“Don’t
worry; it’s easy, just like riding a bicycle.” For most people, this common
idiom makes sense relating to the ease of bicycle riding. For me, this phrase
is an irony, as my life’s greatest trials and breakthroughs have been achieved
on the bike, and those successes were anything but easy. To me, “just like
riding a bicycle” means pedaling hard against cruel gear settings and pounding
for hour-long minutes up endless hills that are working with the sun and wind
to force my wayward endeavor into forlorn failure. But, time and again, I find
myself casually looking down that last endless hill and wondering where the
time went. For every ride I’ve started, I’ve managed to make it through and
realize my true place on the bike and its true placement of my power to
achieve.
From the start, bicycles have been a
fundamental part of my life. I don’t even remember when I had training wheels.
Though it was really my third bike, I recall my “first” bike being a simple
mountain bike that boasted features new to me, like gear-shifters and stronger
tires. Still, I just saw this object called a bicycle for what it was; two
wheels, a frame with handles, and a somewhat uncomfortable seat. I failed to
see the true potential both mount and rider had if harnessed properly, despite
varying aggravations. I owe it to my parents, both cyclists in their day, who
encouraged a more in-depth practice in the art of road cycling. With the
acquisition of a new racing bike on my 11th birthday and a keen
wanting to discover an athletic potential besides arduous running, I donned a
little cycling jersey, checked my tire pressure, and followed my headstrong
father out onto the road of a new cycling career. I sometimes wonder how I
would have felt knowing that, four short years later, he would be straining to
catch up to me.
While those pre-teen years saw great strides in
my own world, I still suffered from the child’s instinctive repulsion of hard
work. Then the wonders of the outside world broke through to me in the form of
one mighty, awe-inspiring man: Lance Armstrong. Massing spectacular Tour de
France race victories year after year, surviving a life-changing battle with
cancer, and slamming into every cycling competition he entered to win hard, I
had found my personal guiding star on a bike. I still cannot believe some of
the things Armstrong has achieved and I’m never at a loss to marvel at the
sheer force of determination that he found within himself. But, over time, I
learned the big surprise: though his career is unique, there are thousands of
world-class athletic cyclists who all tore down their physical inhibitions and
did great deeds on the bike for few other reasons than love of the sport. For a
growing cyclist, these titans of the road were as key as the bicycle itself in
shattering the fear of hard work and suffering to bring rise to a passion for
the two-wheeled challenge. With a capable ability on the rise and iconic role
models to follow the legacy of, I found the purpose of my choice and prepared
to advance onward.
As I ride today, finding contentment
with just the air, the road, and my bicycle sailing on, I still scarcely stare
down the horizon with valiant thoughts of strength and accomplishment. I don’t really have to; if I continue
to strive to be the best cyclist I can be, than simply getting out onto the
road to return a few hours of satisfied workout later is enhancing who I am on
its own… with the help of some focused attitude while pushing that next winding
uphill.
For
all my incredible influences, from famous professional athletes to my caring
and supportive parents, I believe that there was, and still is, one aspect of
my ability for cycling that has inspired me in a way that few other moments in
my life could equal: the distance I traveled and the self-development I built
came from myself. When I remember that I found the willpower to drive up insane
hill-roads and across arid desert miles to reach those victorious finishes of
each workout, then I know that I can race for any journey I choose to chase
after. I’ll find myself looking back on life’s challenge and think it easy as
riding a bicycle.
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