Bike more and get better

I bike with many different folks; ladies, men and newbies and experts as well. At one point I was a newbie. I was afraid on the road and I could not do many things on my bike except fall over when put into a difficult spot. I fell going up steep hills, and I fell at intersections when I could not unclip fast enough.

I have had my fair share of close calls. I could not even stand up on my bike when riding. Last year my total miles was 2400. Sounds like a lot but even that high number was not enough to make me much better on the roads.

This year I am already at 3000 miles. And this year I am improving. I can now stand. I can now avoid the falls, and I can now bike on busy roads. Have I done anything extraordinary on the bike?? No. I simply went out and biked. Some days I went fast and some days I went slow.

I had no plan. I went to no training clinics. I do not wear a heart rate monitor. I have no idea what cadence means. I have no plan except to get out more and bike.

I have found as well that many ladies want to bike and do it sometimes but not enough to improve. As a result, they give up. They make excuses as to why they cannot bike. I have had little success in getting women to bike regularly. Since I have been leading bike rides for my club I can count on one hand the number of ladies over the last 4 years that have really taken to biking. My hat is off to these ladies. It is fun to see them improve and ride. One lady recently rode across Iowa and one lady is doing her 2nd 100 mile ride this weekend. If these ladies and myself can do this, why can't you? None of us is under the age of 50 and yet we found a way to bike. One of us is retired, one works full time and one works parttime. So we come from all walks of life.

So tell me, just what is your excuse??