Day 87 | My First Bike Ride

Brett and I waited to celebrate our wedding anniversary until today since we both had a lot of work to get done on Friday. We wanted to do something fun and special that I couldn’t have done last year. So, we decided to try bicycling! We bought our own helmets and rented bikes in Custer.

When Brett told me to get on the bike to see if it was the right height, I almost panicked. I don’t know if I can actually do this. I haven’t ridden a bike since I was in high school! What on earth have I gotten myself into?

I hopped on anyway, hoping that what they say about never forgetting how to ride a bike is actually true. I was really unsteady at first and had to practice stopping several times before I got it down. When I felt confident enough, we set out to find the bike trail.

Brett led the way and I followed behind. We had to cross the street a few times and it made me so nervous! What if I fall off in the middle of the road?

I thought things would get easier once we reached the bike trail but I was wrong. It was even harder! My poor legs! They burned and ached after only a couple minutes!

I kept thinking, “This is not what I imagined. This is way harder than I remember it being. I don’t know if I can really do this…”

Then I started to feel discouraged.

I used to be able to dance for 6 hours a day! Now riding a bike for two minutes makes me feel like my legs are going to fall off? Wow. My body really has deteriorated a lot over these last 5 years.

Okay, okay… Don’t be silly Ana, you were bed-bound. What did you expect? This is actually pretty good considering the circumstances.

The strange thing was that Brett was having a bit of hard time too. Hmm… Maybe we were going uphill? If we were, it was very slight. We couldn’t really tell.

Then a guy came coasting past us in the opposite direction. He was sitting crossed legged on his bike! We both laughed! Oh okay! I guess we are going uphill.

That was comforting, but it didn’t make it any easier for my weak legs. At one point, we almost turned around… but I just couldn’t bear the thought of giving up.

I’m not a quitter. I can do this. I’ll get stronger.

So instead of quitting, we took frequent breaks. At one point, my legs were so tired that I plopped right down on the ground. I could care less that my bottom would be covered in pine needles after. My legs needed a break NOW!

I thought we should make the goal 3 miles but Brett thought we should aim for 5 since I’d already done a 3 mile hike on my birthday. I agreed and soldiered on. We’d go 2.5 miles uphill and then turn around and go back downhill for the next 2.5 miles.

When we were nearing the halfway mark, I started seriously doubting whether I was going to make it.

This is too hard. I can’t do…

“You can do it!” Brett’s voice broke through my thoughts. I started laughing at his impeccable timing.

Okay, I guess I can do it.

I kept pedaling. When we hit the halfway mark we took a longer break and I noticed I was almost out of water.

Uh oh! I guess I underestimated how far we still had to go. I hope the way back down is a lot easier!

After a few minutes we hopped back on our bikes and started on the journey back down the hill.

Ahhhhhhhh! What a relief!

It seemed so easy in comparison. I started laughing with joy. “This is just what I imagined!” I shouted through my laughter. “So freeing!” The breeze was so refreshing on my hot and sweaty face!

We both really enjoyed the ride back down the hill. When we got back to the bike rental we checked our mile tracker app. 5.2 miles!

Yes! We did it! We really did it. Yippeeeee!

If you want to see a video of me biking, head over to my Facebook page.

By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.