We just got back from a wonderful summer vacation- A Backroads biking trip with another family through the Ireland countryside. Well, I am here to confess I truly hadn’t mounted a bicycle in over 30 years- and even at that I was never much of a cyclist. Our friends proposed this fabulous and intriguing trip idea to us and because our kids are good friends and we really like this couple, we said yes. For the months leading up to our departure, I kept saying I was going to get on a bike and start training… There were not going to be a lot of hills and the terrain was supposedly not difficult but I knew I better do something to prepare. After all, I have been scared to death of biking on roads with cars and am unfamiliar in every way with the sport. So I procrastinated and procrastinated and NEVER got on the bike- until the morning we were leaving and I went out behind my house on a friends bike and was scared to even descend the very small downslope in the road. So off I went to the airport laden with fear and anxiety…there is a part of me that wants to challenge myself but this was actually crazy…I kept telling myself I had endured far worse emotional and mental challenges and now I could just do it with a physical challenge. Nice justification for my procrastination.

So what was the outcome?  Well, I had a great trip. First of all, the company, location, scenery, food and culture were phenomenal. Furthermore, I rode that bike, had fun, was scared to death, felt the fear and did it anyway, felt a bit out of shape, pondered the reasons why I procrastinate (still pondering) challenged myself and felt successful. Luckily, my body could handle it even though I was extremely sore in strange places and exhausted at the end of our 20-30 mile days.  This was a constant reminder of how I could have been better prepared. I got in the van a few times when the hills were too much. I knew if I had trained, I would not have had to do this. I thought a lot while riding for miles and miles and had time to recognize my patterns and where they show up in my life. Procrastination is a big one for me. It is something that I know I really need to look at so I am actually grateful that I unconsciously created the opportunity to do so. It was really a gift- I could have been beating myself up for it but decided to look at the lesson in it.  So I will continue to keep my eyes open and to remember the learning never ends…and it is sometimes a windy, hilly and bumpy road.