King of the World

keep thinking about writing a post about bike-riding. In it, I would include beautiful pictures of my bike in a field of clover or my bike leaning against a moss-covered tree or a picturesque view of the city from my bike or me looking lovely (and not sweaty) on a bike. I would attempt to show you through photographs how amazing it feels to be on a bike.

Alas, I have not yet been brave enough to take my $500 camera on a bicycle, so this is the best I can do for you:

"I'm king of the world!"

It's true. When I'm on a bike, this is how I feel every time, every single time.

A friend emailed me the other day to say that she'd heard I'd gotten into running. "Don't you love it?" she wrote.

Well, no, actually. For the past nine months, I've been trying to go running two or three mornings a week. I run about 3 miles. It takes me much longer than it should, and ever time, every single time, I think to myself, When is this going to get easier?

I leave my house, walk about a quarter of a mile, and then start running, and as soon as I switch from walking pace to jogging pace, every time, every single time, I start thinking, Can I stop yet? And then I spend the next 35 minutes cheerleading: Just make it to that stoplight. Just make it down that hill. Just make it across that street. You can do it, you can do it.

When I'm on a bike, I hit my first hill and my legs are pumping and I'm inching, inching, at a snail's pace up, up, up, but the thought that runs through my mind is almost never, Can I stop yet?

Instead, I'm thinking, I can do this. Look how strong I am. With just the power of my legs, I am pushing me, and a 40 pound bike, and a 35 pound child up a hill. I am awesome.

And then I get to the top of the hill and begin to coast down, and I feel like I'm soaring. I think, "Wheeeee!!!!!" And if Rylan is with me, we say it outloud. "Wheeee!!!!" People walking past give us concerned looks, questioning our ear-to-ear grins.

I think some people feel that way when they run, but not me. I am not a runner, but when I'm on a bike, I'm king of the world.