Rainy Days

I love rainy days---always have, and always will. My mother believes it is, in part, due to the fact that I was born on a stormy Wednesday and that my love for this kind of weather is just "in me." I am not opposed to that thought. No matter where that love came from, it is there, and I look forward to the stormy Spring season like no one else. I love the way the air feels right before the thunder and lightning start, and I especially love the wind---always have.

As much as I love this type of weather, however, it is starting to cause me a bit of unhappiness. You see, I have started a love affair with bike riding, and it impossible to do that particular activity with all the rain, wind, thunder and lightning, so I sit here in my office, anxiously awaiting the time when the rain will go away. Granted, it can rain up until quitting time for me, and I will be fine. The days are longer and I will have plenty of time after work to hit the trail, BUT, it MUST stop raining. Period. My love affair with biking trumps my love affair with storms.

Did I just say that?

Since this is the first post of my new blog, I need to take a few moments to give a back story of why I am all of a sudden such a freak about riding.

Last October, a friend of mine, who is in perfect shape and keeps herself that way by running and biking, asked me if I wanted to ride the Ladiga Trail, which is a trail that was made by tearing up old railroad tracks and laying asphalt. It meanders from Weaver through Jacksonville and Piedmont, and finally connects to the Georgia Comet and beyond. I have ridden it a few times with family and for a period of time alone, but when she asked me, I had not been on it in over a year, so to say I was rusty would be a gross understatement. I went though, she on her cruiser one-speed and me on a multi-speed Wal-Mart bike. I was exhausted as soon as we got out of my driveway, and asked that we not go more than a few miles up the trail before turning around and coming back. I was drenched in sweat, and ashamed of myself for my inability to endure a relatively easy ride. I knew I was out of shape, but that was embarrassing.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and a trip my family made to the Beaches of South Walton where I had done some research about a bike trail called the 30A. It is an 18 mile trail that winds through the small beach towns in that area, and I was determined to ride it. I rented a 3 speed beach cruiser and set out one morning to see how far I could go. That bike felt completely different than my Wal-Mart bike at home, and 4 hours and several stops along the way later, I returned to the condo jubilant, albeit very sore, for having ridden 30 miles roundtrip. I was in the same pitiful shape that I was in those weeks before, but I made it, AND I had to navigate several hills along the way. I realized than that the bike would make all the difference in whether or not biking could become the one exercise I actually enjoy doing.

I started searching for bikes as soon as I returned home, and the week before my 46th birthday, I bought the perfect bike for me. I first noticed the bike during Christmas. It was a silver men's 3 speed Sun Kruizer and it was on sale for $275, which was a very good price, considering all other bikes I had looked at were $400 and above. I knew I couldn't buy a Wal-Mart cruiser and expect it to last very long or provide the comfort I needed, and I wanted a bike close to the one I rode at the beach. This bike was the one I wanted, but I didn't have the money to buy it, so I waited. When my birthday was close and I had the money to buy a bike, I went to two other shops in Anniston and Oxford, but their bikes were so expensive, and the 3 speed bikes were MORE than the 7 speed ones, and I only wanted a 3 speed. By chance, I stopped back in at Scott's Bikes in J'ville, and there it was!!! The Sun Kruizer was still there and still $275. With tax and all, I got that bike for $299.75 and it was the best money I have spent in a long time.

I have finally found a form of exercise that is fun and gives me a good workout. I can go with friends and family and enjoy conversation, or I can go alone and enjoy the tunes on my iPod. Either way, I actually look forward to doing this.

BTW, the sun is out now, and I am less than an hour away from hitting the trail.