There are times that a goal which is distance needs to have milestones, way-markers that allow a person to see progress toward a goal that is too distant to comprehend. For me, losing nearly sixty pounds is a goal that is too large to comprehend. Just losing weight can be easily accomplished. But that is really not the goal. The goal is good physical health. That means a change in lifestyle. Food, my favorite vice, needs to be seen differently. I can’t use food as comfort. I can enjoy my food, but I cannot become a glutton. Equally the word “exercise” had fallen out of my lexicon. It has to become part of lifestyle.
So, to make an attainable goal I decided to ride a century. That is one-hundred miles on my little bike. I did it, with a caveat. I rode over 100 miles, but did not complete the course. I took a wrong turn that resulted in my taking about 20 miles more than I should have before the second to last rest-stop. I found the second to last and realized that I should have been at 65 miles and was at 87. That would mean that I would ride over twenty miles over the distance of the century plus the 15 mile round trip to and from the staging area. I decided to use the SAG vehicle for the last part of the ride. Now, my 87 plus 15 was 102 miles. It was a century, but not the century that was defined.
I am doing it again in February. I made several mistakes on this ride. The Harvest Ride for Literacy was a course marked by serious hills (Category 1 Climbs: >5% grade for 6-12 miles). This was not a good “first century”. The worst of the hills were between miles 60 and 70. They really knocked the wind out of my sails. I truly believe that I could have finished the course, but would still be recovering from the physical stress placed on my body. I under-trained, especially on hills. In the past I was an excellent climber. At 6’1” and 185 pounds I could leg-press 650 to 700 pounds, on a bet I once got 800 pounds up (and never want to do that again!). Needless to say, hills were not an issue. I did serious weight work to get that power in my gams. Now I am not in a gym but am wondering about running and jump-rope.
What is the point of all of this athletic nonsense? It has to do with discipline to make a change in life. I am committed to this change, as I am to others. Riding a century is a metaphor for other achievement. Do you know how to ride a century? It is really simple. Get on the bike and turn the pedals for 100 miles, approximately 31,875 times at 85 rpm.
Ah, but I am only a more toned and thinner – 228 pounds! – fool!
