Aigle, Switzerland 2010

This has been an interesting summer… intent on trail running and doing a few trail races, I kind of ignored my bike and focused on trail running. Well, as the story goes, I became injured. I tried to run like I had been running for years. I tried to apply the volume that I loved from riding my bike to running. Nope, I’m not an experienced enough runner to do this. My feet, tendons, shins, and general overall body protested until I finally exploded.

Flash forward seven weeks and I’m back with my first crush (sorry Marc) – my bicycle. (I’m easing back into running – so far so good and I’m committed to the long slow road to running fitness.) In the last couple of weeks I’ve been out on a few rides, boy oh boy, I had no idea how much I missed my bike. It is comforting to be out on familiar roads riding along and just feeling so comfortable.

For me, there is something about my bike that just makes me so happy and secure. I feel confident on my bike. When racing, I didn’t have the natural gifts that so many have, but I had a passion for the bike. Passion that encouraged me to set big lofty goals (goals that many didn’t believe I’d ever achieve) and then work hard to meet and surpass these goals. This confidence spilled over into other areas of my life – I felt good about myself, I was more confident when speaking with others, I got over my shyness (yes, I used to be shy), and I felt comfortable in my skin.

Now, of course, I don’t have that fitness that I once had. I’m no longer a bike racer. In fact I don’t really consider myself a cyclist. But I’m working my way back. There is something about that feeling that I really miss. The feeling of just knowing that you’ve “found your thing” and that thing makes you feel so darn good.

I’m not hanging up my trail shoes. In fact, I’ve got a running/skiing plan that will set me up well for some very sweet fun on the trails and on the snow. It’s just that I’ve realized that I feel so good on my bike. I’m working at getting my body 100 per cent healed and you’ll soon see me out on the trail runs, riding my road bike, and doing a bit of cyclo-cross practice.

Perhaps watching this short video with Anton Krupicka (amazing trail runner) will help you understand what I’m struggling to say:

(On a side note – I realized yesterday that this summer has actually been pretty darn awesome for me (and most importantly for Marc) – this the first summer since 2009 that we haven’t been dealing and living with an ulcerative colitis flare. So yeah, summer 2014 has and is a pretty good one.)