Riding

Remember last year when I did two sprint triathlons and rode my bike all of the freakin' time?

Yeah.
The last time I got on my bike was literally Oct/Nov! I don't know what happened...actually, I do. It got cold, then it was the holidays, then I went on vacation, and we moved. My bike sat in my laundry room with tires deflated. And then, on January 5th, my mom died! Couple that with yoga teacher training, my cat dying from cancer, followed by my Stepfather's death, and I didn't feel like doing anything (can I get a resounding WTF?) and the bike seriously took a back seat. Not just my bike, but all physical activity. I have seriously gained like 10lbs the past year. On my 5'3 frame, I am feeling it. It's not even probably noticeable to anyone else, but I just feel out of shape.

Well, the other night, I was really thinking about how I NEED TO GET ON MY BIKE.

I had just saw that Healthy Ashely had taken a serious fall, fractured her pelvis in 3 places, suffered a concussion, and was going in for surgery!  As some of you may remember, when I was doing my 2nd sprint triathlon, I happened to meet Ashley...

I remember being so thrilled to meet Ashley. Mirza thought I was such a nerd, as if I met a celebrity. He had no idea who the hell she even was, of course! The reason Ashely rocks is that she's seriously just a regular chick, but she does amazingly awesome things, like marathons, and IRONMAN's. From reading her blog and following her on twitter, I just love her outlook on life and I think that she is a huge inspiration.

It may seem odd that hearing a story of someone get injured while cycling inspired me to get back on my bike, but it did!

The other night I was struck with a huge urge to ride. In the dark of my porch, I took out my bike, pumped up my flat tires, cleaned the chain, and lubed up everything, including my shoes. I remember how happy and excited I was to get those damn shoes, and there they sat in my closet for almost a year.

 In my p.j.'s and geeky shoes, I took a spin around the apartment parking lot.
During this time, I re-realized that I have a sweet-ass bike!!!

And it is unacceptable for me to not ride it!! Can you believe that a few months ago I even thought about maybe selling it? What was I thinking??

This morning, I took my bike for a ride on the trail, my old favorite route. I took it slow and went 7 miles. It felt so good. I am determined to start making a habit of cycling again. I really do love it. 

On my ride, I started to think that maybe this year is going to turn around. Despite all of the incredibly terrible things that have happened, I feel like life might be looking up. I'm engaged and alive and that's what matters.  We've picked a date, too. October 20, 2012 at Sunken Gardens. We're going to have a beautiful fall, garden wedding and I can't wait.

If you'd like to help Healthy Ashley, please visit Beams of Grace.