Skip to main content

Lessons.

I'm still in a post-ride haze: 141 miles with, 8,400' of climbing, and 130 pounds in tow through the mountains of Colorado with one of my favorite, most inspirational guys.



There's a lot to process from last week. It was wonderful and HARD and life-changing. My Big Bike Adventure with Hank. All of it is too long to ever share in a single post, or ever probably, but I'll try to give you some snippets as I recount our ride together.

For now, I'll share some lessons I've learned in no order of importance.

Lesson #1: There will always be lessons. The thing I love about events (and life) is that you're constantly learning. Something will always come up. The goal should be to figure it out, overcome it, write that shit down and remember it next time.

Lesson #2: Check your shit. Hank got a special bike to ride with me because he was my pusher in this. The HUGE upside was that he was able to train on it getting him comfortable in it for our adventure. The downside was that I didn't train with it or fit it to my bike. The stupid side was waiting until three days before we were supposed to roll to make it all fit.

Lucky me, I have some awesome resources and found an innovative mechanic who refused to say no and made Hank's rig work. The guys at House of Spin in Boulder not only made the attachment work on my thru-axle thanks to some drilling of an adapter piece but also helped deal with damage to Hank's bike from shipping. They made it work and saved our ride. In the end, I was thanking them for their help and how grateful I was to them that I didn't have to tell an 18-year-old kid we were a no go. The response? "Oh. That never would have happened. It was just a question of getting it figured out before the close of business today or meeting tomorrow morning at McGucken's (a local hardware store)." THOSE are good people. And my new mechanics.




Lesson #3: A good support crew is invaluable. We keep it small around here. Just a couple of cars and a few friends/family and everyone plays an important part. From mechanics to side-of-the-road sandwich making to making THE BEST PLAYLIST EVER to literally pushing us when gravel is too loose for a road bike...they're what make it possible. The rule of thumb for this ride is to see a support vehicle every couple of miles (or 1/4 mile if we're climbing) for two reasons:

1. if we need something
2. peace of mind, encouragement, etc. <-- that one is the kicker

I've had two years of kickass support and couldn't have made it without them all.



Lesson #4: When you're convinced you'll fail, try anyway. Tuesday night, before the hardest day which was up and over Kebler Pass on the 3rd day, I realized that it was over. That there was no way I'd physically be able to pull up a gravel mountain pass on a road bike with tired legs.

I had honestly accepted that it was going to my day to finally face the fact that I'd taken on too much.

Turns out, my teammate fucking rocks and within the first half-mile of Kebler, after a few pushes of the pedal from Hank, I knew we'd be OK. That leads me to...

Lesson #5: Never underestimate the power of teamwork (and stubbornness). One of the things that I believe makes my bond with Hank so special is that we're kindred spirits: we like a good time and stubbornness seems to innate. The latter is what I'm convinced got us over Kebler that third day. He pushed when I needed him. I pulled when I didn't think I could turn another pedal over. We smiled when the hill leveled out a bit. We stopped to take pics. We looked around at the beauty of that place. We got it done because we both had something to prove to the other. We got to the top TOGETHER. There was no other way it could have been done.

Lesson #6: Face those fears. I've pretty much spent the last 3.5 years of my life in a state of facing fears and stepping outside of comfort zones and sometimes it's just exhausting. Easy would be nice every now and then, right? But, Oh! the joy of accomplishing something that makes you want to vomit before you started! Knowing the route this year caused a lot of anxiety in this already anxiety-ridden gal. It was terrifying and I did what I do best: got in my own head. But then I did the other thing I've learned to do well: DO THE THING ANYWAY. And as it turns out, that pays off tenfold.



I'm a little stronger. A lot tougher. And have less to prove to myself after last week with Hank. I have no idea what happens next because for the first time in 2 years I have nothing official planned. So. It's time to process, ride the bike for some fun, and enjoy the moments experienced and lessons learned.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Goodbye.

 “I don’t know if I should congratulate you or console you.” - Craig “How about both?” - Me This was a conversation in our kitchen earlier this week. After a year and a half of weekly therapy, I had my last session with my therapist Tuesday. Not because I was over it or because it wasn’t working or because he retired. Nope. Because we got to a place where we could both say I’ve got the tools I need to move on. I have to say that there is no timeline for therapy and every situation is unique. I moved on from intensive therapy with my therapist because that it was worked for ME. I am certainly no expert and I have a feeling this isn’t the end of my therapy forever, but I do know that my experience with the right person allowed me to heal in ways I literally never thought possible. And it gave me the experience of a healthy “goodbye”. I was never prepared for that, so when we set an end date (not-so-coincidentally my Nanna’s birthday), it was hard to process. No one talks about

November 19th

There's apparently something about November 19th and changes in my life... 2 years ago: moving out of the ex's house 1 year ago: announcing that I was making the big move to beautiful Colorado Today: planning my next big adventure! After 2 years of major life changes and constant adjustment, I'm finally feeling like a settled human being. So, I've decided that 2018 is going to be the year I push myself physically and mentally. 2 half marathons are on the schedule along with the most exciting part: a multi day bike adventure with an assisted athlete here in Colorado in support of The Kyle Pease Foundation !!  I've learned enough about myself that I will not agree to push myself hard physically for any length of time unless there is another person who is behind the WHY. Doing this in partnership with another athlete who necessarily wouldn't be able to otherwise, is enough to get my ass off my couch and get it done! Details are still being worke

It's a Funny Feeling

Let's be honest, I've been riding my bike more this year than the last 3 years COMBINED. While that's sad for the last couple of summers, it's great for this one. And this girl.  Thanks to some riding buddies who are calm and patient, I've been able to get out and ride more in the city whereas before even the thought of riding in Buckhead scared the living daylights out of me. I've encouraged myself when I really, REALLY don't want to ride and would prefer to go home after a long day and drink a glass of wine. I've pushed myself to go a little further than I felt I could. I faced some fears. Riding over I-285 during rush hour traffic giggling because I was having a way better time than those commuters! I was out this evening by myself on a local rail-to-trail and it was glorious. The trail was quiet with very few people on it, the weather was great and I just felt good! I trucked along at my best pace yet and kept thinking to myself how