Just Me and My Bike

My story is simple.  I was the MOST unathletic person in the world!!!  When it came to my ‘physical being’, I was uncomfortable in my own skin, and at times very anxious.  I preferred to be a wallflower and to hide from any real adventure.

Shortly after I married my best friend, James, he bought me my first real road bike.  I had no idea that I had just started not one, but two, life long relationships.

Less than six months later I found myself at the base of Alpe d’Huez, a mountain in the French Alps well known for its appearances in the Tour de France.  Completely overwhelmed, and wondering how the hell I was going to make it to the summit where our hotel was, this would be an absolutely life changing day.  It was also the start of a journey, which I am still on.

My bike changed my life. On the side of a French mountain I found something I had never known until then.  As I literally crawled up the side of that mountain, one pedal stroke at a time, I found a complete connection with my inner athlete, nature, and my soul.  My physical, mental and spiritual beings became one and melded with the mountainside.

I found a mental and physical toughness that I didn’t know was there.  I found myself up against something that I didn’t know if I could do.  Every moment of the journey that I went on that day will forever remain vivid in my mind.  Despite the terror, the gruelling work that every pedal stroke took, and the tears that were shed, it was one of the best days of my life.

Is there something that you really want to do, but you are terrified of trying?  Are you afraid of this thing we label as failure?  Well, I plead with you to take a step forward.  Get out there and do it!!!  Trust me, you won’t regret it.

I hope that you will go on a journey with me, and a year from now look back in awe at where you find yourself.

I will be sharing my stories about my travels with my bike, the mountains that I climbed, and the tears that I shed.  I will be sharing my triumphs, and my moments of despair.  I will be sharing what I have learned about training, nutrition, and attitude.

Most of all, I will be sharing my journey to reaching for my dreams…and I hope that will come along with me and reach for your own!!!

Just A Girl And A Bike – Facebook Page

Alpe d’Huez Info Page