Keep Dancing!!!

I was scrambling around the house this morning getting everything ready for today's ride. The detail that is needed that just goes with every long ride across snow covered trails on a bicycle where cell phone service and anybody else isn't always available. 

 The TV was on in the background providing music as VH1 was playing their Top 20 videos. One of the videos caught my ear then my eye somewhere near the middle of the video. There was a young man, a Marine, standing next to his military uniform. He had his leg blown off, his hand, and there were other serious body scars. It became obvious the song was chronicling an actual real life situation. A man blown apart while serving his military duty in a country far far away from his home and family. A terrible tragedy. It's sad but often we become calloused to tragedies in people's life's such as this, we see them way too often in every newspaper. But there was something else that grabbed my heart, caught my soul as I watched.

There was a scene near the end of this video where this solider and his wife were dancing, together. Instead of wallowing in despair he chose to dance. There he was with his wife, while missing hand and part of an arm blown off, a leg gone, and yet dancing. I will never, ever be able to comprehend the depths of despair, the pain, the suffering the hopelessness that must have been part of the cycle of recovery. The waking up in the middle of the night and being in dream and forgetting what happened, and then the reality comes back and stays with the pain. But he chooses to dance.

 I have somehow slipped into mediocrity. It crept in unawares and made itself a major player in my day to day activities. I did have shoulder surgery, and I did have to stay off the bike for a time. But I didn’t have to change healthy habits for bad ones. Staying up late, overeating, drinking too much beer, sleeping in late, not stretching, gaining weight, not doing what I should be doing that comes with every lazy and negative attitude. Forcing myself to ride and indoor exercise bike took an extreme effort and was put off later and later each day, sandwiched between couch time. I've chose to get lazy, and it was hanging on.

Oh woe is me, was my theme, I hurt, this shouldn’t be happening to me, if I can’t ride my bike, I will just become self destructive, I’ll show em.


We have in us the ability to dance in spite of our circumstances. It is our choice.  I should have chosen to dance instead, and kept dancing.


My ride today was beautiful, fantastic, and challenging all rolled into one. The conditions were such that is made for a great ride. There was enough snow cover, and was packed down to make a good ride through the country trails. As the day warmed up the snow melted and the mud came out, but I was on my bike, and that was what I needed. I put my largest snow tires on the bike, it rode slow, and hard, but wonderfully. About 40 miles on snow mobile trails, my legs are tired and well spent and that makes me feel good about myself.

I am starting back, to the lifestyle I need, for me, to be me. I want to dance, and stay dancing.
 
 

Cheers, and thanks for stopping, I gotta go, I need to put this beer down and get to bed, I have a long long bike ride planned for tomorrow.

Oh and stop and say hi in the comment section if you don't mind, I get a lot of visitors and never hear from most. I would like to hear from you. Thanks.