Saturday, August 29, 2009

The S Word

Last month, prompted by the Tour de France, my husband and I bought bikes, bicycles. I was a little hesitant to spend that much on a piece of "exercise equipment" as I am not much of an exercise fan, however I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy it. Now, I must get something straight that previous to purchasing the bikes I was unaware of. There are bike riders and there are cyclists.

Bike Riders...own a bike. Have a helmet. Enjoy an hour (10-15 mile) ride. Wear an ipod while riding. Wear tennis shoes, gym shorts and a t-shirt while riding. Overall an enjoyable experience.

Cyclists...cherish their bike like it is something they bore from their womb. Have a helmet, sunglasses and gloves that could withstand a nuclear explosion. Ride EVERY day...wind, rain, sleet, monsoon. Ride 100+ miles EVERY day, just for fun. DON'T wear an ipod while riding...it detracts from the focus. Wears padded spandex, special shirts with aerodynamic tendencies and pockets in the back to hold your worldly possessions & clip in shoes that are basically bolted to the petal. Overall this is a different breed.

We are bike riders.

So we did rather well, going 3 times a week for about the first month. The last two weeks have been sans bike rides as my husband was preparing for a major tournament at his course and I have an extreme ability to convince myself I have other things to do. Anywho, yesterday was our first day back on the bikes...thank God! So off we go to the river for a nice ride. I of course notify my husband that this will be easy...NOT 12 miles as fast as we can as it has been 2 weeks and my body reverts to it's former glory very quickly. Start off, feeling good, great playlist working in my ears with my new "skull candy" head phones (which I very highly recommend). About mile 4.5 as I am pedaling along to Amy Winehouse's Rehab...I spot it...just as the chorus of "no, no, no" blares in my ears.

About 10 inches long...black...slithering...AUGHHH! THE S WORD. Oh dear Lord...I am getting the heebie geebies just typing about it.

I have an immense fear of the S word. I don't know why. Nothing ever happened to me as a child concerning these evil things, no major trauma to my knowledge. Maybe it's the fact they brought evil into the Garden of Eden for all the world deal with? Whatever the cause...if you want to get me to stop talking, turn the channel, RUN, leave wherever I am...speaking of, seeing a picture of or God for bid seeing an actual S Word is the way to do it.

Now back to my tale. So my legs went into mach 12 while I was repeating "la la la...no no no" shaking my head...people around probably thought I was having a seizure. So I got to mile 5.5 rather speedy, looked at my husband with big eyes. He was laughing.

Of course, we had to turn around to get back to the car and thus had to return to the scene of the crime. Thankfully, Mr. S Word had gone...into the grass, into a hole, run over by a Cyclist...we will never know. So about mile 8 I finally inhaled and finished our lovely ride...sans The S Word.

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