Marathon Bike Tour

Saturday was the Annual Salt Lake City Marathon. No, I did not run 26.2 miles, I can barely run 2 miles! Not only do they have the actual marathon, there is a 5k, a kids marathon, a 1/2 marathon and a bike tour. The bike tour is 26 miles, and follows the marathon route. It's super cool because you can ride on the marathon route that is completely blocked off from cars. The only downfall is that you have to start BEFORE the marathon starts, so we had to be at the starting line at 6:00 a.m. We met at my brother's apartment at 5:30 a.m. and rode from the bottom of UofU campus to the top of campus, where the race was going to start. It was pitch black at 6:00 a.m., but they managed to get us revved up by blaring Christina Aguilara through some sort of sound system. I'm pretty sure the kids in the dorms were not happy being woken up at 5:30 a.m. by Christina Aguilara blaring out their windows! So, here we are, in all our glory, in all our spandex, after the race! Me, my dad, Tyler (my brother), and his fiance Sarah. We are part of the new Team Bennett! My mom is missing, she was in Boston at Junior League meetings. Baely is missing because she ran the 5k and Tess is missing because she doesn't have any biking shoes, and she ran the 5k. But, we are Team Bennett and it's so fun to ride with people, especially your family!

Tess and Baely (my sisters) ran the 5k. The baby is Maxine, Tess' little girl!

Bike riding is an amazing thing. I really love being on my bike and feeling the wind blow through my hair (or my helmet) and on my face...sorry for the cliche, but, it's true! I am still not really good at clipping in and out of my pedal clips. I have no idea what every part of my bike is called. I wouldn't know how to fix a flat tire if I needed to (that's what cell phones are for, right?) and my bike still needs a tune up from last year....BUT...biking is great. It is uplifting, it is an adrenaline rush, it is exercise, it is an accomplisment and I love it!!! It is a hobby that is hard for a woman with 2 kids. 30 minutes on your bike often just doesn't seem like enough and to go for a ride in the middle of the day would require me to get a babysitter. So, last year I had resigned to the fact that bike riding wasn't going to be my hobby. Then I realized that I don't need to become a bike riding fanatic for it to be my hobby. I don't need to go on 3 hour rides 3 times a week. I don't need the best bike in the pack. I just need to ride my bike! So, that's what I'm trying to do!