What’s Your Superpower?

A cycling buddy recently asked me, “what’s your superpower?” In hindsight, I am not sure if she was querying me about riding a bike or life in general. My response considered the former, perhaps with a slightly wider view of my athleticism and fitness philosophy. My superpower is being slow.

Make no mistake, being slow has both pros and cons. Consider the downside. I cannot ride as far as many of my cycling friends, including my husband. I ride with the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club and I am typically in the back on group rides. Often I am the last one to finish. My wonderful cycling friends will always wait for me, so I do slow them down (Secretly, I don’t think they mind that very much because that gives them a good excuse for resting). I have stopped taking photos on most rides because I don’t want people to wait even longer than they already do. Then there is the stark reality- I am not going to get faster….. until I buy an e-bike, but that is a story for another day.

I have slow DNA. Add to that my faulty joints, my lack of “base miles,” and the terrain in western North Carolina. There you have it. I am destined to display my slowness for the rest of my cycling days, of which I hope there will be many. Here is where being slow is my superpower. I have embraced my slowness and wear it proudly. I cannot do it any other way. My choice is to be there and be slow or don’t ride. I choose to ride.

My slowness is a gift that keeps on giving. Every day that I choose slow, I am engaging my mind, body and spirit. I am building my legs and my lungs. I experience the natural world with all of my senses. I see the changing seasons. I hear the birds sing. I taste the wind. I smell the rain. I feel my power on the pedals. I get lost in my thoughts (I wrote a good chunk of this blog post while I rode my gravel bike somewhere in Pisgah Forest). I feel gratitude for my friends that wait for me at the top of the hill.

I share my superpower with others. I have discovered that there are so many people that want to be slow if given the chance. Some of them, like me, only have one speed. Others might choose to slow down on a particular day and share their gift of slowness with me and my Tribe of Slow. And still others want to be my guardian angels. They want to be sure I don’t ride alone. They give me permission to be me and keep me safe.

My superpower gives me opportunities to be resilient despite my limitations, to be savouring the outdoors and to build community. Slowness is a slow burn; a little fire that I hope will never go out. Slow is me doing me.