Girl Meets Bike

Melody isn’t sure she’s a real biker. We think she’s the realist.

Forward

In these two posts, Melody gives us a delicious dose of her awesomeness. First, she commutes to work in heels and decides she’ll never be a real biker. But then she turns that entire thought upside down. She comes to a powerful realization about herself, and we think this realization makes her as real as biker as there ever was. Enjoy!

Reasons Melody Will Never Be A Real Biker, Episode #22:

1) I wore yellow heels when I “commuted” to work on my bike this morning. Commuted is in quotation marks because it’s 2.2 miles, which I don’t think classifies as a commute, so just whatever about it. But hot damn, those shoes are cute. And they have built-in orthotics, so I am basically slaying this whole aging thing.

2) I’m wearing a dress. But don’t worry–I wore my bike shorts under it so I don’t accidentally flash anybody. Nobody needs to see that mess on their morning drive before they’ve had their second cup of coffee. ????☕️I removed the shorts when I got to work- I made Leah shield me with her body while I stripped down behind a stack of truss.

3) I took a selfie while riding my bike. This needs no further commentary.

4) I bought a magazine called “Bicycling” because surely, that will teach me everything I need to know. Problematically, I do not understand one single word in the whole publication. I have no idea what any of you people are talking about.

A Few Days Later, Loaded with Wisdom:

Everybody always talks about aging like it’s a bad thing, but I think I love getting older. I’m learning who I am and gaining the confidence to actually be that woman. You don’t have to know me well to know that my weight has been a lifelong struggle for me. It’s up, it’s down (ok, let’s be honest- it’s mostly up.) And I spent years hating myself and punishing myself with grueling workouts at the gym that killed my spirit. Hours of elliptical machines and treadmills left me feeling like I hated exercise and was just stuck in a vacuum of calories in/calories out, and hoping the numbers worked in my favor. But guys, I think I have learned something about myself in the last couple of months. I hate the gym, but I love exercise. I love being outside and biking and hiking and kayaking. None of these things feel like a punishment or a chore to cross off my list. They feel like a life-giving, soul-replenishing joy. I love the crunch of sticks underneath my feet and the smell of decaying leaves and the sweat on my back and the sun on my face. This is who I want to be, a woman that splashes in creeks and isn’t afraid of spiders. Whatever woman you’re supposed to be, I hope you find her and hold on tight to her.

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