I know why I put riding off for so long.
Once you take a break, it’s easier to just keep braking. Squeeze the brakes hard enough and you end up stopped.
I stopped for almost a month.
Stopping stopping?
Well, that took some effort.
Once I started riding, my lips turned up into a smile and my belly shook with laughter.
Ah Jimmy, what were you thinking? You love this!
It was bliss leaving the cottage. With two quick pedal strokes I flew down the hill of the campground past the seasonal campers and off into the woods.
Just past the German’s land I remembered why I didn’t want to ride:
Baby head hill was in front of me as janky and slippery as a sixty five year old anorexic hooker with a gallon of astroglide.
It was neither attractive nor a welcome sight.
And despite this, I started to spin up her moist curves.
My heart raced and legs began to strain.
But holy shit, did it ever feel good to move.
Sure, I had a lot more hills to face that day, but I think that was the point - up the hill and down the hill. That’s what makes cycling fun for me.
I had just finished seven days in a row of work.
Each day was a hill I had to climb.
The hills at the beginning of the week?
They were easier to face.
Near the end of the ride, I struggled to keep spinning.
We all pick the hills we climb.
No matter what struggle you find yourself in, somehow your choices have led you there.
When your legs ache and lungs burn, say to yourself I choose this.
And sure, though you might slow down, you’ll still have a few bursts of energy.
Pedal a bit harder, just at the critical times.
Pull up your wheel over those big unavoidable bumps.
But keep going.
Because in the end?
You choose this.
