Big Wheels Keep on Turning

Today I did this:


And this:

And a lot of other stuff that is going to leave me sore and bruised.

Its "Wheel Weekend" in Chicago (what, you didn't get the memo?) and this is my first year of participating. I'm doing a coaching session since I'd only ever spent about 30 miserable minutes strapped into one of those suckers before 8 AM this morning (ergo - was not quite ready for a workshop).

Have you ever seen a Gym Wheel? Chances are - probably not. But they are incredibly cool and the rarity of them in the US makes them (to my elitist self) even cooler.

Anyway - youtube some gym wheel. Here. I'll Help.

So here's the thing with me and gym wheel (and really anything I decide I want to do) - I convince myself that it is really easily. Like absurdly easy. And I sleep soundly at night, nestled in my insane delusions of the simplicity of life.

And then of course when I try gym wheel/mini golf/painting/sewing/figure skating I realize that I am a major idiot and of course these things are some what challenging (except mini golf - that I am just terrible at for no good reason).

The thing with Gym Wheel is I think I know a lot about it (because I see it every day) but in reality, I know very little about the logistics. The people I see doing it most of the time are fantastic and have been practicing almost every day for years. So I've been watching it for a year now and so I think that I could do all these things in a year if I started working at them now, conveniently forgetting that that is not the way this works.

So I tried it today. And I held my own for my very first day. I was successful in all of the beginner skills even the vaulting (which was my fear). And I tried spiral! I was being spotted the whole time, but I tried it. Which is a big step for me. But still I was honestly disappointed in the fact that I didn't get on that sucker and whip out some crazy shit like naturally.

I have two days of workshop left, plus an open-ended opportunity to mess around when I want to, so I'm hoping this is a beginning, not a...middle.