Wow. Wow. WOW! So as I said in my last post, I jumped on a plane and got my butt back from D.C. to Cali so I could do my first century ride. Ride is done and done... and it was the best decision ever! Some may say I am addicted... perhaps. But moreso I am driven. Driven by the experience of these rides which, for me, go far beyond the physical layer of body fatigue. Yes that is there but deeper than that is the subtle layers of the crazy mind and breath and more mind. Yes I am bringing some yoga into this because that's what I do and that is me and my yoga right now is cycling. Yoga is about being on and off the mat. When I got on my bike to ride 100 miles I didn't know what to expect (that goes for every ride) but I did know that all I had to was "show up" so I did. At about mile 60 ish I started feeling a "wall" basically a place where the mind goes into a state of chaos and begins to kinda go split personality on you. One side says "you are crazy, get off this bike and go home" the other says " you can do this, keep going" and somewhere between the two is a moment of silence where you just go. Well for the most part I wavered between the two and hoped for that silence. At about mile 70ish my mind went to mush, my bike became dysfunctional making noises and having clip issues and my eyes began to well with tears... hmmm... maybe this ride isn't for me, what the hell am I thinking. This is right about the time where those supportive TRL's come to the rescue. Once the bike was fixed, I took a deep breath and life was better. The next 20 miles were a blast, Head wind and all! I finished strong and felt like doing cartwheels with all the lingering energy... crazy how that works.
Then I woke up at 6am to do it all over again today except this time with a kinda hilly ride... minus the kinda... 75 miles done.
My first weekend on the bike 3 days back to back, my legs feel like mush, my butt is still numb, and my brain a little fried, BUT my heart is happy. Its been a thrill.
So what did I learn? Well life is kinda like a bike ride. You have some climbs that are rough and tough and then you hit the peak with a beautiful view and breathe it in and then the fun begins and you get carried away in a fast descent all the while leading you to the next climb. The fun descends aren't so much fun without the work and the work is not so great without the fun. Along the way are some road bumps that make you question what you are doing. Don't ignore them, face them, fix them, and move on. Life is like ride...
Riding Lesson: Guage your terrain.
Until next week
Peace
Ritu
by Ritu Riyat on Sun, Apr 17, 2011 @ 11:29 PM
