Today was a turning point for me in life and in "old lefty's" total recovery. I got the chance to cross off "Miller Bucket List Item #3~ to ride in the Sterling 4th of July Bike/Hike". This 20-mile journey was the farthest I had ever ridden in one setting since my bike accident, coincidentally occurring 11-months ago today. When I woke up this morning at 4 a.m., I opened my eyes with confidence and eager anticipation for what would lie ahead of me. By 6 a.m., I was on the road to the wonderful Rice County community of Sterling, Kansas to see if I still had "it" left in me to ride a bike that far.
As I was driving over there, I had a lot of time to think about what I'd been doing this previous week to prepare myself for the journey today. In the past 7 days, I've had a chance to put in slightly over 100 miles on the bike. And I have to be honest here...it wasn't always that much fun! Oh, yeah a couple of the days I was pretty "gung ho" about it all. I hardly needed to be a cheerleader for myself. I enjoyed the ride and the time seemed to pass easily and quickly.
But there were just as many, if not more days, that I'd almost had to "kick" myself out of bed to start before 6 a.m. when it was still cool enough outdoors. Initially, my legs felt so tired and weak and when that began to happen, my "spirit" disappeared and the ride was such a chore to do. I've always gone by the idea that bicycling should never be a chore, a job. It should be something fun to do, an activity to relieve a bit of the stress of this life, not add more to it! Things got better especially towards the end of last week as I began to feel like it was "ok" to be doing this again and that I didn't have to worry all the time about whether or not I would fall, and if I DID fall...where on earth I should try to land.
There was a heck of a crowd of riders waiting at the Sterling Lake area when I arrived, all like me~just waiting to start the ride. It was an interesting assortment of humanity; young and old, experienced and non experienced riders, people "decked out" in special cycling gear as well as folks who, like me just showed up in what we call comfortable...all for one purpose-that purpose being to ride 20 miles and live to tell about it. I was in "awe" of each and every one of them.
I surely do need to give "kudos" to the community of Sterling for putting on, for many years now, a great ride. Those folks really know how to organize one and I've never come away disappointed in what the ride was like. They keep the entry fee reasonably affordable ($13) and provide an excellent "sag" stop in the small Rice County community of Alden, Kansas. All along the way, townspeople and those who live in the surrounding rural countryside are out by their mailboxes or at the intersection of roadways cheering the riders on. Nothing like a total stranger shouting out to you "Good job! Keep it up!" For me, that's one of the most crucial aspects of participating in something of this nature.
Wish I could say that the ride was a "breeze" to do, but WAIT, maybe I can. But it wasn't the kind of "breeze" you're talking about when you think of something easily done. It was that "good old" Kansas wind out of the south that played havoc with some of the riders (me at the top of THAT list) today. I'm not crazy about riding into the wind but if you cycle in Kansas, you better get over that pretty quickly. Yet people made it through, in pretty decent shape, me included. For every struggle I ever had with a broken arm, for all the hardship in learning how to dress myself one-handed and retie shoes again, for every scar on "old lefty's" misshapen arm, well I just tucked my head down into that wind and kept pedalling onward. I would have liked to finish much quicker but I'm thinking that a couple hours is better than not going at all. Oh, and for the best part....no broken bones this time....staying upright on a bike is a very good thing. :)
In no time at all, I was back home in Hutch. I've already caught a quick "cat nap" and when I woke up, my legs were a little tired and "old lefty" ached just a bit but other than that, I'm in pretty darn good shape for an "old person". So glad that I did it....so grateful for my two friends, Patti and Tonya who encouraged me to go with them. They would be the first to tell you though, "that's what friends are for."
On a side note, I have to admit that I changed my mind a bit about using an MP3 player as I rode along. Originally I had given up that practice for safety reasons, today I had one with me. So I guess I'm "calling my own self out" here. With one ear bud "out" and the other one "in", I listened to the music that I had downloaded for my Bike Across Kansas experience last summer. For me, some music has the power to motivate me, to give me a much needed "kick in the seat of the pants" from time to time on my rides, at many times when I need it the most.
The last 4 miles of the ride were the worst for me, even though I could see the city of Sterling close ahead. But it was that awful Kansas south wind blowing directly at me and it seemed as though for every foot forward I was able to pedal, the wind would blow me two feet backwards. I toyed with the idea of quitting for a moment, but then I came to the realization "well, THEN what? Who's gonna come pick you up Peggy Miller?" Just when I was at my "lowest" point of the ride, the song "If Today Was Your Last Day" by Nickelback started to play and just like always, those words sung by Chad Kroeger, motivated me to finish the ride. And you know what friends, if today was my last day here on earth, well it's been a great one. I did what I set out to accomplish and for that and the least of things, Peggy Miller is grateful.
I'm going to take a little "hiatus" from writing the blog for a week or so. It's time to "regroup" and rearrange a few things on the bucket list. But chances are good that in a week or so, I'll be ready to try something new, once again. What ever you do this day my friends, please, a thousand times please, do something good for yourself. You are worth it, always!
Have a safe and happy July 4th, 2012.
I always kind of wondered where they got that saying "like death warmed over" but after looking at myself when I finished the ride today, well now I guess I have figured it out!
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