the road

gear: trek 7.3fx
acquired: 2007
miles travelled: 70miles (give or take 20)
enjoyment: priceless

okay, enough for corny....

so i've been riding these last 3 days and it is kicking my butt! not literally, of course but the figurative had me asleep for a good 2 hours this afternoon. nap, glorious nap! and while i'm not in pain (yet) my legs are quite jello-like so sitting is the operative position.

ever since the training wheels came off, i've seldom refused the opportunity to cruise around. when my family moved from liberia to michigan, i picked up a purple mountain bike (courtesy of KMart) and got to know the neighborhood. rosehill cemetery was a favourite locale; its stillness attracted me : )

high school upped the ante, giving me the chance to bike for PE. my classmate Scott loaned me his wheels and at the end of the term, i raced for our school's year-end track and field thing. i felt good about it overall but could have won if i wasn't so focused on everyone else's success. oh well.

while living in chicago, i really wanted to do the yearly night-ride through the city. i told Rubani i'd get a bike. i looked and then chickened out. i looked again and again convinced myself that it wasn't worth it after all...

now i've got my own road bike. it's got road wheels but mountain handle bars. the frame can accommodate mountain wheels if i care to switch and i'm sure i could switch the bars, too, if i preferred a true road feel. but for now the package is good and i'm told the bike is pretty sexy. i'll take the compliment! but that aside, i'm on a mission to do 300 miles in the next 30 days, working in rest days (happy Sabbath) and long rides. it'll be quite a challenge coz this area has so many hills. i feel as though i've ridden 30 miles by the time i've done 3. in its own little way, my body thanks me for the workout but i'm really wasted once the ride is over. in a month, i'll have great legs and arms and a trimmer middle and i'd better be happy too!

but how will i get there? i'm used to being consistent with exercise for about 2 weeks. then something will come along (school work usually) and knock me off track. i have none of that to contend with these days. so what'll the challenge be? will the mental drive hold up? will posting my route on mapmyride.com be enough? will the weekly emails of encouragement from fellow 300 milers keep my psyche stable? or perhaps my facebook family will save the day as they comment on my status updates... all in all, i want to make it through this challenge and i want to do it well.

as i flew down a hill this morning, i realized that the very act of riding is (for me) a slap in fear's stupid face. for several yards, all i could think of was all the self-talk i'd done when i first rode my trek. girl, you paid good money for this--you'd better ride it! you'll be fine...just focus on the road ahead. no one's gonna hit you. ride woman! and all because i now had only one good eye. what business did i have cruising with cars? seriously!

after riding with Nicole, my confidence increased. i did 10 miles on my own from time to time. then life/fear/etc got in the way again and my trek only joined me for limited jaunts to and from school. those days are over. it's time to put this sexy metal to good use. may my flesh survive...