This is me.
Laying on the ground.
Trying to catch my breath and muster up the energy to finish a ride after a whole lot of “hike-a-bike” up and over a couple of mountains.
Do hard things
I live for adventuring on my bike. I don’t need to travel far to find new trails and new places to roam. I jokingly tell people I wake up thinking about riding my bike. I go to sleep thinking about riding my bike.
Recently we went on a mountain bike ride that was one of the hardest rides I have been on in a long time.
The day started out like any other day - except.. I had not slept well & the summer heat tends to make my appetite pretty nonexistent so I didn’t fuel great beforehand - even though I know how important starting out hydrated and full of calories is - especially when the plan is to climb a mountain I have never climbed before. So, not really like any other day.
Bike Days
When I started riding bikes again after a lot of years of not riding bikes I was like most moms, I did not want to spend the money on a bike for myself even though the rest of my family were riding nice mountain bikes. In my mind, someone who is a weekend rider did not need a “fancy” bike. (Funny to think about this now that cycling is a central part of my life.)
In the beginning of my return to riding I was not interested in taking biking too seriously.. I had zero desire to do mountain bike rides that could end with me covered in bumps and bruises. And the last thing I wanted was to be needy or take away bicycle funds from the two riders in my home who were passionate about racing mountain bikes.
My solution was to borrow a bike. Continue Reading
Be Strong
For the last month or more I have been inundated with weight loss ads and getting a flat tummy through social media and email. This marketing definitely keeps me on my edge working through the mental clutter of weight loss and diets that like many of you I am plagued with. It is also a New Year which means many of us are setting New Year’s resolutions or goals for the next year.. And even that is tainted with being reminded by other ads that most of us will fail at the goals we set for ourselves right now.. Can you say mixed messages? And anxiety inducing?
It’s no secret that most women - even women who look amazing - constantly think about how we look and what we could be doing to have the ‘perfect’ body. Men also have to sort through this for themselves; they just seem to talk about it less around me..
Last Girl Standing
To be last or to not to be.
And, being okay when I am last.
Some days on the bike I just bonk and don’t have a good day.
Some days, I choose to be last.
I am generally not what you would call fast. I am, however, pretty energetically efficient when I am on my bike. I feel like I manage my energy pretty well on bike rides. I usually plan my take “risks” rides - like the nights I choose to go over logs.. or my go a little harder or longer rides when I throw in a couple of extra climbs or technical trail sections.