Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

I recently got my bike (thanks Marissa!) and couldn’t wait to go riding. I just saw my bike sitting in my room and that just made me more anxious to take her out on the road. Whenever I could, I would put on my shoes and practice clipping in and out against my bed so I could feel more confident the first time on the road. Knowing that Illinois weather can change dramatically in a day, the first day it was mostly above freezing, I decided why wait another day. I layered up from head to toe and was ready to get on my way. My biggest fear was falling in front of people because I’d forget I was clipped in. Luckily I managed to remember, unclipping well in advance of stop lights/signs. I went out to Meadowbrook Park in Urbana so I could get used to riding my bike and not put myself in busy traffic. Riding a road bike is definitely a different experience than a cheap mountain bike but I already like road bikes better. After an hour or so of riding I made it back to my room in one piece and didn’t fall at all that day. You could say it was a successful first day on my bike.

Here is a revised version of a poem I enjoyed.

Hi my name is Maren
I have this team called i4k
We will bike through cornfields
And give mountains a fair whack
Some say that we are crazy
(in fact, everyone we know)
But to prove that we’re not lazy
We’re giving this a go.
Please sponsor us to cycle up mountains and groan
All to help cancer patients know they aren’t alone

Original Poem: http://cyclethesummits.weebly.com/the-fundraising-poems.html