Sunday, April 17, 2011

After the Stumble

I love to ride my bike. Let me clarify, the words "Let's go on a bike ride" make me smile, jump up and down, and hurry to put on my shoes. I did not realize this love until two summers ago.

When the four of us first started riding, I was skeptical about the whole situation. I was never a risk-taker as a kid. I played things on the cautious side. I knew what my limits were for safety, and I was sure to stay within them. I was never the spontaneous, impulsive kid with bruises and scrapes. So, when taking my first ride, on my new bike, as an adult-- I was shocked to have new feelings about bike riding! I felt: free, careless, powerful, and young! As the four of us raced down the road, I wanted to be 8 years old again. I wanted to knock on the door of my friends' house, call them outside, and race off to the woods or pool for a day of summer fun.

It didn't take long for my sense of power and carelessness to be checked with reality. By that point in the fall, we were on a routine ride through G-town. It was a brisk afternoon, full of vibrantly beautiful trees, making the transition through seasons. J. decided to jump a curb. Because by that point, I was feeling very confident in my bike riding abilities, and because I didn't want to seem like a wimpy girl I went ahead and followed suit. However, I didn't realize that all of those beautiful leaves I had been admiring earlier were also on the ground. This made the distance from the road up to the sidewalk seem much less. Before I even knew what happened, I was on my face instead of on my bike! I couldn't move. My arm hurt, my legs were twisted between the frame of my bike, and my sunglasses were a few feet in front of me. Even though I didn't cry, my confidence had disappeared like the skin on my knees.
The moments after this stumbling were more important than all leading up to it. My first thought after realizing what had happened were "What now?" Even though my confidence was absent I was able to straighten myself out and get back up on my bike.

I learned that confidence or no, the only choice is to get back up and keep on keeping on.

So, when faced with the idea of this new blog and the task of writing consistenly and for an audience, even if I stumble a time or two, I hope to hop back up and ride...er, post again!

1 comment:

  1. First--love the colors and the wallpaper! It's like something I would have done if I knew how, but even better--it suits you!

    Next, the description and tone of your writing is appealing and made me "ride" along with you through the story. My very favorite part is "my confidence had disappeared like the skin on my knees." Wow. Wow.

    Finally, the reflective nature of your story really hits home and works so well. You pulled it back to the blog adventure so naturally. Nicely done my friend. I can't wait to read more!

    ReplyDelete

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