Hello, new friends!

[Caits]

Heya!

So, my name is Caits and after a few good months of lurking from afar I've decided to be a brave little introvert and toss myself into your lovely community! The basics? I'm 25, female, queer and a soon to be part-time student who daylights as a veterinary receptionist. I haven't owned a car in over 5 years which means I spend a lot of time on my feet. When I first ditched the car I was weighing in at just under 200 lbs on my 5'1" frame. A lot of walking to and from work and school plus a healthy dose of starvation dropped me down to 130 lbs and a women's size 4 within a year. I was definitely not very healthy. The weight went up again when I got a job right off my bus line and settled into a cushy desk job. I gained every pound of it back. That is until I discovered and fell in love with commuter cycling. I began riding daily and started to see some changes. A friend challenged me to take a 30 mile ride last spring and I jumped at it. It was love. Sweet sexy love with the trail. Just under 6 months later I rode my first half-century (and hiked in the hills of colorado for an hour and a half mid ride). I ride on at least 8 miles a day and average 75-100 miles a week. Since I claimed my hot pink univegas as my muse, I've lost 45 lbs.

I'm also healing from Borderline Personality Disorder, a mental illness rooted in an absent sense of self-identity. I'm finding that in learning to love being active, I'm also discovering my body for the first time ever. So, I ride, I also hula hoop and do yoga, all in the pursuit of feeling connected with my body. My spiritual and emotional growth seems to be intermingled with my journey to better health and I think that is effin' awesome.

My goals? I'm gearing up to ride in the AIDS LifeCycle 2013 next June. It's a 545 mile ride over 7 days. San Francisco to Los Angeles along the Pacific Coast Highway in Cali (my motherland). It's going to be amazing. And even though they have a sweep up crew to pick up folks who can't actually complete the whole ride, I want to feel vindicated when I cross that finish line. I want to be able to say I took my body and transformed it into something that completed this just ridiculous feat, especially for someone like me who is often described as "small" (introvereted and literally 5'1"). I also want to better strengthen my core in an effort to better my cycling and hopefully help with the pain from my scoliosis.

So ya. I know I'm too late for this current challenge this week, but I'm totally looking forward to the next in January! I see the potential in this as being an awesome layer to my ALC training! Yay! Excited to be here!

Also, what other regular activities are there around here for those not currently participating in challenges?

-Caits

[Loren Wade]

Hello, Caits.

Welcome to the Rebellion! Good luck on your ride!!!

[Hiraedd]

Hey Caits, Welcome! It's amazing to read about what you've already accomplished...and congrats on finding an exercise that you are passionate about! You have come a long way already, and it is exciting to see. If you're not up for the current challenge, you can always create a battle log and record your thoughts, workouts, goals, musings, etc. there so you're around and involved. Also, don't be afraid to check out the challenge! You get to set your own things that you work towards, and it's very rewarding on a personal level. If you lurk around the forum you'll also find lots of other things: discussions, a book club (at least they read a book last challenge.....), etc. Hopefully there'll be something else to catch your interest. Congrats on joining the rebellion!!

[RandomWanderer]

500 miles?! dang. welcome and good luck