I teach fitness for a living - the best job in the world! I actually get paid to play! I teach a lot of different formats, but my favorite is indoor cycling aka Spin. There's nothing I love more than leading my class through a grueling workout, me smiling them grimacing all the way. I love the pain and I love to tell them to 'get comfortable with being uncomfortable!' - followed by an evil grin and chuckle.
At a Can-Fit-Pro conference one year, a presenter commented on my legs and suggested I get into some sort of sport - he suggested speed skating or maybe biking. Since I loved indoor cycling so much I decided I'd try that out. My philosophy is: if you're going to do something new do it right and follow through. So I hired a coach (Barb Zimich) and paid for 6 months up front - no going back once you've signed the cheque right?
On my first consultation with my coach, she answered the door on crutches. I asked her what had happened. Turns out she broke her femur....riding her bike!! I almost turned around right there to go back to my safe, predictable indoor Keiser bike.
In the end I decided to go through with it - I mean really go through with it. The next day I went to the Bike Gallery to buy my first road bike so I could go on my first group ride that Sunday. I got a beautiful Specialized Tarmac which I absolutely love! I got a great deal on it too!
When I got my bike home and tried riding it I thought for sure I'd make a HUGE mistake. When you're used to a heavy hybrid (that you last rode 10 years ago), getting on a super light road bike is quite the experience. I was scared to death, but I'd already signed that cheque for 6 months of coaching and invested in a quality road bike. There was really no turning back now.
So that Sunday I headed out on my new bike to meet up with the Zimich group for my first group ride ever. It was a chilly November morning - for some reason I thought November was a great time to take up road biking! I tend to jump into things without thinking them all the way through.
When I got there it was mostly men and everyone was some sort of cycling athlete - mostly tri-athletes. And I was the indoor cycling instructor that thought it would be fun to try outdoor cycling. Again I thought I'd made a HUGE mistake.
We headed off and I was shaking because I was so scared, but it turned out to be a good experience! I kept up with the group and got a bit of an idea of what it's like to draft off someone - terrifying! The next 6 months I put in all the time I could, went on the group rides, did the drills, got dropped a few times and learned a lot of stuff that has made me a better indoor cycling instructor and a lover of road biking.
I'm not going to lie though - I was so happy when the 6 months were over! No more pressure, or scary bike rides with my coach yelling: "Heather! Get on the wheel!" or on stupidly steep hills: "Heather! Get your ass off that seat!" I'm still a bit of a nervous (or should I say a cautious) rider and don't really like standing. To this day I do all my climbs in the seat and am one of the first ones up the hill every time. My male team mates seemed quite impressed (or were they annoyed) by my strong climbing technique :) Good thing I'm so good on the climbs, because I'm terrified of the decsents and tend to be on my brake too much: "Heather! Get off your brakes!"
I have to say, as much as it scares me sometimes, I absolutely love it! I did the 2 day Ride to Conquer Cancer (Vancouver to Seattle) last year and this year. I did a 120km ride from Vancouver to Harrison Hot Springs (Rotary Club ride to benefit the hearing impaired) last year. I did the 140km Tour de Victoria - Ryder Hesjedal was kind enough to share some of his training route for the Tour de France with us :) I also did the first RBC Gran Fondo Whistler (120km) last year and will be doing it again this year. I just did the Valley First Gran Fondo Penticton the day before yesterday (162km - longest ride I've ever done!) and loved it so much that I signed up for the RBC Gran Fondo Kelowna (only 115km) coming up this Saturday - hope my legs are fresh by then! I'm truly addicted to it!
Most people think I'm a bit crazy - I teach fitness full time and then in my down time I go on huge bike rides - but I just can't get enough of it. There's nothing better than being able to move your body and push through things that seem almost impossible to do. I feel the most alive when I'm teaching classes or riding my bike.
I'm so lucky to be able to do what I do. My goal is to inspire people to get out there and play! Have I inspired you?
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