The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step !

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

Once again, its Saturday morning…..my eyes fluttered open to the chirping of birds outside, soft breeze wafted in through the small slit of our window, lovely golden sunshine lighted up the face of my angel who had managed to squirrel into our bed sometime during the night…..and suddenly BANG, CRASH, OUCH, the opening, closing and painful exclamation of someone who was trying to get into gear early in the morning!!!!

Good morning, Saturday……and once again, its time for the training ride.

As I groan, turn away and try to nab a few more winks, the cycling fairy in me takes charge. I change, still grumpily, into my cycling gear, which by the way, is in dire need of update (unless you think red bike with pink helmet, yellow fluorescent shirt and blue shoes match).

Hubby is busy competing with the morning bird outside the window, both in terms of chirpiness and speed, getting things ready for the ride. Backpack, food bars, drinks, puncture kit, tissues, waterproofs, etc etc…..well, being a woman in a man’s sport does have its advantages 😉

And soon we are off, on track, on another training ride. ( Ram annoyed at my lagging behind while others are ready to shoot off!!) Its times like these that I always wonder as to why I am in a situation like this….why cant I be like the hundred other mums, enjoying a late breakfast on a weekend morning, sipping coffee with loved ones and snuggling back into bed just because…..well, just because! That was when I remember a title from a blog I read recently, interestingly a Solihull based cyclist blog- the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

( via brueton park: oh how i would like to just stop here 🙂

Life has been kind to most of us. In the sense, I don’t mean that we all had cushy lives, we all have had our fair share of problems too but we have managed to make it this far. The only way to be thankful to what life has given us is to give it back in some form to life itself. All we need to do is a very simple thing- you just need to make others happy. Life for them, whether they are your family, friends, neighbour or colleague (with the exception of kids, of course! You don’t have to do anything for them because its instilled in you. Living your life for your children comes automatically, according to me)

( Now when did he grow so tall….dont remember the in-between years at all 🙂

Hence the whole idea of cycling appealed to me over the last few years. Although I started it reluctantly, mainly to keep an eye on hubby’s safety, it soon turned into a passion. Soon, our son joined in with us and weekend rides were one of the things we would all look forward to. There is something special in the air when your teenager rides with you. Flashbacks from the past, of his first tricycle, then his bike with suspensions and his first fall come gushing and so do the tears ( well, I am an easy one at that!!! Years of experience, I guess 😉 Soon, others joined in and it was really heart-warming to notice how we grew into a brood, all happy, relaxed and committed.

( can cycle along these lanes forever )

Raising awareness for causes by doing long hard rides soon had its fruits and from a small group of 6 cyclists, we are now 22, riding all the way to Paris. Eventually we will raise a lot more awareness and money for our charity than what we would have done as a small group. My thousand miles journey has just begun and I have no idea where its destination is. All I know is that I will have lots of people joining in with me, great hours of fun on the saddle and happiness in the fact that we will be raising awareness for a cause which will benefit the life of others.

Cycling and other events last year helped us build an entire floor in the village of Bodarli, near Burhanpur, MP, hence led to more education opportunities in India. A girl child will not have to go uneducated and will be able to offer better care to her family in future. Events also helped fund part of a van to transport children with special needs in Solihull, UK as well as a van in India for patients will mental health issues. And all this started with a single step, a small thought and a lot of ideas……

We have already started our first few steps this year as part of our training for the London to Paris ride in exactly 8 weeks from now….OMG , where is the panic button!!!!! Hence, here I make a promise…..Saturday morning, I will not moan, groan, complain , bitch or be jealous of all ye mums snuggled at home at 6 am in the morning……my aim of a thousand miles will start with my first few miles…wherever I am, whatever I do …..Viva la Paris, here I come …