rode by. But we would go to the races and sit and chat and snack and hand out water bottles as the guys did their laps. I grew to love supporting everyone on the team, and took a lot of pride in making sure everyone had what they needed. I loved taking care of everyone.
This was all a lot of fun, and I didn’t see this needing to change. I can totally sit outside on a gorgeous day under a tent sipping on wine (beer/alcohol typically go hand in hand at cycling events) and chatting with the girls. I could see this going on for years. Growing older and watching the boys race in the masters category…
But these girls had other ideas. These girls were tough. Eventually, they were no longer content to sit under the tent and watch cycling happen. Jen started RIDING in some of the mountain bike races. I thought she was nuts, but I was still proud of her. I cheered her on and took lots of pictures in order to capture all her bravery. And Amy, who was already doing significant road rides, was starting to think about competing in cyclocross. I don’t know why we couldn’t be content to sit under the tent and relax, but there you have it.
They tried more and more to convince me that I should learn to ride, and I just laughed at them. I thought they were silly. Although I had given them a brief history of my riding experience thus far, I didn’t think they had any idea of what they were really dealing with. I think, when you tell most people that you can’t ride a bike as an adult, they assume you just mean that you haven’t ridden since you were a kid.
No, no. That’s not at ALL what I meant.
Amy even offered to take me out and teach me, a gesture that I thought was very kind, but there was NO WAY I was taking her up on it. How embarrassing would it be to have someone you only met a short time ago, take you out to teach you how to ride a bicycle in your 30’s?!
But the three of us talked more and more, and Jen and Amy shared with me their stories and their struggles, and their fears. They talked about how they would come across something they were afraid of, get off their bike, and walk. One of them was afraid of going uphill; the other afraid of going downhill. But what clicked for me the most? One of them said sometimes she’s so scared, or so frustrated that she’s stopped and cried in the woods. To which the other acknowledged that she’s also had a good cry in the woods now and again.
Guys! Suddenly, it was like someone flipped a switch!
I CAN CRY IN THE WOODS TOO!!
I know this, because I have cried, A LOT, in this learning-to-ride process! So if they can do it, why can’t I?? I can get off my bike and walk! I know this too, because I’ve probably spent more time walking alongside my bike, then actually riding on it. Suddenly, I felt TOUGH! Suddenly, I felt like there was actually a chance that I could do this!
This is when things started to change for me…