Trek Women

For the past year or so I've kept up with the Trek website. They are currently taking applications for the Trek Women. As anyone who rides with me or is on bikejournal following me knows, I ride a Trek 1000 WSD. So, I thought, eh what the heck and wrote out my essay. I had to tweak it a few times because the website kept telling me I was over the 500 word limit even though my Microsoft Word was telling me I was under...
So, here is my essay...for your enjoyment. I'm sure many people will apply and many people are much wittier than I am, but what the heck - I tried :)
***************************************************************

I ride because it brings me joy and freedom that I can only get while riding my bike. I ride to find peace and quiet from my hectic life as the mother of four children. Riding has become my passion.
I grew up in an extremely abusive home. I found that riding my bike gave me freedom. I could get on my bike and escape the insanity of my home. When I was on my bike I could lose myself in the joy of riding, the speed I could attain. I could simply ride and be safe, if only for a little while. After moving out of that house I stopped riding except for occasionally. Soon I gave my bike to my brother, got married, and started having kids.
Fast forward eight years. My husband and I had four children, the last two were twins who were born 3 months premature. The first few years of their lives I barely left the house except for going to doctor appointments. I had very little time for myself and found myself a bit depressed. My neighbor invited me to join her on her morning bike rides. I did. We would ride about 2.5 miles a day. We both had mountain bikes and would ride on a road by our house. I began to lose weight but more importantly I remembered just how much I loved being on a bike! One day some guy on a road bike, decked out in spandex flew past me. My competitive spirit kicked in and I knew I needed to buy a road bike.
I bought a Trek 1000 WSD and rode it on the ‘Biking with Beanzie’ ride. I rode 46 miles that day. It was the most exhilarating thing I had done in years.
It’s been 3 years now since I bought that bike. The first year I had it I didn’t log my miles, I just rode. The second year I did a lot of riding, including commuting to and from work. I had set a goal of 1500 miles last year and rode that plus a couple hundred extra miles. This year I have ridden 2500 miles.
My children have seen that not only am I a mother who loves them but also a woman who has found something she loves and finds time to do it. There are many reasons that I ride but they all come back to one simple and elemental thing; riding is something that I love, and doing what I love brings me joy!