The good and bad. Starting a new challenge.
So we have all done it – started a new sport or hobby. We are the most enthusiastic and hopeful in our new favorite specialist store. We spend hours reading descriptions of all the newly found goodies available on amazon or even better a speciality store for enthusiasts.
Then the parcels arrive and I tell my wife, with confidence, why I need a small CO2 canister in my new bike seat pouch or why this cream is rated so highly to prevent saddle sores. Oh yes, I’m now a real cyclist.
Reality is often harsh, you watch older, younger, fatter, smaller men and women fly by you on the road, looking like they aren’t even trying as you pant uncomfortably, wriggling on your bike trying to find at least one position that doesn’t hurt for a minute or two. You get home to find your maximum effort took you 10 miles and your heart is pounding like a furnace hammer.
However, like in all things worthwhile doing, patience and persistence do pay off. Each day you get a little more comfortable, you go a little faster and you ride just a little bit longer. You pass the place where a week ago you sat panting wondering if you could get home, now relaxed and comfortably turning the pedals in a good rhythm. Your average heart rate comes down and your speed goes up . Now you’re not a newbie. Now you’re a cyclist.