This morning I rode my steel behemoth 26 miles to meet some friends for an hour. The weather was perfect, leaves were falling,and I only got honked at twice. All I could think about was how grateful I am that I'm healthy and can pedal a bike. I know it sounds corny, but there have been long periods in my life where I was either too sick and/or too depressed to get off the sofa and go outside. Adding cycling to my schedule has done so much for me physically, emotionally, mentally...even spiritually. And when I look at myself in the mirror and find myself wishing my thighs were smaller or my "baby belly" was flatter, I can think instead about how I rode my bike over a 500 hundred miles this month (so far) and be proud of the strength in my legs, lungs and heart. Buying a bike (or three) is one of the best gifts I've even given to myself.
