In this guest post from Well Balanced Woman Christina Sanders, learn how she went from a novice to a mountain biker mama with the support of her neighborhood crew.
Unleashing my inner Wonder Woman…..that’s how I feel on the bike. I have been blessed in so many ways, but sometimes it was too many. My work/life/me balance was off. I found myself saying too often “I’m overwhelmed” and “next week I’ll be all caught up.”
No surprise, but that time never came.
A few years ago, I met a new blessing: my friend Tami Taylor. Tami is a competitive mountain biker who started a neighborhood group called “Del Sur Moms Ride.” She encouraged all levels to come out and try it…so I did.
On my first ride, I remember the other moms speeding down a small hill at the trailhead opening, and my immediate thought was: “OMGoodness, I’m in over my head and this is not for me!”
On this same ride, I fell (twice), my chain fell off several times because I didn’t know how to shift gears, and then the chain was so
bent that it broke in half! That resulted in me walking/running with my bike for the last few miles until we could get back to the main road.
But I came back for more!
Since then, I conquered that trail and many others. I don’t fall as often, and when I climb a steep hill there is such an
exhilarating feeling of accomplishment. I get muddy, we cross streams and push through brush and I feel like a little kid again.
As I ride, I look around at my beautiful surroundings and see 4-5 other moms sharing this experience with me. I would never tackle these trails alone, but in these small groups I feel more empowered than during any other workout I’ve ever done.
As I get older, I get more cautious (and there is value to this), but it’s fun to feel adventurous. Even better, most of these trails are less
than one mile from my front door. And for those two precious hours per week, all the other to-dos are on hold.
My energy is so infectious that my boys (ages 7 and 9) will even ask me how my ride went….on no other day of the week do they
ask me how my day was!
Mountain biking is my happy place. It’s no surprise that incorporating this weekly group ride into my life created more space for other welcome blessings, and I don’t feel unbalanced anymore.
As a kid, I always wanted to be Wonder Woman, but I don’t need a Lasso of Truth….I’ll stick with my bike and some fun
neighborhood moms.
In addition to being a mountain biker mama, Christina Sanders is a cardiology nurse practitioner and consultant for Beautycounter. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two active boys.
