Investing In Yourself! You’re Worth It!

My new Trek. The investment on the front end is big but if you consider how much you use it the price per year or for me per Km is worth it. My first year I did over 5,000 km. (that averages out to 20 cents a Km. An average ride being 40km that's only $8 a ride.) I'd say that's worth it.

Four years ago I decided to get fit. I invested in myself by investing in a gym membership at the Dartmouth Sportsplex here in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. A very smart move. I was still riding the bike I bought from Walmart and was doing ok with it. I was using it to ride the Shubie Trail and the trails from Shearwater Airport in Eastern Passage to Lawrence Town Beach. It didn’t take long to get the cycling bug. I realized it was time to invest in a bike that could help me reach my fitness goals. The people at Cyclesmith in Halifax were a great help and enthusiastic about my new found love for cycling. Despite the fact that I was overweight and had some health challenges and my longest ride to date was 20km I was treated with respect and they were not by the challenge to fit me with a bike.  I have to thank Mark Beaver of Cyclesmith for helping me make several adjustments to my new Trek due to my height of 5’3” and the fact that I was carrying the majority of my weight around my mid section.

Remembering Where You Started From

Initially it was hard to look at this picture because you don't see yourself this way.

This was my 38th birthday. I was struggling to be happy but just couldn't get there.

Here are some pictures from my past. Well, not to recent past. I was 38 years old that year. I just moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario. What I left behind: My job as a nurse and my ex-husband. It was time to get healthy and Nova Scotia was just what the Doctor ordered.

Me at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia 2003. On this trip I drove. The next time I would see Peggy's Cove would be in 2006 and I got there on my Trek with my partner, Jennifer. We would do this ride many times in a season. We also did a dawn ride, starting out at 3am and arriving as the sun rises. It's about 110km ride.

Cycling the Cabot Trail

Eagle riding the thermals, 2007 Cabot Trail Cycling Tour

Imagine you’ve been cycling all morning. You start to wonder if you are crazy and if your legs will last the whole trail. You realize if you keep  thinking like this you’ll never make it. You refocus your thoughts to the present. As you try to remain in the moment. You say to yourself “Pain is good, it reminds me that I am alive”. You encourage your legs to do what you want them to do by thinking ‘smooth, smooth’ until you reach the peak of the climb. You turn the corner on French Mountain and there you see this eagle riding the thermal. It’s not even aware that you are there but you know it’s your reward for not giving up.

If I Can Do It, You Can Too!

This is me in 2003 at 220 lbs. This picture is kinda ratty because I carry it around in my gym bag as a motivator to keep working out. I also pull it out and show other women in the locker room to help inspire them. It works.

I started my fitness journey four years ago. I weighed 220 pounds!  If I wasn’t depressed enough when I visited my family doctor I was when I left. When she looked at the scale her response was “Oh, Emma this isn’t good”. I felt like she cared and I had disappointed her. My life was a mess and my physical health was no different. It seamed like no one cared or had the courage to say anything to me. It hurt hearing it but I needed a change and was ready to commit to a healthy life again. My sister sent me some money for my birthday and I took it and bought a crappy mountain bike from Walmart. Where I lived in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia there were bike paths and a trail system that started on my street near Shearwater Airport and went all the way to Lawrencetown Beach. This was the beginning of my new healthy life. It’s interesting now that I think of it that I was on the Salt Marsh Trail one Saturday when I met Bob from Velo Halifax and he offered me some organic chocolate as he pointed out the 3 gray herrings fishing in the water. He was so enthusiastic about cycling he invited me to join Velo Halifax. I mentioned that my girlfriend was a member. Well, we had just recently started dating but felt comfortable calling her my girlfriend. His response was “I know Jennifer, she’s really strong”. It was a good thing because she soon became my personal trainer and I needed all the help I could get. Oh, by the way, here in Nova Scotia we joke that there is only 2 degrees of separation. I guess that would be considered one degree.