Getting Closer

I am two weeks away from doing my ride which will take me over Mount Greylock in Massachusetts. It's a goal I set last fall after visiting the area. I still wasn't riding after my shoulder surgery, but I decided then and there that I would regain my long lost form and ride up this thing. I made plans on how much training I would do and all the smaller climbs I would do in preparation. I planned on losing a lot more weight prior to the climb and being in great shape.

Well things have not gone quite as planned. I was sick for a while, then pulled some abdominal muscles and then it rained for what seemed like the entire month of June. I lost my focus on more than one occasion. So my plans have not come to fruition, but I have not lost my drive to do this climb. For a while, I was thinking of scrapping the whole thing and rescheduling for the fall. But I will do the ride in 2 weeks, maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't, but I will try. Terry has the most fitting quote on her page "don't be afraid of failing… be afraid of never trying" and I think of it every time that little voice tells me not to do this.

So I will gather up all that I have learned this year, I rediscovered my love for cycling, have seen my fitness improve, found my lost form and realized that I am not too old, or too fat or too beat up to really ride again. I am many pounds lighter than I was last year, the lightest I have been in about 10 years (maybe even longer). I have let life get in the way of really nailing the goals, but I have maintained my weight loss and have even lost a few pounds without being able to really stick the plan. I'll go up there and try my best and see what happens. The worst case scenario is that I have to give up on it, turn around and go home. But even with that I will have gained something, I will have set a benchmark to beat at a later date and I will use that as the next goal.

I have two weeks to get in a few more miles and maybe drop a few more pounds. But either way, I will get up early on Friday morning, put the bike on the car and do the 3 hour drive north. I plan on only riding a total of about 45 miles that day, with my climb starting at about mile 6, a good enough warm up, but letting me hit the climb with fresh legs. The climb is more than 10 miles long, some sections at at 13% grade. I plan on going slow, really slow, just ticking off the pedal strokes and the miles. If I ride the whole thing, the climb will probably take more than an hour and a half to finish. If I have to stop, it will take even longer. Then I will ride back to my car, put the bike back on the car and then drive back up to take some photos, get a bite to eat and drive home. It'll be a long day, but I am really looking forward to it.

Two weeks away. When I set this goal, I was still in physical therapy. I hadn't been on the bike in months. I thought I would be back on the bike in a few weeks, instead it was another four months until I could get back on the bike. Things didn't go as planned then but now I am having a great season so far. Hopefully, the trend will continue and even though things have not gone exactly as planned, I will have a great ride and finally put some demons to rest. I am looking forward to this, I just hope it doesn't rain. I hate riding in the rain…