Lately I have been having alot of trouble sleeping at night. I lay awake for hours on end thinking, and thinking, and worrying and then back to thinking. A few weeks ago I signed up to ride 590 miles around Lake Ontario all for the love of Tree Research. I thought long and hard about signing up. Then I overheard my dad mention to his brother that I was training to do a big bike ride. Oh boy, that was one step closer to signing up, I am not about to disappoint my dad, the person that taught me through example that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything. I have watched him work long and hard and now that he is retired he can enjoy the fruits of his labor. Such as enjoying time with his four grandchildren, buying a big tractor, buying a big red truck and completing lots of wood projects. When he was my age he was taking me for bike rides on the weekends and competing in the Cummins Bike Race on top of working full time. So this ride should be manageable, right?
The final reason for sending in the application, Walt Disney himself. I am a long time admirer of Walt Disney and all things Disney, so it should not surprise me he would be there when I needed him most. As I was ready to hit the send button on the bike ride application, I had some second doubts, and decided to stop and make sure this is what I wanted to do. I went over to Facebook and what is the first thing I see? A quote by Walt Disney himself, " Stop thinking about it, and do it." That did it, my decision was made, this had to be a message sent right from Walt himself at the exact moment I needed him.
Now that I have committed to completing the ride, the realization has set in. Hold on, I don't even have a bike to do the ride, what am I thinking? I have to raise how much money? How many miles is it a day? These and many more realizations keep me awake all night long for many nights. But if all I did was think about doing something, then nothing would get done. I can't remember where I heard it but another quote has been on my mind lately, " if it was easy, then everyone would do it." Well the ride may not be easy but I am sure it won't break me, at least I hope it won't break me. I ask my boys to give their best all the time, and now its time for me to practice what I preach.
So this weekend I went shopping for a new bike, or at least new to me. WOW have bikes changed in the last twenty years. I am truly getting an education on gears, wheels, brakes, handle bars, seats, shorts, helmets and so much more. Bikes are made out of aluminum, carbon something or other and other material that I am not remembering at the moment. Thank goodness we have a local dealer who can help me a long the way and lead me down the right path. Then apparently they measure you and have the bike made to your size, am I buying a bike or a dress? I am truly overwhelmed by all this information.
In the meantime while I sort through all this information I will just have to continue using the bike at the gym . But soon, and I am hopeful it will be soon, the snow will melt and I will be in possession of a new bike and I will be praising its perfect fit and how fast it moves. Then before I know it, the end of July will be here and I will be riding with a smile on my face and saying to myself," what was I so worried about, this is a piece of cake, and I raised more than my goal for tree research. " I look forward to the adventure ahead of me. I don't know what will happen or where I will go; then again its not about the destination, but about the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment