Before getting to the finish line, I had my doubts. I signed up for the ride on a whim. A Mindful Method. client asked if I wanted to participate, and if you know me… You know I cannot pass up the opportunity to get on my bike, especially when it’s for a good cause.
I slept on the decision, and my mind was flooded with thoughts. Was I in any cardio shape to handle the ride up near Beaver Valley (ski hills), Ontario, having never ridden in the area before?
Could I even keep up?
With less than two weeks away from the ride, I had a lot of doubts and many of them pushed me to excuses like “It’s only two weeks away, and I haven’t trained”, I’ve got a lot on my plate already with work and a baby at home”… After a good night’s sleep (something I like to do before making a big commitment) and gave my head a good shake and reached out to my client…
My response? “HELL YES, I’m going to do it!” but my internal dialogue… “could I keep up with his pace? ” I quickly shook that off and told myself, “I’ll do my best and certainly try”.
Why am I telling you this? If there’s an event, race, charity ride, or run that I want to participate in with a client or not, I want to be physically ready at any time to do it. I never want my health or limited physical ability to be an excuse to hold me back from signing up.
So I put on my BIG BOY pants (or bib shorts, rather), signed up for the ride, and started focusing on what I needed to do to be ready for the event (and not wing it).
I needed to consider the weather, the route, the number of riders (just under 100), and the gear I would wear and ride in.
Not to mention, both Steph (my wife) and baby Ari were joining me for the weekend. This meant we’d have to plan to stay in a small motel in Markdale. Family preparation was the next thing on my mind, ensuring we had our meals planned, riding fuel, prepared food and all the baby essentials sorted out (thank you Steph!)
Learn from the above and prepare physically and mentally – earlier than you think. You can never be over-prepared, but you can definitely be under-prepared. Whatever you do… don’t hope for the best and wing it. That’s a recipe for a disaster, injury, or not finishing.
Were there times I wanted to quit? Absolutely. I’ve never ridden in such windy conditions; the distance and cooler weather with new terrain were more than enough of a challenge for me.
Did I ever once stop? I was close, but NO, I pushed through. Fortunately, I had enough fuel, water + electrolytes in my bottles that I did not stop. I pushed through, focused on my breathing, held on, and rode like hell no matter how tough it got.
The best part?
Seeing Steph and baby Ari at the finish line. 🏁 The sense of accomplishment of completing the ride in just over 4 hours, riding at nearly a 30km/hr pace and NOT BONKING.
Until next time and the next event.
Leave a comment below with a race or event you’re preparing for, I’d love to cheer you on!
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One Response
Great job Mike! Glad I could get you out of your comfort zone! It was a ton of fun! Next year we will be in that front pack 🙂