Upon waking, I felt sad, miserable, tired. I didn't want to bother going about the day ahead. Crawling back in bed seemed like a great idea. I felt... 'bleh'. Last thing I wanted to do was go out for my morning bike ride, but that's exactly what I did.

After getting the kids ready and walking them to school, I returned home, and looked at myself in the mirror. Some inner dialog commenced, I turned around, and chose some nice clothes to wear. I wanted something light and comfortable, yet nice. I got myself into a pair of Capri pants, and a fresh white shirt. Braided my hair, washed my face again, and applied sunblock lotion. I applied some lip-gloss, and glanced at myself again. Little more inner dialog as I put on my helmet and adjusted the straps. Darted for the door -no whining, no place for doubts. I felt like I just wanted to cry, for no reason but perhaps a sense of sadness, but didn't... and off I went.

Little did I know that out of the 16 days since I received my bike and done my daily riding, today would turn out to be the best yet.

I have serious fears of riding my bike, which is both a bit funnny and ironic, seeing as how I don't think twice about taking my hubby's motorcycle out for a spin. You see fourteen years ago, I suffered a bike accident that not only bruised my ego, it also broke my nose. Because of this, I haven't taken my camera with me on a ride yet, for fear that if I fall, I won't ruin my little baby. ;o) But today I realized I'm getting over the fear quicker than I thought I would. Soon enough, you’ll see pictures!

So far, motorists have been kind to not follow too closely when I hit the road, and I'm doing better at keeping my straight line in such little space (there are a several main roads around here that don't have a bike route, and it adds a bit of nervousness on my part to share the road with a motored vehicle.)

Pushing myself beyond my limits was the order of the day, and it felt great! I chose a route with a pretty high hill, and it hurt... oh, it hurt so good; used higher gears the entire time, and kept pedaling throughout the entire ride -non stop- until I reached my destination. Honestly, I didn't think I would be able to do it, but it was an awesome goal for me, and I rode it out -I did it! Also went the farthest and fastest today, so I’m extra pleased.

I arrived at Starbucks panting like a thirsty puppy. “Venti iced water, please!” That’s right, no water bottle. Why? Cause I’m a loser… and I just can’t be bothered to go shopping for a water bottle holder. BikeTown gifted us water bottles, coffee mugs, shirts… yeah, we got spoiled. But since I had not yet done more than two miles a day, basically covering a stretch in my neighborhood, with a handful of rides between 3 and 5 miles. Those longer rides have mostly been in the afternoon, so it’s been quite cool, and the thirst factor hadn’t really kicked in. I can be real dense at times. However, today was a different story. Damn, it hot out there! Still, I was grateful it was not as hot as yesterday. That S-SW wind can be a killer, blowing such hot air this way. Wasn’t as hot today, and the swiftness in my ride provided for some pleasingly cool breezes. Still, the ride back was ahead of me, and the day was only getting hotter. So, I pedaled my way into the bike shop, and pedaled out with new gear. *grin* Water bottle holder and a small zippered bag which expands… to fit my camera! Now I don’t have to go around carrying my backpack on my rides.

Highlights of today’s ride: pushing myself out of my comfort zone; the sound of the wind as I pedal faster and faster; the chirping of the birds and the warmth of the sun; having a butterfly flutter the way ahead of me for almost a whole block, which seemed, for a moment, eternal. I remembered my daughter chasing her two butterflies. Three crossed my path today… truly a sign of transformation and change ahead.

I’m going to embrace it.