Momentary Darkness

Well after picking up the bike on Sunday evening, I was pumped and ready to start training! I got up at the crack of dawn on Monday morning to ride to work on my new vehicle. That's when the problems began. Riding on the way to work wasn't hard but I realized that this was going to take some practice. My body is in a completely different position with this bike than with any other I've ever ridden. I don't understand how the gears work. And my shoes clip onto the pedals so when I'm coming to a stop, I have to unclip or fall over on my side. Going home was a nightmare. Firstly, I was tired after being at Walmart for roughly 9 hours. Secondly, it was hot outside and I was in my Walmart khakis and navy blue shirt. Thirdly, Hanover's roads were packed. Cars everywhere. I got to a gas station about a 30 minute walk from my house and pulled onto the sidewalk. I was fuming at myself. So angry, irritated and bitter. I stood there for probably 10 minutes just letting negative thoughts spiral out of control while I pissed and moaned on a Facebook status. But eventually I gave myself a pep-talk and decided to walk the rest of the way home. I unclipped my cleats, stuck them in my backpack and headed off for home. The pep-talk helped a lot so I was in a relatively decent mood coming home although I was still sweaty as all get out and stressed about the phone interview I was going to have with The York Daily Record when I got home (which went pretty well if you're wondering).

All that to say, this isn't all super-fun, exciting, thrilling, and inspirational. This is a hard thing I'm doing and I truly realize that. I've been told that it's a rite of passage to go from the kind of bike which I *was* riding to a really serious road bicycle. And a friend told me that if you haven't fallen over with the clipless pedals, you haven't yet joined the club of serious cyclists. So I feel accomplished. I came close to falling over a couple of times on Monday and went all the way once. I'm giving myself a chance to acclimatize to this new style of bike and I'm getting some help tomorrow night from my cycling friend. I am sure there will be more than a couple of times on my cross-country trek when I want to throw in the towel and give up the tour but I'll make it by the grace of God and the help of my friends!