Tarzan, French Riviera and (nearly) Best Cycling Award

Dear people who say you can never forget how to ride a bike, I'm gonna tell you a secret: I've forgotten how to ride one.

I said it. And I'd like to think I'm the exception to the rule —well, it makes me feel less worried about Alzheimer and stuff.

But thanks to my dear friends who always support me, my bike riding issue is not on the agenda anymore (and I must admit friends are quite scary when they turn into Iron Ladies).

Let me tell you how I overcame my fear/weakness/exception-to-the-rule in one weekend.

A month ago, one of my closest friends called me saying she was booking our next weekend in Canyon Forest, a high ropes course, on the occasion of her cousin arrival to France.

My first thought was: "Cool! What am I going to wear? I need to go shopping."

But then I realized I had no effing idea what we were supposed to do there.

I called her back and she told me it's a physical activity, a kind of obstacle course, so I had to wear sweatpants + T-shirt. Great. I hate sports. 

From then on, I was obsessed with finding the ultimate sportswear —if my friends are reading this I'm pretty sure they're laughing at me, AGAIN — so I'm gonna skip the part where I tell you how I found the perfect pair of sneakers. 

I was finally ready to face that Canyon Forest shit. 

Then, I travelled to Nice (we were all meeting up there), and I wasn't prepared AT ALL for what came next. 

As we all know, Karma is a bitch and it could't give me a break for a not-so-peaceful weekend with my friends now, could it?

As I was unpacking, my friend really dropped a bomb when she told me we had 10 min of bike riding in order to reach the course. I wanted to fake a stomach flu, but was too tired for that, so I simply told her the embarrassing truth.
I couldn't ride a bike. 

She smiled and said I had an afternoon to remember. 

We went to The Promenade des Anglais, and after several minutes of struggling to rent a bicycle, I was finally standing next to my giant blue bike on the cycling path. It took me exactly 53 min to learn how to ride a bike again: 50 min of stillness —me almost crying over the hopeless situation, my friend shouting I could do it — and 3 min of actual pedaling. 

BUT I DID IT! HOORAY! 

The following day, we all went to Canyon Forest. And the crucial moment came when the counselor lead us toward our bicycles, telling us to follow him.

There was a big problem though. It had rained the whole week and the course was VERY muddy, to say the least. But we carried on.

I mean, hello? I can't pedal through a river! I learned how to ride a bike 18 hours ago for crying out loud! Nobody cared. 

My bike stopped right there as I couldn't pedal anymore. I had water just over the ankle. My sneakers were definitely screwed. And the worst was yet to come.

After that incident, my one pedal was completely stuck and, as I freaked out, I hit the mountainside. My left hand was bleeding like hell. Well, I was a mess.

The odds were definitely not in my favor. 

Nevertheless, I managed to reach the others safe and sound and we started the obstacle course.

High ropes adventure involves climbing on trees, crossing weird wood bridges, getting through barrels hanging in mid-air, riding zip wires... Tarzan style. In short, a very exhausting activity to which I've taken part for only 15 min. I couldn't feel my arms anymore. And I've fallen from a tree. Twice.
But don't worry, you're being tied with ropes. So falling doesn't kill you.

On the way back, I had no problem riding my bike. The landscape was just gorgeous and I really enjoyed it. 

Glad to say I'm no longer the exception to the rule,

XO