Thinking time in the saddle

My bestie and I rode 30 miles today. It was a pretty easy 30, just getting used to the bike again, and socializing and having some fun.  I have to say that I’m so used to riding my big wheel upright commuter, that when I hop on my 650c wheeled tri bike- it feels like I’m a giant trying to ride a teeny tiny clown bike.  It seems to take about 6-10 miles to truly feel comfortable on it- and not feel like I’m going to endo everytime I hit the brakes.     It’s comical at first, I’m sure, but when I finally hit that comfort spot, it feels like I could ride forever on it.  As polar opposite as the Cervelo and the commuter are, I couldn’t love them more.  They make me happy in completely different ways.

While riding, I got to thinking about some goals that I had this winter and whether I’d accomplished them or not.  This winter I did something that I hoped I would do- I commuted most of the winter.  Well, okay, that’s not entirely true.  I commuted about 3 times a week for most of the winter.  Yup- that’s more accurate.  I rode my single speed commuter most of the time, trying to make myself more efficient at one giant gear.  Now that I’m riding my multi-speed race bike, I find that I’m staying in the big chainring the whole time, only adjusting the rear gears every so often on hills and inclines.  I feel like all that winter riding made me a little more efficient, although my speed is nothing brag about.  But you know what- I’m OK with that.  As long as I’m having fun on my bike, I’m not going to worry about my speed.  Fun is more important.

During my ride today I found myself being quite distracted thinking about the big things I want to accomplish this year.  Here’s what I came up with:

• ride one century a month from June-October, concluding with the Dickens of a Ride century on my birthday on Oct. 6th
• swim a 3, 4, and 5 mile continuous swim  (3 mile in May, 4 in June, and 5 in July)
• hike the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim (in one day) in early June
• half week at Freewheel in mid-June
• Half-Ironman in September
• complete a 24 hour running race in October
• complete a 48 hour running race in November

I think those are the major things.
Just last week I adopted a park in OKC, so that is another ongoing project that I will be working on for the remainder of the year.  I am responsible for trash pick-up once a month during fall, winter and spring, and twice a month in summer.  It’s only about 4 miles away, so it’s either just a long walk or a short bike ride to get there when it’s clean-up day.  I’m glad I got a park close to home.  I want to be able to enjoy the outdoors on my way to and from “my” park.  Although it’s not a big park, it’s enough of a challenge to help me feel like I’m really helping out my community and giving back just a little.
I also want to volunteer more this summer than I ever have before.  I would like to get my Kona-dog certified as a therapy dog and take her to nursing homes or hospitals for healing therapy.  She would be good at it, and I think we would both get a lot out of it.  I feel like I’m missing a big chunk of meaning in life right now, and I think volunteering will help me feel like I’m accomplishing something worthwhile.   Plus, giving back is always so rewarding, and I miss that.
Other than that, I don’t have a lot of big plans for the summer.  Just to read a lot, do some sewing projects, paint some canvases, and relax.  And of course, ride my bike.

Pedal On!