Flat

As I noted in a previous post, I began the Whole30 program 18 days ago, and it has been quite the new experience for me for sure.  I have learned a lot about what happens to a body that has grown accustomed to very unhealthy food and is all of a sudden forbidden those same foods all in one fell sweep.  It has been very unpleasant at times, especially at the beginning, but I believe I have rebounded nicely, and since I am almost 2/3rds of the way finished, I can say without a doubt that the benefits have far outweighed the unpleasantness, and that is saying a lot because there has been some major unpleasantness.

Yesterday my friends and I were finally able to get back on our bikes and back on the Ladiga Trail.  I say finally, because it has rained a LOT this week, and since I work daily until 4:30, I am not able to get on the trail until 5:00 which is about the time the t'storms come rolling in.  I love storms as most of you know, but when they keep me off my bike, my love diminishes a bit.  Yesterday was no different, except the storm thankfully waited until 7:00 or so to come.  That was great news for me, because I had a flat!  There have been many times when I have had malfunctions of some sort, or been with someone who has had a malfunction.  Everything from pedals falling off mid ride, to warped tires, and entire brake systems coming apart has happened to either my friend or me.  I have never had a flat, until yesterday, and if you have never experienced this, then you don't know that it happens all of a sudden.  You may pick up a sharp object and not realize it until it punctures the inner tube and just like that, the tire deflates, and you are stuck.  Thankfully, I was not alone, and my friends rode back to the house, where one of them hopped in her truck and made a rescue, while I sat on a picnic bench lamenting my interrupted ride.  Had it happened a week earlier, I might have been thankful for the sudden rest my flat would have afforded me, because truthfully, I had been feeling really FLAT myself, and each bike ride since beginning the Whole30 was exhausting.  For the first two weeks of this experiment, I have been exhausted on my rides, barely having the energy to complete them, and having to gear down a lot just to make it home.  I knew this would happen because I have been reading the Whole30 survival guide and the comments of others, and while I regained my energy in other areas of my life fairly easily, it was not so easy with my rides. 

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I was having one of the best rides of my life!  My energy levels were back, and although parts of the trail were a bit more strenuous than others (they always are), I felt I could have ridden several more miles before heading home.  I was finally experiencing the increased energy levels the authors of the Whole30 said I would experience, and it was great, until the flat. 

I took my bike in to the shop to have my flat repaired, and less than 20 minutes later, it was as good as new.  It took me a little longer to get my body pumped back up for exercise, but it has happened, and hopefully my bike and I can enjoy another ride where we both feel full of energy and air.

I did not take any pictures on my ride yesterday, so I am posting one of Kira in her prom dress with her friends at one of my favorite spots on the trail, and a random cyclist who had cycled to Cedartown, GA that day.