The Woman in the Mirror

Strangely, my local sporting goods store doesn’t stock biking apparel. Since last week I couldn’t find the time to travel beyond my neighbourhood, last Wednesday, when I took my first ride with the Winnipeg Cycle Touring Club, I wore my walking jacket and yoga pants.

My walking jacket, light and loose fitting, created a parachute effect, and according to some of my fellow club members this hampered my ability to keep up.

After the ride, a fellow biker, dressed all in purple, looking like a giant grape, seriously, but with tongue in cheek, said that correct clothing was the most important part of the ride. When I commented on how I was wearing my walking jacket and yoga pants, and how surprised I was that SportsChek on McPhillips didn’t stock biking gear and how I simply had to get the appropriate clothing by next Wednesday he said, "Ah . . . you understand."

Another member suggested Mountain Equipment Co-Operative as the best place to buy biking paraphernalia.

Yesterday, after work, in preparation for tonight’s ride, I found myself in the changing room of Mountain Equipment Co-Operative trying on tight fitting biking pants and tops.

The bright lights in that changing room, the nearness of the mirror and the tightness of the biking pants and top created an impression of the woman in the mirror that could not possibly be me. She had flabby skin, rolls of fat, wrinkles and cellulite. She was in desperate need of pushups, weight lifting, aerobics. Mind you, I found myself wondering if anything would help. Could anything stop the ravaging of time?

I nixed the top, decided to purchase the pants and jacket, put my street clothes back on and there I was again. The flabby old woman had disappeared, for the time being anyway.