I did a short ride today and had a tough time.  What am I doing thinking of doing a transcontinental trip?  No way can I do it.  I can’t climb the hills.  I will be riding four mph.  Well, I did do New Zealand a few times.  I did Baja, which had some really steep grades, but I was a lot younger and thinner.

One time I did the Yucatan without training.  I just didn’t have time.  Ok.  I did do the New Year’s Day ride of 25 or so miles.  That was my big training.  I survived.  It seems that even if you haven’t trained, you will be pretty well trained after a week of riding.

More important than physical preparedness is mental fitness.  I could have easily convinced myself on my ride today that I absolutely couldn’t ride and should turn around and go home.  I didn’t because I knew that with the right attitude I could have ridden 100 miles.  It’s just like that most recent Yucatan trip.  The thought of riding 60 miles self-contained without any training caused some concern.  That is when breaking the mileage into segments really helps me.  If I can go ten miles, then I just have to do that same distance five more times.  I can do that.  There is no hurry.  Well, there is always the matter of not riding in the dark, but I do carry a light just in case.

I finished my ride today but took longer than usual.  It doesn’t really matter.  I did have a headwind so I can blame my speed on that.  The hills were bigger today.  I still haven’t adjusted to the local terrain.  Back in Toledo, this would be considered a hilly ride.  Here, they call it flat.  When I first moved here, I joined a group on a ride that was given a flat rating.  For me, flat means that you don’t have to shift.  If I have to shift into my granny gear, then it is not flat. (That doesn’t count if there is a strong headwind.  Then it could really be flat and I might shift down.)  One of these days, I will be able to go more than 6 mph up the hill out of the neighborhood.  That day had better come soon because I know that the Rockies might be a bit steeper and longer.  My hill is steep enough, but only about a mile long.  If I can conquer that, then I can do anything.  Just wait until my new shoes and clipless pedals arrive.  Supposedly, I can increase my speed a few mph.  Does that include hill-climbing speed?

It’s all in your head.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 16th, 2006 at 6:52 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.