BACK IN THE SADDLE!

The news of the year: I got back on my bike. On Saturday, I rode 30 hilly miles through the metroparks in Cleveland.

And you know what? It was fun.

I realized something. At that IronMan bike course, I burnt myself out. Yeah, I had done my hundred mile training rides; I had even done hilly 100 mile training rides. But 112 miles through the Alps? It was hard. Too hard. I didn't have fun on that bike course. Since June 25, every time I thought about getting on the bike, I thought about that course. It was as though that was all I had ever ridden. All those wonderful, fun rides I had done previously had all disappeared. My entire biking experience felt summed up by that impossibly hard IronMan bike course.

And so I didn't want to get back on the bike. I taught spinning, but I didn't bike. We had some gorgeous weather, but I just couldn't make myself bite that proverbial bullet and pump up my damn tires.

I brought my bike everywhere, expecting to ride. My bike came along with me to Vermont, it came to Philadelphia, it went back and forth between Cleveland and New Jersey several times, and it came camping in Pennsylvania...but all it did was sit on top of my car and catch bugs with the head tube and aero bars. All year my bike was in the entry of my apartment. There it gathered compliments from visitors (it's a hot looking bike), for my purposes merely served as a coat rack and a balancing tool for attempting to put my shoes on without sitting.

I felt guilty every time I walked in the door, but I still just didn't feel capable of riding.

But I signed up for triathlons this year. I am a triathlete. I have to bike.

So, this past weekend I went to Cleveland. I went back to my favorite route, where I first learned to bike, where I fell a record number of times learning how to manage my clipless pedals. I got back on my bike, and I had fun. The course is hilly. There are some rollers in the beginning, and then two pretty intense hills towards the end, but I had a blast. I met new bikers along the way and rode faster than I thought I could, and I was happy that I could hold up just fine. I had a great time and I'm looking forward to biking again. Lesson learned...as Nike would say...Just Do It.

Now, to find pleasant courses to ride in New Jersey...

PS: The extra 3 miles on the pic comes from the walk back to the apartment after the race. [No, I didn't walk the 3 miles...I took a cab and my all too accommodating non-racing friends walked my bike back for me.] Oh, and my bike shoes? I should have taken a picture; they were still in the transition bag provided by IronMan France. I thought they would be too moldy to ever wear again, but they survived. My gloves, on the other hand, didn't fare so well. I'm not sure any washing machine can save them, but I'll try.

Keep on riding!