CYCLING SISSY, Part 3 – Gripped By A Heroic Inspiration

 

She sat in the circle of around 12 women in the grass, legs crossed casually, smiling. Her talk would be the catalyst that would propel me into signing up for Rev (cycling or Spinning) classes only 6 weeks after my knee surgery.

The women’s mentoring group I serve with had several “real life parable enactments” as a part of the Fall 2007 Determined Pursuit Bible studies. One of those enactments occurred at a park in Broomfield.

And we sat in the lush grass listening to Marianne Svec tell us about her positive experience as a first time athlete in the Tri For the Cure Triathalon, just a few weeks before, first weekend in August. Three thousand women swam, biked and ran for “Susan G Komen for the Cure.”

Marianne truly inspired me. The fact that she is 50-something and said “YES!” to an opportunity way beyond her comfort zone touched a spot in my heart. Her supervisor at work, an experienced triathelete, mentored her. They trained throughout the year, logging in about four days a week at the nearby rec center in swimming and Spinning classes. They also ran together quite a bit. Marianne ended up swimming the 750 meters (1/2 mile), biking 20k (a little over 12 miles), and running the 5k (3.1 miles) in an hour and fifty-five minutes, including transition time.

She read Philippians 4:13 to us: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and II Timothy 4:7-8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord…will give to me on that day…” (New King James Version) 

She concluded by saying: “You can train together the whole time with someone who’s been through it before. But in the end, you’ll have to run your own race.”

Something in my heart leapt that day: I wanted to take indoor cycling classes like she did and ride my bike in some long rides, maybe in the summer. Marianne inspired me.

 

CYCLING SISSY, Part 2 – The Revelation

I have never been the athletic type. I didn’t play any team sports in elementary, junior high or high school.  I belonged to such boring clubs as the Latin Club and a journalism club. I’d just as soon sit on my potato and watch wholesome TV shows or mysteries on the couch, or even better, read, as get out there and move my booty!

But over the past few years, I’ve felt the conviction that I need to exercise more, and as I realize how much I hate to work out at a gym, the desire to get on a bike again has grown stronger and stronger.  If I’ve got to exercise, why not do something I really like?

In the fall, when the trees were brilliant with color, the sun shining and the days crisp, or in the spring when new leaves budded on the trees and the clean fragrance of flowers and flowing green pastures, I’d pass riders on country roads here in Boulder and Denver. I’d think wistfully, “I want to do that….”

But not like that.

Suddenly I realized: here is one of my hang-ups – why I keep procrastinating. It’s intimidating to take up biking in the Cycling Capitol of the World, where Lance-Armstrong-types flock to train; the place that has birthed many Olympic medalists. These guys and gals whiz up and down hills, heads low, decked out in a full array of colorful – and expensive – cycling gear down to gloves and cleats. They think nothing of going a hundred miles in a day.  Not my style. I could never live up to their standards!

I had to come to grips with the fact that I don’t want to be a Lance-type, training for hours each day and competing in the many rides offered in our neck of the woods as an elite cyclist.  And that is OKAY! I can be me! It is OKAY that I want to be a fair-weather bicyclist, puttering on the easier trails or paved roads with clearly marked bike lanes.  It’s OKAY if I don’t want to train for anything, if I ride an hour or two along Platte River or the Boulder Bike path – or even in my neighborhood. No pressure, no expectations. Just sheer pleasure.

AND…Enjoying God’s creation.

CYCLING SISSY, Part 1 – A Sketchy History

I finally found the courage – and determination – to follow through with something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: dust off my mountain bike and begin to ride.

The desire has been growing in me for years. My husband Chet bought us both inexpensive mountain bikes when we were married six years ago and we have barely used them.  Each year, it seemed like too much trouble to me to drag the bike out of the basement, fill the tires, adjust the gears, find a suitable bike path, etc. I don’t think we took them out more than once the last couple of years.

We did have one flash of excitement (and realism) when we were nearly engaged the summer of 2001 when we rode in the Colorado Courage Classic Bike Tour. Actually, a friend of mine (Dawn) dazzled me with her passion and practically strong-armed several of us, including an ace rider Bill and another friend Janice, to sign up.  As a group, we “sorta” trained in the weeks prior to the ride. Chet also rode with me some before the big event to help train and encourage me.

But when the big weekend came, Chet and I chose the path of least resistance. We decided to join the riders in the middle leg of the three-leg ride in Copper Mountain/Frisco/Keystone
Breckenridge/Copper Mountain indulging in the overnight camp-out part with all the other harder core riders. It was the easy, less hilly leg. But it was still very hard for us, especially me. We were both puffing and panting up the few hills, watching the others in their colorful spandex whiz by. Those sag support vans looked very inviting.

One leg, one day, and we were pooped!

And so, with our busy lives, our bikes continued to lie dormant in our garage or basement…until this year…

Do you struggle with a desire to do a particular thing, but just don’t seem to have the gumption to “Just DO IT!” as Nike tells us? Have you been procrastinating because the obstacles seem more ominous than the rewards? Would you like to press through those obstacles and discover the joy of accomplishing even the smallest of feats? They may seem like such tiny baby steps that you are loathe to tell anyone for fear they will laugh at you that this thing was so hard!

Well, read on, dear friend, for over the next few weeks, interspersed with other stories, I will take you on my journey to “get back on that bike and ride.” I will open up about my candid “aha” moments – silly things – and maybe, in the process, you will be inspired to follow your dreams, trembling sometimes, but willing to walk – or ride – your way out of your comfort zone.

Know that I am riding tandem with you on your journey to pedal toward your dream.