Lessons Learned From My Bike

My first bike race :)

"Don't take anything for granted.", It's something my parents told me all the time growing up but I never fully understood what it meant until my injury. I started road biking when I was about 7 years old. When I was 8, my mom, aunt (by adoption) and I all rode in our first MS150, a 150ish, 2 day bike ride to raise money for multiple sclerosis. My Grandfather and my Dad had both been mountain bike racing in Arizona since I could remember. I started racing along side them when I was in 7th grade. After a few years both my Dad and my Grandfather quite racing but I was in love with the sport and getting pretty good.

I joined my first team when I was 14 and raced with them for a year. In 2010 I placed second in the state championship series. During the 2011 championship race I got lost in the great mountains of flagstaff for over 8 hours. I had an allergic reaction to my rescue inhaler, was extreamly dehydrated, lost and traumatized by the experience. I lost my state championship that year because I didn't finish that race and I would have placed first. Once the EMT's found me on the trail, I remember crying in the back of their truck the whole way back because I felt like a total looser. When I got back I was greeted with hugs by the people who where worried about me and screaming by people who where pissed of that I didn't win the state championship (and for getting lost).

I vowed not to race the 2012 state championship series because I thought I wasn't good enough. I was scared and stupid. Instead I switched back to road biking and training for Tempe international triathlon. I was runner up for Tempe Tri last year and was planning to do my first Olympic this year but that never happened. After I had my injury I was smart enough to take a break for a few weeks but stupid enough to go back to training even though I was still in pain. This is a decision that I will regret for a very long time to come.

If you love a sport as much as I love cycling than you should never give up on it. I greatly regret not racing my mt. bike while I still could. I miss super-D, camping, the people, and being good at it. Triathlons are also something I love but it's more of an addiction and a love hate relationship than a true love. The moral of the story is, don't give up just because your scared or lacking confidence. You ARE better than you think you are. If I am recovered enough from surgery in 4 weeks, I may be allowed to slowly start training. It's going to be a long road but I'm more motivated to train now than I ever was before. This is a fresh start to something I have been missing from my life for my life for to long. Theirs a big part of my heart dedicated to the sport of cycling, and I want it back.

See you at the starting line,

 Girl + Bike

Can I please look like I did when I was 15 again????

Dang!

State Championship 2010