Sometimes you should listen to the voices

I've admitted it, I've said it out loud, I've even tried the whole thinking positive to put good thoughts into the universe and so far none of that has worked! Yes, I'm still on a rant about curves! Late Saturday afternoon Adam and I went for a ride. We took off and headed for the back roads where there are a lot of curves. You know, I have come to hate those road signs with the arrow and speed limit on it! I mean really, don't I have enough to worry about without adding anymore stressors. When I see the sign I immediately look at my speedometer and slow down because in the back of my mind I'm thinking the speed limit is on there because some fool probably on a motorcycle went to fast and now we all need to be reminded how fast we should take the curve. It's just like the tag on a hair dryer that warns not to use in the bathtub....Oh yeah, all that goes through my mind so you know what I mean about added stress. Anyway, about 30 minutes into the ride I decide to take a different approach. I start singing really loud and concentrate on the music then somewhere in the back of my mind I hear a voice, no not one of the normal ones this one was different....Look through the curve, readjust your eyes....well, hell what do I have to lose! I started looking further ahead so far ahead I saw tomorrow coming and I be damned it began to work! I started picking up a little more speed....still way behind Adam but I felt more confident. Am I cured? No. Am I on the road to recovery? I think so! What did I learn from this ride-sing really really loud,look way ahead....and don't let anybody tell you different...the voices can be a good thing!

Kicking the habit

Adam informs me Saturday that he thinks I'm to dependent on him when we ride and that it may be a good idea for me to go for a ride by myself. Huh??? What??? Well ain't that a blip?! Am I going to walk into the room and an intervention is planned? This was a lot for me to digest but after giving it some thought I decided he's right. Fast-forward Sunday afternoon, I decided to just do it. Believe it or not my biggest concern was..what if I drop my bike who's going to pick it up? Seriously, I will leave it where it lays and call a cab. So it's decided my destination will be my daughter Ashlea's. She lives about 15 miles away and I have to go through several curves to get there. I give her a call tell her if I'm not there in 45 minutes tops call for help. I give Adam my route (you'd swear I was heading out across country right?) and I'm off.
O.K. I'm not sure what the Guinness book record is for holding your breath but I'm pretty confident I beat it. Once I got to the main highway I felt a little more relaxed by that I mean I had loosened my grip so that the blood was flowing back to my fingertips. I was cruising along feeling pretty good and then damn here comes a curve. I have a little panic attack because I usually follow Adam's helmet through and now where the hell was his helmet???? Oh that's right I'm going cold turkey, no Adam no helmet just me...greeaattt. I start literally talking myself through the curve....you should have heard that conversation....finally success! One down and God knows how many more to go! Why the hell couldn't she just live off the interstate? Well, I made it to Ashlea's and back home obviously with very little mishap...yeah go me!!!! So what did I learn?
1. Being dependent on Adam was becoming a habit
2. I can ride by myself for at least 30 miles round trip
3. I can do curves without following Adam's helmet but the conversation in my head is really loud.
4. I need more practice!!!!
Finally...
5. If you squeeze your butt cheeks tightly together through a curve it doesn't help it only makes your butt sore ;)

I Can See Clearly Now

Wow its’ been a long winter. I’ve been cold since October. I’ve lost count of snow days….yes snow days. Gray skies are giving way to blue skies and we can ride! Our first ride of the year! We left around noon and the weather was beautiful still a little chilly but bearable. The first few miles I was a little shaky just trying to get my groove back. We stopped for gas and as we were leaving the station I swung wide into another lane….scary thank goodness no one was coming. That took me a few miles to shake off. The rest of the ride I felt pretty good about with the exception of those darn curves. We ended up riding 150 miles so I think I’m off to a good start for the year. My goal for the year is to log 5,000 miles. I may not have as many miles logged as most folks but that's o.k. I'll get there one day at my own speed.