Although I’ve been attending indoor cycling classes for some time, every class seems to teach me something new about myself.  Truly, it’s almost a religious experience for me.

Lately, I’ve learned that the power in your ride comes from your legs, not your feet. As you cycle, your feet are just along for the ride.  Maybe I am learning that because I am getting stronger, I don’t know.  A part of that change has caused me to “run” or “jog” more than “bike” when I am out of the saddle.  This means that I am “pulling” as much as I am ”pushing” on the pedals.  That movement requires me to trust the clips, trust the pedals, trust my shoes, and trust the bike.  To hold me up.  Not to fall.  To keep me going.  To keep me healthy.  To keep me sane.

And so, that quickly becomes a metaphor for life.  ‘Trust the bike’ is my new mantra.  Meaning, get your life together, secure your network, your support system, your personal “board of directors,” your faith, your perspective, your hope and optimism.  And then … just ride.

The ride will have hills and valleys.  Jumps and sprints, and sometimes, lots of boring flat road.  You will push and recover.  You might even want to quit.

But the bike is there.  And I have to trust it.  To trust my network, my family, my friends.  And myself.  They will hold me up.  I will not fall.

All of this trust means, of course, that I have to do my part. Show up.  Participate. Give it my all, 100%, every single time.  Stay committed.  Keep moving my legs and breathing and keep my shoulders relaxed and move and move and move even when I want to leave the room. Even when I hate the song, or the instructor is uninspiring, or feel like the slowest person in the room. I have to stay FOCUSED.  It’s me and the bike, and that’s it.

On the days I do my part, the bike is there.  And even on the days I don’t, it’s still there, waiting for me.  Waiting to hold me up, keep me going, and let me ride.