Life Philosophies

Well, I did it, I added another hill to my ride today. It added on exactly 1.04 miles to my ride, half of that was down hill and the other half was all uphill. I turned at the bottom of the hill. It took me 12 additional minutes to add that one more hill. I think that I see improvement!

It is interesting at times, the thoughts that float through my head as I ride along. Today it was a philosophical ride. I was thinking of the goal that I set yesterday and the reactions that I have received. The biggest one was to the mileage, the total mileage, involved. Brad told me a long time ago that you should never really think about the total miles, it gets into your head and you are done before you even get started. That's why I broke it down by mileage per day, that's a much easier number to concentrate on. I look at it like life (I told you that I got philosophical today), if you only looked at how far it was to get to the end you would never enjoy the moment that you are in right now. If you looked ahead and thought of it as a struggle, you might not even try to continue on. Breaking it all down into small chunks make it much easier to imagine.

I also came up with another analogy while going up a hill. Brad (he is one smart bike rider by the way) has always told me to shift down on the hills before the pedaling gets too hard. Once I've gone beyond a certain point, I can't shift down smoothly, if at all, because I have too much pressure on the pedals. That too, is like life. Don't wait until things are getting too hard before you do something about it! Shift gears while the pedaling is still easy! The uphill isn't so hard after all and you get to the top just that much faster.

Of course, my thoughts didn't stop there. I realized as I was going down hill that my speed has increased by a large amount! I have gained confidence in my abilities. My downhills are smoother, faster, and I'm more aware of the beauty of the moment than I used to be. Hanging on for dear life seems to take some of the enjoyment out of the moment :-) I let myself enjoy the ride down, I am no longer afraid to let go and allow my momentum to carry me through. Isn't that like life at times? We get too scared of our easy flowing downhills and we start to reign things in and then we hold on too tight and the forward momentum comes to an end. The things that my bike riding is teaching me seem to be limitless!

Going back to my goal for next August, Brad is on board. His first words were, "I don't know that I can take 20 days off of work to ride with you." My answer, "I don't expect you too." He thought about it and I reminded him that I will be touring Western Washington, down the coast, up the mountains, and it will be crossing back and forth. Maybe I will cross the mountains and come back, my route hasn't been figured out yet, but I will not be a 1000 miles away, at the most a few hundred. He is now giving me suggestions on who to contact next to get this thing rolling. His advice, start now, it's a big project.

That's about all for today, it was a great ride ... I hope that you enjoy yours today as well!

Universe ... I have a goal

I've heard that if you throw something out to the Universe that you really believe in things will begin to happen to make your goal a reality. So, Universe, I have a goal. It's a very doable goal and I'm excited about it. I talked with Brad a little bit about it yesterday and I'm not sure, but he might think that I'm crazy! It wouldn't be the first time.

I don't have all of the details worked out yet, I only have a vague plan and it goes something like this: 20 days before the next Bike MS fundraising ride in Mt. Vernon begins next year (2014) I am going to begin a 1000 mile ride for MS. I can do this, of that I have no doubt. I did the math and it works out to be an average of 50 miles a day. I would like to end up in Mt. Vernon on the Friday before the Bike MS.

Washington State ranks 6th per capita for people diagnosed with MS. That's a very high amount of people that live with this disease everyday. When you take into account all of the people that are also affected by this (I believe that it is a disease of the family, not just the one person) there are a lot of people that have their lives changed as they learn to adjust to the new way of living. I'm lucky, I have managed to go through hell and come out the other side, wiser and healthier.

My goal is to raise $50 a mile for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Northwest Chapter. I don't have all of the details figured out yet, but they will come to me. I know that there will be others that will ride with me, some for the entire ride, some for the bits and pieces that they can slip away. I will be looking for sponsors and I have no fear of finding them. There will be a support team as well. The end goal is $50,000 for MS. Does this sound daunting? Not really! If only 50 people that I pass along the way each day donate $50 each, I've raised the funds. It's doable.

I will keep you posted, but Universe, you have been given notice. I have a goal and I will obtain it. Tomorrow I add more distance to my ride and another long hill ... I'll be ready. Now all you have to do is hold up your end of the bargain.