What a grand and glorious day we had out on our new bikes today. Yes, we got new bikes and are looking forward to the many adventures awaiting us along the nature trails in our area. We went out this morning for an hour and half and saw, Bunnies, Blue Jays, Butterflies and even a bug or two. Well, actually, I didn't see a bug, but one saw me and gave me a rather nasty bite on the leg. Ouch! Felt like a bee sting it did, and I yelped but good. I had a nasty looking welt for a couple of hours, but it is gone now. So no great harm done. (Note to self - put bug spray in my back-pack for the next trip!!).
We borrowed bikes from friends last week and went for a tour of the waterfront. I was a bit fearful at first, but after the first few minutes I started to relax and enjoy the ride. Every few minutes I would do a “body check” to see how I was doing – Neck? Ok! Back? Ok! Knees? Ok! – all were doing fine. Yahoo. We stopped after an hour and took a brief rest. Knees, neck and back were still ok, so we set off again. It was a total blast. At the end of two hours we took the bikes back to our friend’s house and went home for lunch and a shower.
A few years ago I fell while roller blading and as a result have a compression fracture in my back. That put an end to my roller blading days, but not my desire to get back outside on some wheels and enjoy that marvellous feeling of zipping along in the great outdoors. I had been wondering for the past few months if my back could handle biking, but I didn’t want to buy a bike and then discover that I couldn’t do it. I think I was afraid of trying it too. What if I fell again? I mentioned this to a friend and she encouraged me to borrow her bike and take it out for as long as I wanted to. So Friday was the day.
After our morning trial run on the bikes, John and I went home for lunch and a shower and by 2pm we were in the bike shop looking at “comfort bikes”. That is what they call the kind of bike with high handle-bars, comfy seats with shock absorbing features, and wide tires for easier navigating along the nature trails. We found two bikes that seemed to be made to order for us, right down to the colour, so we took them out for a test spin. We went back to the waterfront and peddled along the pathways there and before long we knew that these new bikes would be coming home with us that day.
That was three days ago and after all the biking on that day, and the next and the next, we still don’t have sore or stiff muscles at all. Back, neck and knees are all still doing fine so we are planning our next trip along another trail for Tuesday.
I am so glad that I had a generous friend who saw the desire in my heart and encouraged me to face my fear of falling again and go for a spin on her bike. What would we do without friends who encourage us to step out of our box and then help us take the first tentative step?
I encourage you to face a fear you have today and take a step outside your box. There is a whole world waiting for you out there. You might get a nasty bite or two along the way, but nothing as bad as staying in your box and not enjoying life to the fullest. Go ahead. Take that step.
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