Quote Originally Posted by BadgerGirl View Post
Way to go Hoosier! I haven't gotten the courage to do any bike get-together, besides the rides out of the bike shop. Last week, the leader of the local shop ride decided we should go to Jamestown, Colorado from Boulder.(approx. 3600 foot elevation gain) Instantly, I became nervous because I knew what kind of climb that entailed...needless to say, I didn't make it...partly because of mind and partly because my legs felt like concrete! I decided to take the rolling hills ride and went 30 miles elsewhere by myself. I was bummed at first, but I decided I could ride by myself and have fun too. My challege became trying to beat the riders, who were going to Jamestown, back to the shop.

This past week, we went on the same ride. Fear and dread occurred again, but I decided I would try to make it farther then I did last week. I blew my own expectations away! That is what it is all about...suprising yourself, challenging yourself. You are a REAL biker if you have a helmet, bike, and desire. And by the end of the summer, bicycle tight tan lines too!
I cycle in awe of those of you who train on "real" hills!! And, I admit, even the hills in southern Indiana (Bloomington is the home of the Hilly Hundred) look like mountains to me.

Love those I-worked-hard-to-earn-these tan lines!! Especially the white-hands look, then the strip of tanned skin, then the inch-wide strip from the Road I.D. Yep, that's stylin'!!