Life’s little hiccups Tour De Nantahala, North Carolina 45 miles 3.5 hours

I see a familiar sparkle in her eyes, brown beautiful eyes that smile as she looks at Romeo. Ahh Romeo, not an Italian lover, but an American man made machine of carbon fiber. It grows every time I see her, the passion, the excitement of possibilities where her bicycle can and will take her.

Debbie Sue, my fellow Ohio beauty queen, has her rag top down and ready for life, a new life and I feel honored she has invited me this day to join her on her first bike ride over 25 miles. We go to scale the beautiful mountains, North Carolina heaven.

The land of the Cherokee Indians, land of the mid-day rising sun, screams color this day. So bright; red, orange, yellow takes my breath away. Colors bleed together as we fly down the mountainside.

My Arms ache as I try to grip the handlebars with frozen hands because of the 34F degree morning and lack of the gorge-hidden sun. I forgot my pants and socks, wear arm warmers and a light windbreaker over my short sleeve jersey. I feel bad..really bad as I look over at Debbie Sue and she is trying to smile as her body shivers and maybe appears to convulse at times. A lean petite woman that has a far greater less percent of body fat then I do, needs more clothes then what she has on when it is 90% humidity, 34degrees, with no sun shine. She had exactly on what I told her to wear….. Calling me for my advise for what she should buy and wear for this ride….her first big ride on a bicycle-ever.

I am ashamed to tell you that all my 6 years education in exercise physiology, body temperature regulation, studies on hydration, years of cycling all over the world in all temperatures; did not aid in my decision to tell her that arm and leg warmers with gloves, and a thin hat with my medium weight vest would be just fine.

A hiccup

I remember looking down at my bicycle as I unpacked it in Ruben’s living room. I almost cried. My beautiful bike..the paint… blue….gone…missing…scratches…carbon fiber. Come to find the scratches extended well beyond that paint and made it into the carbon fiber, wreaking my machine, and basically becoming a death trap on wheels. A hiccup, my decision to pack my bicycle without the normal 3 inch foam surrounding the chain-ring facing away from the frame. I remember the very instant, recall telling myself saying it will be ok like this….. It was not and this is why for 6 weeks I have been a girl without her road bike and forced to replace a $1400 carbon frame with a stronger frame made of titanium.

A hiccup

Hiccups, this is what I call bad decisions- or just bad things all together. Hiccups, we all get em, have em. They come at the wrong time. Sometimes they hurt, hurt so bad that they make our stomach in knots and at times bring a little throw-up to our mouths. Sometimes they are a little unpleasant but still make us giggle. At times they only happen a few times in a row or can last for the feeling of eternity.

I think of this as I realize that we as humans give our selves a hard time about life’s hiccups. We expect other not to hiccup or not hiccup as much as ourselves. We do not forgive others and we do not forgive our self for what just happens naturally…

Hiccups are part of life, part of being human, part of have a digestive system. Without them we would not be human….

I just hope that my hiccups, like I hope all your hiccups, come less often, make me giggle, and allow meto be reminded, just how valuable and precious life is….

Amor,
Katelyn

Our Nations Capital. Rockville Maryland to and around Washington DC to Odenton Maryland 45 miles, too long to notice

I never thought I would actually hear anyone say this to me. “I would not ride your bike there..unless you want to get shot!” He actually said this, not laughing, or jokingly; but seriously.

Now usually, when someone tells me to not “go somewhere” on my bicycle it is because they think it is not interesting, too much traffic or too far in the country; not because I could actually be shot.

This day, as I pick up a rental road bike from a local shop in Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC; I decide to listen to the advise that was given from the young man that worked at the shop. My plans changed…now to formulate a new plan.

How was I going to ride to Washington DC, see the city, then to the nature preserve located North East of DC? Hmmm…Green way was the obvious answer.

Impressive actually, the city has greenways or bike paths linked from Maryland and Virginia to the City. Once arriving, the city has greenways along the Potomac,

passing our Nations monuments.

Within 5 minutes I decided that I do not like these bike paths of Washington and surrounding suburbs.

Everything with wheels and everybody was on the bike path. Kids with roller blades, moms pushing strollers, owners being dragged by their dogs, toddlers running out of control, tri cycles, big wheels, cruisers, mountain bikes, and road bikes. Like the city, this place was crowded.

Usually, when I ride my bike, a peace comes over me. It is hard to explain…. I feel control as I can push the pedals accelerating to speeds that would make most tense and ride their breaks. Forty-50 miles per hour at times, if I have gravity on my side; I still feel no hint of intimidation. I get lost in how my body feels as I cut through the air. How the breeze feels on my skin. If brisk air, I welcome goose bumps as the feeling is intensified as the hair on my arms and legs stand straight up. I can feel every bump and turn underneath my 20-pound machine that consists of some of the best materials available for cycling. I get lost in the moment, but then find my mind wandering to the future.

Today, none of this was possible-no feeling of controll. The only thing possible was to remain “on guard” at all times. This instinct, was followed by my bodies natural release of endorphins. I needed to react today. I was right to be prepared, as all of a sudden I was reacting to a cyclist coming straight towards me, she was blindly swerving around a group of walkers, and slammed right into me as I rode on the far right edge of the cycling path. I reacted correctly as I kept my line, placed my front tire right besides hers, kept my shoulders square, and fell over to the right on nice fluffy bushes that broke my fall. An obvious novice, with her brand new Treck T-mobile pink bike with matching helmet, glasses and shoes; she was maybe one hundred pounds. I actually felt sorry for her knowing that she just slammed into me; a woman that almost has 50 pounds on her, was taught combat cycling while training at the Olympic training center, was trained to tackle other women while playing rugby in college, and from practice has mastered the technique for slamming into trees and falling off her bicycle on pavement and down mountainsides alike. I instantly got up and kinda laughed and just looked at her laying on the ground. The first thing I thought, I said sarcastically was…. “Wow, I guess the road through the getto is safer then this”.

I did finally make it to the city, around the ghetto, at one point through the getto, through the nature reserve, and back on the metro as the night found me this day as I attempted and succeeded to see my Nation’s Capitol on a bicycle.

I must say, I do not have any part of me that would ever repeat this bicycle ride in the future, I will just stick to the country side.

Amore,Katelyn