It was time for me to face the truth; I was not the young man I once was. I had let myself go and just didn't feel good anymore, so I decided to change that. I even tried some sit ups. I knew it would take more then that, but I was never one to go to the gym and work out. I had to find something else. A friend at work knew of my struggle and suggested bike riding. I laughed. I was so out of shape I wouldn't make it across the parking lot.
After two weeks I was doing pretty good I thought. I was eating better and had cut back on my drinking some. I was getting better with the sit-ups too, but there wasn't much change. I knew running would kill my shins and knee's, and the gym was still not for me. The bike riding crossed my mind again. I really didn't see how bike riding was going to help me. At least it would be easy to do.
I started to ride every day, not far at first, then further, and further as the days progressed. By now I felt I was ready to go to the park that was near by. I checked out the many trails they had and I found out just how hard they were. The flat trails were good. The dips were fast and the inclines were bad, I had to walk them. So I found my new goal, small it may be, it was mine.
I rode every day before work, building up myself to meet my challenge. The more I rode the better I felt, and my friends could see a change in me also. I got to the point to where I would ride my bike to the park rather then haul it on the bike rack. After a few weeks of riding I started to see the same people everyday while riding. We would nod in passing but I never really took time to talk to them.
Less then a week later was when I saw a new face, or back as it were. She came riding past me in a flash and rode on. She looked very tight in her bike shorts and had long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. I knew I would have never caught her, but the thought did cross my mind, as well as other thoughts. As the weeks passed I got leaner and in better shape. I saw the brunette pass me every time. I was closer to keeping up now, but she still would disappear ahead of me. I rode on till I came to a rest point and decided to stop for some water and stretch. Something was off in the trees something moving. Thinking it was a deer, I looked hard to see if it was. It looked more like a person, but there weren't any trails out in that area. Shrugging it off I went on with my ride.
It was about twenty minutes later when I could hear a rider coming up from the rear. As they approached I moved to one side to let them pass as always, but no one came by. I looked over my shoulder to see the brunette that I had seen pass me before. As I turned my eyes back up the trail she came along side of me.
