Bike riding tip number 1. Never...and I mean never take months off without doing any sort of exercise and expect to ride like you used to. Yikes. I was sure I was having a heart attack a couple of times and we only went 7.6 miles.
The weather felt warm until we were actually riding. I was not dressed warm enough initially. I needed a hat, gloves and something around my neck. Fortunately.....well maybe not, being in such terrible shape I soon worked up a heck of a sweat.
Why is you always meet people on the trails when you are climbing an incline. Gasping for breath and beet red in the face I breathlessly gasp out....to your left, and ring my bell. What?, they ask, as my voice was barely above a whisper. Left!, I wheeze and that is all I can manage. With a look of alarm they leap to the side....visions of how to do the CPR they learned 10 years ago running through their brains. I am always a vision when I ride. Of what I can only imagine. Being fair skinned it doesn't take much to turn me bright red.
I am doomed I think. Visions of climbing huge massive mountains in the black hills loom darkly before my eyes. Why oh why did I slack off on my working out. What was I thinking about? Why did I let myself gain some weight back?
Behind me Rick happily chatting away and asking me questions. Questions.... as if I can truly spare the breath to gasp out a reply to him. Reason number 856 why it doesn't bother me to steal the covers at night. Darn man.
Finally I get to the end of the trail. Not the entire trail, just the first half. I still have to go back. I climb off my bike on wobbly legs which instantly want to cramp up on me. Sadly I look at my speedometer to see we have only gone 3.3 miles. How could this be. How could I have slipped so far.
I am happy to see, yes I am terrible, Rick sag to the curb and voice my sorrow. Gee, I really let myself go this winter.
Evilly this makes me happy. I am not alone. After all if he wasn't such a great cook I wouldn't be in this bad of shape to start with and strangely enough it give me the incentive I need. OK I say, lets start back. And it is time to start the gym again. By this time I realize I will need more then riding to get back to the shape I was in. I need to pump some iron and use that stupid treadmill. But you know what? I am pumped about it. I contacted the place we are thinking of renting and made reservations. At Forest Haven. I am not quitting. I am going on a bike ride. A great bike ride.
So we rode back. It wasn't easier, but for some reason that gave me the push I needed. I vow to get it back. I want to get it back. We pulled up to the van and I felt great. The first tiny step to going on our ride.
Pulling up to the Lewis and Clark building where we had parked our van I even felt I could ride more. But I am not pushing it. 7.6 miles today. 10 the next time, then 15 and so on and so on.
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