Begin...

Cycling.  Not my strong suit.  I’m actually pretty scared of it.  I love spin class – thankfully.  However, the thought of sharing the road with cars while all I have is a helmet to truly protect me from injury terrifies me.  Yes- I consider a scraped knee or elbow an injury.

As a matter of fact, it’s been this fear that has prevented me from riding anything not stationary and weighed down to a YMCA floor.  And of course the night I got back from Austin with my new found excitement to learn how to ride, I watch E:60 on ESPN only for one of the segments to be about a girl who was cycling and got hit by a minivan at an intersection.  Thankfully she survived and her story had a happy ending with her and her husband cycling through Ohio.  But still….the possibility is there, right?

OK- enough of my Debbie Downer attitude.  A very wise friend of mine taught me that when faced difficult situations, “control the controllables.”  I have to look around at what I can control in an effort to gain confidence and overcome my fear.  I wouldn’t feel confident going on a 6 mile bike ride today, but I can make the decision to start by riding the bike in my gym.  I can’t control the steepness of the hills, but I can control my training to gain endurance.   I can’t control what drivers do, but I can control where I ride.  And probably the coolest controllable, I don’t have to cycle on the road by myself; I have an amazing network of cyclists/friends that are eager and ready to help me.  {Insert cheesy smile here :D}

I can choose to hide behind my fear or I can choose to begin now.

I am at the beginning, the start line.  My start line.  It may look like a stationary bike ride in my gym or spin classes on the weekends.  Then learning how to clip in and out of the pedals in a parking lot, and eventually enjoying an inaugural ride on the infamous booty loop. 

That being said please feel free to post any comments or advice for novice cyclers below.  I appreciate the encouragement and words of wisdom more than you know!