Lesson Learned

Air in my tires and a bottle of water. I was set for a long ride on my Huffy Cruiser this morning. I took a route that I was familiar with, planning on doing at least 10 miles.  Although it was hot and humid I knew I could do it.

Five miles into the ride I reached down to get a drink of water and discovered that my water bottle had fallen out of the holder.

Hoping to find the bottle (was really getting thirsty by now) I turned my Huffy around and headed back the way I came. My eyes sweeping the side of the road.  I knew it would be easy to identify. After all, how many brand new unopened bottles of Dasani do you see laying in the ditch?

I was pretty sure I knew where I'd dropped it. I had gone over some pretty wicked speed bumps. It must have fallen there... Nope.

I thought about the sharp turns I'd made. That's where it was...Nada.

Where I had stopped for traffic...Not there.

Dozens of water bottles were strewn along the road. Twice I was almost fooled when I spotted Dasani bottles with the green cap still on.  I decided they weren't mine. 

With only a couple of miles from home I gave up my search. After all it was only a bottle of water.  No biggie.

Less than a mile from home I spotted it!

A deer had been hit by a car and died along the side of the road and when I went by it this morning I couldn't take my eyes off of the sad sight. Because I wasn't keeping focused on the path ahead I swerved, lost my balance and almost fell off my bike.  Obviously I didn't notice that my water bottle had fallen out.

I can't imagine what the people driving by thought when they saw me pick up the discarded bottle and started drinking it!

Today's adventure seems a lot like my weight loss efforts.

I start out with the right equipment, and I know I will encounter some obstacles along the way but I have the right attitude and I know I can succeed. Then I allow myself to get distracted and take my eyes off the course before me.  I hit speed bumps, encounter some sharp turns, I get fooled by quick-fix gimicks and sometimes come to a complete stop.

Then I begin to rationalize that a few extra pounds are no big deal.

Fortunately for me our First Place 4 Health class is about to start because I need to go back and retrace my 'steps' and figure out where I messed up this summer.

August 21 I will start A New Beginning.  The 12-week Bible study will encourage and give me a fresh start in reaching my weight loss goal.

Some of the time will be spent going back over familiar territory. I'm ok with that because I'm at least moving and I know that God will have a few surprises for me along the way.


"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)