April 5 - Rain or Shine

Monday, April 5
Alt. Transportation: Bike, 1 pannier bag
Points: 3
Gear: black wudner unders, black speed skirt, senorita pink power Y, lagoon inner strength tank, black running henley, and black stride jacket 
Post Ride: astro pants, lagoon pima T, compression socks

I didn't pack my lunch the night before.  I didn't lay my clothes out.  I didn't have to be to work until noon.  But I did have to meet Aleah at Square One at 9:30am for a delicious goal coaching brunch.

My usually bright and sunny kitchen was darkened by grey clouds and pouring rain. Ugh! I had a very important decision to make: Do I throw on a pair of jeans and my favorite furry hoodie and drive in the comfort of my heated car? Or do I suck it up and ride? Here's when checking the weather comes in handy.  It was only supposed to rain before 10am, my way to brunch.  It was supposed clear up by late morning, my ride to and from work.

For me, this challenge is about finding alternative transportation rain or shine.  In real life, when you don't have a car, you have to get where you're going no matter what.  I mustered up all my will power, got dressed cursing the fact that I didn't buy the Leader of the Track Jacket yesterday, packed my pannier (which fortunately has a built in rain cover.  See the yellow shower capped bag in the above pic), and set off for the 2 mile ride.  It was raining pretty hard, but the experience really wasn't that bad.  I felt bad ass seeing drops of rain dripping from my helmet, feeling the mist spraying my face, and knowing that nothing could stop me.  When I arrived, I was a bit soaked. Good thing I was wearing quick wicking clothes! And it wasn't anything a hot cappacino couldn't fix.  Knowing dry clothes awaited me at work also helped.

After a delicious breakfast and excellent goal coaching session, I headed off to work with plenty of time to spare.  The rain had stopped just as the weather channel predicted.  After a couple minutes, I realized I had been in autopilot mode and  didn't recognize where I was.  Luckily, I had a vague sense of where I was and which direction I needed to go.  I cut down a street that I felt would get me where I needed to go.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to see the surrounding neighborhood and take in the vibrant spring flowers.  Then the long gradual incline followed by hills started.  The first one was a decent climb.  I could hear Cynthia and Karen of RMP in my head.  "Flat back. Chest forward. Tailbone tucked. Encage your core. Keep your upper body still." Second one was a doozie.  Using the downhill momentum of the previous one, I kept pedaling until I physically couldn't make the pedal move anymore.  At that point, the bike stopped completely, I lost my balance, and tipped over.  Luckily, I managed to catch myself on my feet before I fell onto someone's lawn. How embarrassing would that have been?  I got right back up, straddled the bike, pushed off, and tried to gain momentum by pushing down on the pedal.  No go. I changed gears. Still wasn't moving.  I did this a total of 4-6 times until I finally got off the bike and walked it the rest of the way up the hill.  At that point, I hopped back on and went on my merry way.

For the rest of the ride to work, I waxed poetic about how roads and "wrong turns" are like the course of life, while hills are the obstacles and challenges we overcome.  Over the course of our life, there are many roads to choose from, taking us in opposite directions.  But there are also many different routes leading to the same destination.  Some of these roads are flat and easy, others are wrought with winding roads and huge hills.  At the bottom, the first hill seems like a mountain.  You have no idea how you're going to get to the top, but you know you are. You keep pedaling and pedaling.  Its so hard.  You switch gears (blatant metaphor) and try something different.  And you keep switching gears until finally you get off the damn thing and walk it to the top.  You made it!  It might not be the way you wanted or even intended to do it, but still you're at the top. You got there! With confidence, you stand at the top, looking out at the next hill, your next challenge.  Its bigger, but with the moment you gain from riding downhill, it'll be easier than starting at the bottom.  Now you know as long as you try, you'll get there, even if you have to change gears 5 times or get off and walk it.