Cycling Thoughts

This team challenge to virtually ride 3700 miles across the continental U.S. has been great for me. I love my team. I love that we're in this together. I love that every mile benefits everyone. My sister started an email chain for our team that's been very, very motivating. I've shared a couple experiences with them that I'd like to record here. I'm leaving out the other team members' communications to protect their privacy.

24 July 2020

Cautionary tale: My road bike was in the shop today, so I rode my daughter's mountain bike instead. I figured she wasn't THAT much smaller than me since her's was an adult-sized bike. Holy frijoles, ladies, I have never before learned so painfully how important a good fitting bike is. *groan*

So glad my bike is back and I get to ride it again tomorrow! Gonna do my best to get in a few more miles across Idaho.

If R didn't just cycle a century last weekend, I'd only be 10 miles or so behind her *SIGH*

29 July 2020

I love the pictures and stories!

H, that could have gone SO much worse. Whew.

I don't get to do much off-roading here, but there's a lot of gravel and glass on the road shoulder. I have recurring, persistent thoughts of popping my tires and/or getting those bits of shrapnel flung into my eyes as a car speeds by, or losing control and slide falling onto them, embedding them into my skin *shudder*. I have recently started wearing eye protection when I ride, but there's no way I'm cycling in leather

On my Saturday ride, I was heading south (when everything is flat, flat, flat, the wind direction dictates my route), not really sure where I was amidst miles of corn and soybeans in every direction, when suddenly I saw a steeple and stained glass on the horizon. I rode to it and discovered this pretty little church, school, and cemetery out in the middle of nowhere called St. Mary's. No one was around. It was so, so quiet. Kinda inspirational, too, and I may have said a prayer.

I tried to find it on Google Maps when I got home and it wasn't there.

Ghost church.

1 August 2020

Hey H, I took your Spotify playlist on my ride this morning and got a little teary hearing:

I won't give up, no, I won't give in
'Til I reach the end

And then I'll start again

(Try Everything, performed by Shakira, Zootopia Soundtrack)

I felt a mix of feelings. It's easy to understand how cycling again and again will make me stronger and help me meet my goals. I don't want to give up. I want to get stronger. That was an empowering thought.

My new life in a Covid world, however, is stressful and hard and I really, really want to give up and give in some days. But I can't. There's no way out of it. I start again every day because I have to. That made me intensely sad.

Empowered and sad all at once. *sigh* But only for a moment.

Some of the Epic Instrumental pieces were spot on! I was going up the last little rolling hill before home. I was so tired. My legs hurt like crazy. And an Epic Instrumental piece came on and put me in my own inspirational cycling commercial. Loved it!

It was a great ride with the music and I'm really glad you shared, H. Thanks!

I'd love to hear any other playlists y'all like to listen to during exercise!