Between
Christmas Eve and New Years Eve I was able to juggle family, holidays,
rain, sleet, snow, wind and a little bit of work while competing against
myself and the world in a (not so popular) cycling challenge. I joined
approximately 73,000 other insane cycling participants (worldwide) in a
challenge called "Rapha 500". To qualify for Rapha 500 one must cycle
500 km outdoors within the given time frame . One must record and upload
each ride activity to Strava (a cycling and running app) in order to be acknowledged . The total 500
km is equivalent to approximately 310 miles. Three hundred and ten
miles may seem like a short distance to ride, but when you add all
factors such as family, friends, daylight, weather, etc, it becomes a
task in "all-things management".
To put the cycling distance into perspective a three hundred and ten
mile ride is equivalent to a "one mile walk" three hundred and ten
times. If I were to give you an idea of time required I can say that I
kept a slow and steady pace of about 12 miles per hour and it totaled
out to be about 26 hours of "ass-in seat" time.
Not
having the ability to ride long distances on 2 days out of the 8 given
(due to either holiday, work or family responsibilities) I was forced to
ride 52 miles per day for 6 of the days. Not being able to get out
early during a few of those days had me cycling (racoon style) in the
dark and cold of the night.
I cycled solo with not one cyclist in site throughout my entire 310+ miles. I cycled in temperatures that ranged between
32 and 57 degrees. In having recorded the temperatures and what to
wear during previous years, I didn't freeze and never felt
uncomfortable. Two of the nights were dry when I left my garage, yet managed to rain on me as soon as I was about 15 miles away. The rain was cold, the night
was dark, the wind was a bit annoying, but I managed to cycle through it.
In my mind I consistently asked myself why the hell I was doing this. I
couldn't truly answer myself other than telling myself that I was crazy
and that this truly was the only time that I could get out. As I cycled
in the dark I was at peace with myself. All I could hear was the wind
whistle sound made between wind and my helmet straps. The bike was
pretty solid, the ride was smooth, the gears where quiet. The darkness
of the quiet not -so-traveled roads felt safe, I always knew when a car
was about to approach me from behind as the faint lights became
brighter. I found that I could tolerate the quiet of the road for about
20 minutes, after that it was Zombie, Van Halen, Rush, LimpBizkit or
Eminem making me company in my ear piece.
I
didnt cycle anywhere extravagant, I didn't stop for photos, I didnt
stop for selfies, I just got on my bike and headed out. I found myself
searching for smooth pavement rather than flat roads or the coastline.
Cycling the coastline is flat and could be a fast pace, but the winter
winds seem to be at my front no matter which direction I cycled. I
found myself doing more repeats on a few flat, newly paved roads that
were a little longer than 1/4 mile and less traveled than doing longer
distance trips. I received many strange stares from late night dog
walkers (and bar hoppers along the Milford Green in late nights), cars
seemed upset that I was on the road during the night (during morning
afternoon and night too).
I
rode to clear my mind of 2015 and to mentally and physically prepare
myself for 2016. I found myself in deep thought and strategy for
business, I found myself in flashbacks of this and previous years, I
found myself lost in thought and reaching a destination but not
remembering a hill climb. I think I lost a few pounds, I think I got a
little stronger (leg wise), I realized that I am truly getting older, I
can feel it in my back, my butt, my legs. I realize that I can still
ride 500km in 6 days and juggle most things (but truly not all) and that
it probably wont be until I retire that I can ride without having my
responsibilities on my conscious (hopefully I will have the legs to keep
up).
This
Challenge isn't for everyone and this challenge is definitely not for
me at any other time of the year. The challenge is physically,
psychologically and emotionally demanding, and draining, yet in the end
the 1 inch x 1 inch patch that one gets for completing it is worth a
billion bucks. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number
of family and friends that told me that I'm a friggin nut and that I
should spend time with them and family instead......hence the reason I
cycle at night, where even more friends and family tell me that I am
friggin crazy. Everyone has a passion, everyone has a little something
that they do that makes them feel better. Some people over eat, some
people over drink, some people smoke, some people shop for crap they
don't need, some people gamble, some people wear out the fabric on their
coach with their bumm , some people exercise their thumb reflexes
(remotes in tv and gaming).
I
set a goal, I rode, I did my miles, they weren't pretty, they weren't
fast, but I told myself I was going to do it and I did. It was an
attempt to clear my mind, It was an attempt to raise a little awareness,
it was an attempt to become a little healthier, It was an attempt to
show my kid that someone can set a "crazy assed" goal and complete it by
chipping away one mile at a time.
Everyone needs to set goals, everyone needs something to work toward and complete, everyone needs a sense of accomplishment.
