My birthday was yesterday and I want to thank everyone who called, emailed, or sent a smoke signal. Turning 41 is only marginally better than turning 40.
On Saturday, my friend Tonya and I entered our first bike race. They don't call it a race, but trust me, these people are competitive. There was a 25-mile, 50-mile, and 118-mile ride. We did the sissy ride of 25 miles. It was our real first group ride so we were a little anxious about falling and causing an ESPN highlight of the week. We did great, made excellent time, didn't make fools of ourselves, and plan to do the next one for 50 miles. The night before as Tonya was tucking in her kids, her 10-year-old wished her good luck. The 8-year-old then said, "I don't know why you keep entering these things. You never win." You know, she's right. We never win. The thing of it is, I don't even think we're getting any better. Every Sunday we ride off into the sunrise, do our 20-30ish miles in the same time that we did it in February when we started. If we never win and we don't get any better, why do we do it? I think it's because we genuinely enjoy it. It is really the first sport that I really enjoy and not just endure.
Usually, I only like the sport for the outfits. I mean, is there anything cuter than a tennis outfit? I have several just hanging in the closet if anyone is interested. I liked shopping for the clothes more than the sport. It was also somewhat painful. You've heard of tennis elbow? By God, they aren't kidding. In my 3 month tennis career, I have developed a permanent elbow injury the likes of which do not enjoy picking up a heavy bag of groceries. After biking, the only thing that hurts is my butt. I'm using this as an excuse not to lose any of my extra padding back there. I can't imagine having a skinny little butt with no cushion after 30 miles through the desert. My biggest complaint other than the butt? The biking outfits. Tell me, who looks good in padded spandex? Who comes up with these outfits? They are relatively functional but do all those colors really go together? Are they trying to avoid cars, animals, or the opposite sex? I don't know if you've priced this ugly stuff, but a good biking shirt can cost $90. Shouldn't a woman step in at some point and design something attractive? I know, in sport you're not supposed to be worried about your appearance. Trust me, you see me in a pair of biking shorts and you would bet money that I don't care how I look when I leave the house. Of course, nothing is further from the truth. Maxine instilled a hard and fast rule of "never leaving the house without your face on," which I adhere to most of the time. Except when I'm biking, and then I guess I'm just having too much fun to care.
No comments:
Post a Comment