Tracy's Account of the Women's Ride
by Tracy Richards This is my story about two decisions and the impact of each on me. The first decision took place when I was 17 years old and my boyfriend at the time asked me to go on a bike ride with him. I thought that he meant a nice ride around our small town so I agreed. I was wrong. This ride went for hours in the summer sun. I was completely unprepared. I didn’t even have water with me. I was so miserable that I had absolutely no interest in ever riding a bike again. Fast forward 23 years and I’m spending a lot of time with my new boyfriend as well as a close mutual friend. Both are avid cyclists. They have been trying to get me to ride with them for several years but I have stubbornly refused. They tell me how fun it is and I’m incredulous. Finally, while trying to improve other areas of my life, I decided that a bad experience from my past was not going to control my future any longer. I ma...