Learning to Ride

Teresa, the founder of Venus de Miles

I have to confess that I wasn't particular active up until eight years ago. Sure, I loved to dance and go for hikes, although I didn't discover cycling until 2001. My boyfriend Mo (now husband) suggested I try indoor cycling, which I quickly became addicted to. After a few months, I decided that I wanted to try road riding.

Mo gave me one of his old Ventana's, which (kind of) fit me, and I declared that I was going to start commuting by bike a few times a week, which was 20 miles each way. I went from 0 to 20 really quickly, and during our "trial commute", I thought I was going to fall over after mile 10. Luckily, we stopped at a cafe at the halfway point in Sacramento, enjoyed a shot of espresso, and were off on our bikes again.

On the ride back, Mo decided that I should learn how to draft - he explained this would really save my legs on the way home, since he could tell that I was clearly re-thinking my commuting plans. Drafting was apparently beyond me at that point, because a few seconds after trying it, I rubbed his tire and was laying in the middle of the road, completely embarrassed. Mo gave me an encouraging smile, and rode next to me the rest of the way. He never pushed the sport on me, and allowed me to experience it as I wished to after that point. Which, clearly doesn't include drafting.

After that day, I was more determined than ever, and started commuting 2-3 times a week. It didn't take long before I decided to ride my first century, and Mo upgraded me to a Specialized Allez, which fits like a glove. My century took 8 hours to finish; I was solo because all of my friends thought I was crazy riding 100 miles, but at the end I had the cycling fever.

My spin instructor suggested that I ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, in the AIDS LifeCycle Ride in 2003. That's 600 miles - which seemed kind of lofty, but also feasible. I talked my best friend into joining me, who had never ridden, and we trained for 8 months. It was an adventure of a lifetime. During the seven days of ALC, I laughed, cried, fell, got up and laughed again. I raised funds for a cause that I'm passionate about, AIDS, not to mention awareness. Plus, I was awfully fit for my August, 2004 wedding, which was an added bonus.

ALC 2004 with wonder woman and Diana

Not long after moving to CO, Mo and I started talking about riding ALC 2006. We rode 5 of the 7 days on our tandem, which most folks call the divorcycle, but for us, it's a haven. We love riding together and although there were numerous um - spankings - on the tandem - for him going way too fast, we had an incredible ride.

ALC 2004 with Mo

Riding allows me to take time for myself and my girlfriends, smell the flowers, eat chocolate, and giggle up hills. It not only keeps me sane, but it also makes me whole.

Hope to see you out there,

Teresa