The sun wasn't up before my wheels hit the trail this morning. It is a challenge to find blocks of time to ride and pre-dawn was the only time I could figure to squeeze in some time behind the handle bars. The perks of that time of day are that the temperature is cooler and the gnats haven't come out in full force. The downside is that it is pre-dawn. Thankfully we are getting into the days of longer amounts of daylight so the trail isn't so dark when I head out. I only have a two hour window of time from the current official sunrise (5:30 a.m.) to the time I need to be home and getting ready for the morning commute, so a pre-dawn departure is necessary if I want to get in more than 20 miles (made it 22.25 today...but who's counting?).
Bike riding seems to force me to live in the present moment, which the Buddhists think is a good thing, but at this point I am still doing a lot of mental complaining about what hurts at the moment. I have room for improvement in this department. Today I did take note of the white caps on Lake Minnetonka and the lovely wind that accompanied them (especially on the way back when it was a tailwind), the red-winged blackbirds, the ominous murder of crows loitering in the trees, the sections of trail so canopied by trees that they had an intriguing darkness to them, the putrid smelling swampy zones, and the Canada Geese that did not attack me today. I also intentionally directed my thoughts to a mom I know whose eight-year old daughter was diagnosed this past weekend with type 1 diabetes. The email she sent out to friends and family explaining what had happened brought back sharp memories of the weekend our family was dealing with the same turn of events. It is overwhelming in so many ways and my heart goes out to her and her family. When Annika was diagnosed in 2008, one of the moms from the Mother's of Multiples club I am part of, contacted me and shared the story of what happened when her daughter was diagnosed the previous year. She was a great resource for me and my family and I hope to be able to pay it forward to the family with the new diagnosis. All of these thoughts were a good reminder to myself of why I was up before the sun and pedaling a bike. The goal is to raise money to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes. These kids have to deal with diabetes 24/7...and all I have to do is bitch and pedal for a couple of hours a few days a week. The bitching I've got down and the pedaling is coming along. It was only six weeks ago when I was patting myself on the back for riding five miles without the need for an ambulance, and today I did four times that distance.
I must go put on my teacher hat now and be present (without any complaints) for my students.
If you or anyone you know cares to donate any amount that you are able to help JDRF find a cure for type 1 diabetes, please go to http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/gjengdahl
