Choices

6 February 2005

Grand Junction to Breckenridge! Awesome route! I WANT TO RIDE!!!

The Lizard, who has never done an organized group bicycle ride, seems equally excited about this year’s Ride the Rockies route. My son told me Friday before we knew the route that he wants to do it with me. My daughter said she said she wants to do it.

I’m going to take both of the kids up Lookout Mountain on road bikes before I send in our money. Now I’m beginning to sober at the financial and physical requirements if all four of us do this. If we get drawn.

The Lizard’s all set. He’s ready to go. He will pay for his own entry. His body works just fine. He’ll just need to secure vacation time.

My son will need a bike, a helmet, a lock, jerseys and shorts, a sleeping bag and maybe a tent. He may need a Camelbak. If he opts for water bottles, I can cover that. I also can share my jerseys with him because we wear the same size.

My daughter will need a bike, a helmet, a lock, a Camelbak, jerseys and shorts and a sleeping bag. I can’t share my clothing with her. She won’t fit into anything I own. She won’t be able to pay for anything. I will have to pay for all her food. And she needs to be on her best behavior for five whole months in order to earn the privilege of going off campus.

My son will need a job. He’ll need to stick with the job. He’ll need vacation time. If he has a job, he would be able to pay for his own food.

Both kids are going to need to train. I’m going to have to motivate both of them because they won’t do it independently. And that means I HAVE to finish healing. NOW. How can I get them to train if I can’t go more than a few miles without feeling like I have a two-by-four in my back?

Entry fees times three. Organized training rides times three. Weekends devoted to the kids instead of what I have been doing since my daughter went postal.

It’s a bit easier to commit to biking instead of peak-bagging right now because I found out on Mount Bierstadt I’m not able to do a winter peak yet. Probably not this year. The only hard part of this whole situation is: Can I trust my kids??? Will they hurt me again??? Am I wasting my time???

I’m not sure Ride the Rockies will go well for all four of us. But I kind of want to take the risk. Two years ago, Ride the Rockies was a healing experience for me. Can it be a healing experience for my family?

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