The journey begins...

This is my partner in the journey I am about to begin. This beautiful Bianchi road bike came to me last May. It had been long retired by a friend who had gotten out of the sport many years ago.
Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances I wasn't able to get on and start riding the bike until sometime in late July. I had the passion and desire but no background in cycling...so it was a slow process of riding through my neighborhood to feel the bike out. There is a learning curve to riding this type of a bike...27 speeds, having your feet locked into clips, building confidence with the thin road tires and riding with traffic...yikes!
My summer continued to have a lot of obstacles for me, so riding was very minimal until September. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to volunteer for BikeMS and to meet and learn from cyclist participating in a charity ride. It inspired me to leave the safety of my neighborhood and just ride. In the process I have ridden many areas between Dublin and Walnut Creek on a regular basis. I love the freedom and feeling that cycling has given me...it is a wonderful stress reliever. It has opened up an entirely new community to me and I have met some wonderful people in the process. However, this has just deepened my interest and desire to explore more of the Bay Area roads and to become a more confident and competent cyclist.
I had the opportunity to research and learn about Team in Training and their programs through some past participants. It just seemed like the right fit for me to reach my personal goals. In addition to it being an intensive training program and experience, it is also an opportunity to give back and make a difference with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through fund raising. In October I went to some informational meetings and made the decision to join the Winter 2010 cycling team to ride the Solvang Century (104 miles) on March 13, 2010.
Ready or not...here I go into what is sure to be an amazing and life changing experience!