Two-wheeled confidence boost

I’ve been riding my bike the past few weeks. Some days I commute to and from my office (one hour each way), others I take it downtown on the train and ride it home, and others I use it to tool around the city while I visit with friends.

Biking, on my old school Schwinn Varsity, has given me something that being an entrepreneur did not.

Confidence.

Cross 9 miles of the city by the power of my own two legs. Getting strong enough to go up the hills/overpasses on Halsted. Keeping up with cars, steering clear of cars, telling cars where I’m going. Eating for fuel and not for therapy. Focusing on strength and not on weight.

I feel confident about my body in a way that I haven’t in years. Training walks for the 3 Day never left me feeling this strong. I felt beat down by the end of the event. I needed physical therapy to recover from the injuries. The blisters, the shin splints, the aches and pains.

Yes, my knees hurt after a 20 mile day, but my confidence soars.