Tire Tracks Through Autumn Leaves

The weather was in rare form this past weekend. High temperatures and sunny skies felt like a gentle nudge from mother nature, telling me to get outside before winter arrives. After spending such little time on my bike this year I had been itching for some extra motivation. Over the past couple weeks I kept telling myself to get out, even marking good riding days in my planner, but never followed through. I knew I was running out of time for outdoor rides and by November 1st I figured it was too late. So when I saw the weather forecast for this past weekend, I knew it would be my last real chance.

My dad and I managed to carve out time on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's ride was a short fifteen miles, but both of us were happy to be done by that point. I had waited too long since my last ride and my muscles felt sluggish. The views were beautiful and there were several times when I wished I could capture the scenery around me without having to stop. When I'm riding I just want to keep going and the idea of stopping to take a picture seems counterproductive. Still, riding along a path covered in yellow leaves or through a section lined with colorful trees makes me want to bottle those moments to share with everyone.

After the ride, and helping to clean up leaves at my grandpa's house, we made one last trip to The Dairy Lodge for the season. A cookie dough flurry made the perfect reward for the day's hard work!

On Sunday I felt terrible in the beginning. My whole body was sore and I had bruises from the ungraceful moment on Saturday when I fell over at one of the intersections. Thankfully after a mile or so my butt stopped hurting and my muscles warmed up. Not only did we keep a faster pace on the second day, we rode farther (twenty miles instead of fifteen), and we managed to climb a few hills on our way home.

Most of my thoughts lately have been consumed by the idea that I'm not enough. I have been overwhelmed with this feeling of failure, and I'm afraid I have been making all the wrong choices. A feeling of dissatisfaction makes me wish I were anywhere else but here. When I'm on my bike though, there's no where else I'd rather be. It's difficult to feel unsatisfied while surrounded by this beautiful place I get to call home. Deep down I know riding my bike doesn't solve any of my problems, but in those moments I no longer worry about where I am or how much money is in my bank account. All I want is to keep pushing myself forward. I climb those hills to prove to myself that I am strong enough, and when I make it to the top I have one less reason to say I am not a failure.

- S

BICYCLE, BICYCLE!

Today I went for a bicycle ride with my dad along the trail near my house that goes out towards Suttons Bay. We did not ride the whole trail but managed about eight miles out and back, sixteen miles total. Today was only my fourth time riding my road bike this year. A few years ago I had accomplished weeks worth of frequent riding time by this point in the summer. Sixteen miles would have been an easy ride for me back then, but it certainly wasn't easy for me today.

About half way out towards Suttons Bay the trail runs into Lakeview Hills Road. Before they paved the middle section of the trail a few years ago this was the turn off point for road bikers. You could take Lakeview Hills down and around and eventually connect back to the paved trail. This alternative route was slightly longer and a lot hillier, so when they finally paved the entire trail choosing to stay on the straighter, flatter path became the easier choice. Before I noticed, I had gone months and then years without taking the Lakeview Hills route. So today my dad and I decided to ride up the first two hills before turning around to head home.

Guys, I forgot how hard it is to climb hills. Years ago, after riding the same hills all summer I started to feel like I could climb anything. Unfortunately, time quickly erases those physical talents we once worked so hard to achieve. The first hill was deceptive and I conquered it pretty easily, but that second hill almost killed me. I was about one third of the way up the second hill when I started slowing down and felt a little like everything inside of me was falling apart. You know those cartoons where the character is driving along in a car and suddenly parts start falling off until the car is just an axel with wheels and a seat? Well that's how I imagined my ride up that second hill. I downshifted until I couldn't anymore and then all I had was the pedals and my feet. The entire time I was panting and kept thinking, "just keep going, just keep going." We have two choices when confronted with a challenge, we can either give up or keep pushing forward.

Eventually, I made it to the top of the second hill. As I tried to regain my breathe I was able to look out over the bright blue water and distant tree cover hills thankful that I didn't give up. Sometimes being able to see the world a little better is worth the pain of climbing a hill, especially if you haven't done it in a while. I finished today's ride with sore muscles and an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.

-S