Everything has a beginning. Cycling is no exception.

There was a time when I wouldn’t have dreamed that I would become a cyclist. I never rode bicycles much as a kid. I just didn’t care for it at the time. For one thing, the physical exertion tended to make me feel lightheaded and dizzy! But in November 2009 I decided that I needed a way to get to places outside of walking distance without having to rely on public transit; or bum rides from friends; or (ugh!) have to pay for taxis. A bicycle seemed like the obvious solution.

Not so fast. I had had to give up driving years earlier because it made me so dizzy I felt like I was about to fall over. Nearly seven years later, at the time I started to think about getting a bicycle, I still had some dizziness issues. If I merely turned my head while walking, it felt like something inside my head was unsteady. Because of that, I didn’t dare trust myself on two wheels. So what to do?

Then I noticed adult tricycles. I worked on a university campus; and saw grounds workers riding around on them. I visited a local bike shop; and they happened to have an adult tricycle on hand, waiting to be picked up by another customer. They let me test-ride it; and I said, “Hey! This is neat!” Thus I ordered an aqua adult tricycle; it was my birthday/Christmas gift to myself. Little did I foresee what was coming from this humble beginning!

Over the years I’ve been able progress from tricycle to hybrid to road bike. I’ve planned, and carried out, four self-supported centuries; participated in Tour de Cure, a fund-raiser for diabetes, several times; and I rode Bike MS, a fund-raiser for multiple sclerosis, in October 2013. I hope to be able to keep on riding for many years, even though I’ll never grace the pro peloton!