Go Go Go ... this just about sums up my last few weeks until today... breathe and catch up and WRITE! A short and sweet update. The triumphant century weekend was followed by "A day on the ride" experience where I joined 400+ other riders in San Rafael to hit the roads and conquer the hills of Marin, Petaluma, and all those areas. Everyone said it would be a fun and easy event especially for me considering all the training I was doing. The ego was feeling pretty good... and therein lies mistake #1- check the ego at the door. When it boils down to it, there is no room for ego and competition, and negativity on the road; it serves no purpose other than added suffering. What was meant to be a fun and easy ride actually proved to be quite challenging and exhausting. Confidence booster? Quite the contrary... but definitely an eye opener. There is always room to grow. I spent a lot of time alone on this ride and uncomfortable (my diaper was NOT cooperating) but I also spent time chatting with new friends, eating some yummy peanut butter and jelly graham crackers, and growing with every effort I made. At the end, the 15 minute massage was well worth the work. I took myself home and to bed only to wake up a few hours later to face my next adventure... Calaveras. Talk about "change" we started the day with a hint of fog and the expectation to have sun beating down on us in no time and found ourselves caught in a storm, soaking wet, tired, and on the verge of giving up, well at least I was. Two things stopped me from giving up, one it would have meant going back into the storm and two it would mean not knowing what would be ahead. No point in going backward, been there, done that... might as well move forward. Luckily I did, climbing Calaveras road was fun especially when there is a fun loving smack talking friend pulling me up with his words. Thanks for coming out friend. For the first time I went downhill on my own and partially leading the way, and felt the fear in me rise and fall... it was losing its power YES! The downhill lead me right into Milpitas... I made it home... literally. Lesson Learned: It can't rain forever unless you stay caught in the storm, keep moving forward no matter how slow... just move. And I did, I moved right into the next weekend and 111 miles... but I'll save that story for another day.
More importantly is today's lesson, which didn't happen on the bike but in life off the bike. As a yoga teacher I have learned, over the years, to have kindness and love for others and myself... a rewarding challenge. So after my "go go go" weeks I had a slow slow slow day. A rest day. A day to be off the bike but these days even being off the bike doesn't take me too far from cycling, by the end of the day I found myself at Sports Basement in the cycling section, shopping for some new gear! Ha-ha... hey a girls gotta look cute! Aside from learning to rest and to dress...
I experienced something I knew in my head since day 1, "this ride is beyond me"
These words really came alive today thanks to a donor comment that I read for the first time: "Hi Ritu... Thank you for doing this, a person very close to me died of HIV/AIDS a while ago when society was not as accepting and educated. Things have come a long way and events like these have really changed the understanding of HIV/AIDs. Thank you for doing the ride."
Reading this made my heart melt and I almost cried at the thought that I AM making an impact. Every climb, every mile, and every breath is worth it for these words. I feel truly blessed to be a part of this event and for this event to be a part of me.
mettaLOVE
Ritu
by Ritu Riyat on Sun, May 08, 2011 @ 12:29 AM
