The Secret (and Loop #2)

Joy here...Back in 2006 a movie was released that garnered wide attention.  On the heels of the success of the movie, a book was launched in 2007, and there have been countless spin-offs on this successful franchise, or way of being in the world.  What I am talking about is The Secret--a pseudoscientific approach to living in the world based on the notion that "like attracts like."  Put very simply, the practitioners of "The Secret" believe that through the power of their thoughts they can affect real outcomes in their lives.  For instance, negative thoughts will produce negative life experiences, but positive thoughts will produce positive ones.  While none of the effects of this way of being can be confirmed, and most people think of it as nothing more than some kind of flaky psychobabble, I figure that there's nothing wrong with bringing a little more positive thinking into this world, so I'm all for it.  Plus, my head is so full of negativity (those demons that I've written about before, including when they showed up during my first-ever half marathon or when I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or need a pep talk from my Trainer) that I'm surely not about to critique something that suggests being concertedly positive.

Joy and her "secret"!

And so with my riding, I'm being as positive as I can be, and at the beginning of April I logged my cycling hours for the week and hinted at my own little secret.  With all the power of positive thinking, it turned out that my little secret was just meant to be.  Then I hinted quite radically what that secret was on my Friday the 13th blog entry, complete with pictures and everything.  One of my friends from graduate school (that triathlete who just happened to be standing at the base of a killer hill during my 30km run last year and had the heart to walk me to the top of the hill, encouragement for which I'll be eternally grateful) was the first to recognize my secret as a new bike, but then The Professor was the first to out and out call it on my Facebook page, and at the race this past weekend, The Man told both the Sashinator and Power Penna's husband about it...so the cat is now out of the bag:  I bought a new bike.

And what a bike it is!

My new bike just chillin' out up at the Champlain Lookout.

My new bike is a Pinarello Paris with Ultegra Di2.  Now if you're not a bike nerd (and I'm slowly building up my bike nerd credentials), you might not know what that is; basically it's an awesomely beautiful carbon fibre racing bike with electronic shifting.  My bike is black-on-black and is quite literally the coolest thing I've ever owned.

The Man enjoying the view.

Partly because I'm a typical middle child, partly because I spent most of my life as an impoverished graduate student, and partly because of those negative voices in my head, I traditionally don't spend money on myself.  I still wear hand-me-down clothes and am thankful to my sister and her best friend who have long been shopaholics and who have clothed me for 20 years.  I encourage The Man to buy things for himself, but I never really get things for myself.  But in the spirit of "The Secret," I'm making a concerted effort these days to tell myself to break those bad habits, and so this bike for me is so much more than just a bike...it's a treat to myself.  It's something that's cool, that's fun to ride, that looks beautiful, and that is totally and completely just mine.

And I love it!

The first time I'm seeing this view from the saddle of
my brand new bike!

So today I met up with the spinning instructor, and she, The Man, and I all headed out to the park and up to the Champlain Lookout on my new bike's maiden voyage up there.  All in all our ride was 70kms door-to-door on the new bike.  Let me tell you something:  I love my bike.  I love it; I love it; and I love it some more.

I may not be the fittest cyclist, the fastest cyclist, or the most talented cyclist out there, but just as there are countless people out there driving sports cars that aren't Indy quality drivers, but are still able to enjoy their cars, while I may not be riding in the Tour de France any day soon, I am still completely able to enjoy my new bike.

The secret's out:  I HAVE A NEW BIKE AND I LOVE IT!

Over and out,
Joy