It is one thing for ME to doubt myself...

Now that the tri racing season is almost over, I have to think about what my next goal is. I talked to my coach yesterday about my frustrations of being a sucky cyclist. Her suggestion?

"I think you should take up mountain biking!"


After I stopped laughing in my head, I though: "uh---heck no."

I had no, I repeat, NO desire to ever get on a mountain bike. I watched the Exterra Tahoe triathlon on TV last year and watching the cyclists tear through single tracks made me almost yack. I am a bona fide klutz who knows her limitations.

But then my coach went on to tell me that on a mountain bike, you really have to trust yourself because if you stop trusting your body, then you go down. She reasoned that it would really improve my confidence on the bike.

"Would it?" I thought to myself.

And then the seed was planted...the same type of seed that made me sign up for Alcatraz. That seed is evil, I tell you.

But would we have room in our garage for ANOTHER bike? Then I started thinking about how much cuter mountain bike clothes are than road cycling. I was already envisioning myself all decked out in REI's fall fashions.

I let the idea marinate overnight and then I told Dennis.

"Heidi thinks if I pick up mountain biking it will make me a stronger cyclist."

His eyes kinda bugged out of his face, which I anticpated. That is the "Jill has one of her crazy ideas" faces. (I wonder if we are a Lucy and Ricky for the millennium).

He coughed, "Uh yeah....I am not sure about that....you will probably hurt yourself."

Oh.No.He.Did.Not.

It is one thing for ME to doubt myself, but when someone else doubts it---I just want to do it even more.

Later this morning, I sent him an e-mail:

"I hope you realize that you doubting I can mountain bike only eggs me on."

He wrote back:

"Ha ha...I already looked up some women's mountain bikes this morning."

I smiled at the words on my monitor.

Millenium Lucy loves her Ricky. He eventually comes around and is her biggest supporter.