At least we had matching 4th of July t-shirts and we looked pretty good to start.
I can tell you now that we did finish. But not without some little obstacles - and for me - some bigger, mental challenges. First and foremost was the heat and humidity. Once you start exercising, you feel like you just can't catch your breath when the air is that heavy. We looked like we were melting before we even left the parking lot. My son has ridden his bike a dozen times or so this summer- up to school and back - a mile at most. My daughter even less. So here I was pushing them to keep moving the first mile in. (In my defense - I did not force them to ride - they wanted to do it!)
My first mental challenge (and one of my most common ones ) was letting someone else be in control of the situation. Dana took the map and took the lead. I generally bike by myself and decide where I am going and at what pace (or should I say God decides that but lets me think I am in control). So here we are biking a new route that I have never been on and I didn't even get to look at the map before hand. I was relying on Dana to lead the way - and I didn't really like that. I like to know where I am going and what roads to look for. Nope I was in the back watching out for the kids while he pedaled along his merry way. I was happy that he was willing to do the ride so I didn't push the issue. But I grumbled plenty to myself because that is what I do!
Another issue I had was that I felt I had to worry about my children. I have been working hard on giving my worries to God but when your 9 year old son suddenly jumps off his bike and collapses in the grass and says he is going to puke - you tend to worry. For me the worst part was that we were only a mile into the ride and I started to wonder how far he could go, how sick he was, how we would get back to the truck..... Then my daughter biked back to us and mentioned that she felt like throwing up as well. Great! There goes my ride. How can I force two kids to bike if they feel that sick? A little prayer and a lot of water helped them recover and we continued on.
Honestly this ride was one of the slowest I have done in a long time. I do realize that they don't bike like I do, their bikes are a lot heavier than mine, my son only has one gear on his bike and we were out to bike as a family. It wasn't a race. We were just out having fun TOGETHER! It took me a good 8 miles to finally let things go - the control issue, the worry, the lack of speed. And we did enjoy the ride. I may have corrupted my son though. We had a long hill to get up near the end of the ride and he was tired and not too motivated. So I took of my headphone and let him listen to Ghostbusters - one of his favorite songs. Well that helped enough to get him halfway up the hill. He still had to walk but he was enjoying himself. However he didn't want to give the music back. I know a lot of people frown on headphones while biking (I only wear one when I bike) so I will have to get him some speakers if he is going to continue.
My first Watermelon Ride had a little bit of everything. I love how God continues to use my NEW journey to teach me lessons that I obviously need to learn. I know that I am getting better at not worrying so much - as I prove to myself each time I go out on a ride by myself and don't get in a panic with the what-ifs. So many things could go wrong on a ride but I have Faith that God will bring me through safely. I am also getting better at giving up the control issue. This one is a constant work in progress but I am learning that it is okay for others to do things for me or to instruct me or guide me. Honestly there was some joy in riding behind my family and seeing us together again and that wouldn't have happened if I would have been leading the pack.
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