A Spooky Workout

Last night I attended a Tri-Shark indoor trainer ride. It was hosted in a local bike store and it was a ton of fun. One of the sharks had worked out a "spooky" Halloween playlist with songs like "The Time Warp" and "Sweet Dreams" by Marilyn Manson (which maybe is spooky to some people, but is just "Tuesday on the way to work" for me most days...maybe I'm spooky?). Another shark made Halloween cupcakes for after the ride. It was a great time of course, but there is a bit more to the story.


So there we were, indoors, peddling and sweating. I was heads down 4 minutes into an interval in my 50x13 when I had a bit of a flash back.

In 2007 I was a light 330 pounds, down from 380 and I started looking for my first outdoor bike. I went around to a few local bike stores in town shopping. One of them was particularly helpful and they started talking to me about how they could build out the back wheel to handle my weight and avoid pinch flats. While I didn't buy a bike from them in the long run, I appreciated their understanding and willingness to help me get on two wheels.

That store in my memory also happened to be my current location. I couldn't help but smile as I remembered that first trip to this store. I was very proud to be here, peddling with these people in this place. Yeah, I'm skinnier and that’s cool, but there is so much more for me to be thankful for in how far I've come. I've learned to overcome setbacks and disappointment, to suffer through pain and persevere, and to live in the moment (ok, I have a lot to learn with that last one still). There are so many other things I've learned about healthy minds and healthy bodies along the way that living this lifestyle has taught me.

It seems appropriate that I was haunted by a memory like this on Halloween, and perhaps almost cliché that I would want to thank my ghosts for chasing me along my path forward.