Road Cycling: getting back on

Hello. I'm new here. And while not new to road cycling, it almost feels it.

I began road cycling seriously since age 15. When I say "seriously" I mean I got my first bike with toe clips , strapped on some passion for riding, and headed out alone for 30 mile adventures. Sometimes without a bottle of water.

I cross-trained by running. What I was training for, I don't know, because after joining the high school cross country team, I realized I really just loved doing this stuff and hated competing, at least for its own end. My teammates used to call my weekend rides "CS's weekend workout" and thought I was crazy to do more than required at practice.

I made MVP in high school, which felt good. But after that, never competed. The thing I love about cycling (and running too, but especially cycling) is the wind in my hair, the challenge of uphills, the fun of downhills, and the sheer solace that allows you to reach a meditative state.

I kept up a regimine of cycling, running, yoga and lifting weights from the age of 15 until 30 when I became pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret taking time out...children are worth it. I would've kept going but my husband worked a night shift all this time, so getting help to have free time for 2 our bike rides was impossible -though I tried to get that time. My daughter had collick and so besides I was exhausted, going to the doctor for sleep deprivation.

My daughter now 7, enjoys biking herself and is becoming quite the athlete I never was (I was always picked last in gym class for teams! -all heart and no coordination). She just recently started doing laps around our house on foot, of her own accord. I'm now dealing with an out-of-shape body, plus major back and ankle injuries, so I'm going to start out with the exercise I love the most that doesn't put much impact on your bones -cycling.

I took her, at her request, on a 7 mile ride that I used to do as a teen. She made it- all the way, no stops - and loved it. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Yesterday we did 10 miles on a flat biking trail. In all my daily hustle and bustle, (and a smoking addiction, I'm sad to say, despite all previous years being so conscious of health that I was vegan) I'm beginning to have the life breathed back into me.

While many people my age might have fond memories of partying in their youth (mine were saved for college and not that great in hindsight comparatively) I find my greatest times were out on the road, pushing up a hill, with sweat dripping off my forehead. Maybe I'm some kind of self-punishing ascetic, but that's what I intrinsically love.

I'm hoping to keep enjoying this activity with my daughter, and in the fall, using some of the maps here to get back into shape while she's at school. I will be going back to work this year part time, and hoping between daily chores at home, the kid, and 4 furry pets I can motivate myself to get back to where I started.