The hardest times for me to write come when I attempt to relay an experience for which I have little prior experience. As an educator, I understand that we link what we learn to what we've previously explored so that our knowledge begins to create a web of experience to define who we become as individuals. Once we are adults, we live our lives under the false pretense that we are knowledgeable and experienced. We forget that there are opportunities for growth in every experience and every event. We also forget the excitement of new experiences and the importance of absorbing the opportunities around us.
I visited "the gaps" today in search of confirmation of my strength as a cyclist. As silly as it sounds, I've always feared the gaps but felt like I would finally prove myself as a cyclist when I could ride them without finding myself in a heap of tears, pushing my bike up the likes of Neels or Hogpen. It's always seemed like a rite of passage - an experience that might seem excruciatingly difficult but would somehow make me "wiser" or "stronger." By my own definition, I proved myself as a cyclist today. I found the strength to ride the gaps and learned that the strength I was looking for was not in my legs buy in my personal desire to improve and succeed.
When I sat down to write this, I wanted to paint beautiful pictures with words so that anyone stumbling across my entry might "see" the beautiful trees that line the mountains or understand the way the millipedes scurry across the pavement. It almost seems as if there aren't words to justify the sensation that accompanies my memory of the beautiful scenery I experienced as I climbed Neels. I don't know how to describe the sensation of flying that I felt on the descent from the top of Woody's gap to the rock pile at the bottom of the mountain. I saw sunflowers and smelled gardenia flowers; I found myself soothed by the sound of cascading water that trickled around me as I pedaled my way to the top of each climb. The images swirl in my mind but the words to describe the feeling of exhilaration I experienced just doesn't exist. I am a richer person, regardless of my ability as a cyclist, because of today's experience.
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Very well put Cristy! I have a passion for riding in the mountains. I am not very good with words for describing experiences. I feel like you read my mind with what you wrote here. I can remember having the same need of confirmation by riding the gaps. I thought I was weird for slowing to here a stream flowing or for remembering how many millipedes crossed in front of me. I usually sneak off and ride up there by myself. I think I do this so I am not distracted from enjoying the beauty that is all around me. Anyway, thanks for the words. I could here the streams and almost smell the flowers as I read them. See you on the road. Crash
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