My post last week about how my 100 km ride did not go as planned generated a lot of discussion across my social media platforms. The conversation is ongoing!
I have marvelous friends who are supportive, encouraging and unapologetic when calling me out on being mean to myself. I’m very lucky.
There were several gems I have mined from those discussions. Today I am looking at a question my gym buddy Rob asked me.
Why did I want to ride 100 km?
The first answer that came to mind was that I wanted to test if I was ready to ride longer than 100 km.
I’m very comfortable completing the MS Bike Tour. The two days of 80 km supported every 20 km felt great. It’s a different challenge to ride continuously in 50 km blocks. I underestimated that gap and was disappointed.
The myth of linear progress
I wanted to complete a 100 km ride as part of a story of physical fitness that showed progress.
When my results were similar to the ones I had 12 years ago it felt like a set-back.
In chatting with my friends in Randonneurs Ontario they shared stories of struggling to have consistent times on a given distance.
We spoke about routes, conditions, health, training, age and injuries.
There are a lot of variables that affect how long it takes to complete a route. Only some of those are under my direct control.
Is that the real reason?
Rob invited me to push against the first answers to validate if that is really why I wanted to ride 100 km.
Hope
What I wanted out of the ride was some evidence that my longest distances are ahead of me.
Ten years ago I completed the People with AIDS Bike Tour from Toronto to Montreal. It was 600 km over 6 days. The longest distance on a given day was around 135 km.
Between then and now I quit cycling in 2020 (during the pandemic) then re-started in 2023.
I’ve been inconsistent. Without a capstone event after the MS Bike Tour my distance peters off each year. I have not used the indoor trainer in the winter.
New goals
What I really want out of cycling is more adventures with Michel. We are getting ready to try some rail trails this fall. I got a trailer to bring our dog Lucy along.
Active living
My big picture goal is an active life that supports my physical and mental wellbeing. I really enjoy shorter jaunts and I want to extend that to longer rides.
Consistent Riding
There is no secret to going longer, faster and happier on a bike. It’s time in the saddle on a consistent basis.
Training for the PWA ride had specific milestones to meet in order to be allowed to ride. There were distances to hit, an average speed above 20 km/hr and a deadline for back to back 100 km days.
Unstructured fun
In the shoulder season my focus will be fucking around and finding out. I will try some wider tires and some rail trails. I will get on my bike 2-3 times a week in addition to my utility cycling.
Thank you
I wanted to wrap this up with a giant thank you to my friends and family. I never imagined my writing about being disappointed with my 100 km would illicit a tsunami of responses. Texts from Nova Scotia and British Columbia and every province in between!
Messages from folks showing they had read every word and could relate. Thank you for reading my posts and connecting over our shared experiences of try to keep these bodies doing all the things.
The Future
I’m still thinking about my mid and long term cycling goals. I’ll be sure to let you know once I settle on them.
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Nat, you continue to inspire in so many ways.
I am loathe, but not, to say that my own fitness focus is primarily getting my husband off his Parkinson’s ass and trying to keep him around longer than he is likely to be by doing absolutely nothing.
I am impressed by the precision and clarity of your goals. I have done similar things with Jeff, but unless I use the “big stick” approach it is nearly impossible to see him invest in his own health. Surprisingly that is not a depression situation, but rather the damaged executive function from his 2018 stroke, and some short term memory issues.
I will take your post to heart and try once agin to engage him in a goal setting session (especially after we see his Movement Disorders doc this week), and a set of specific attainable goals. May we both find the way!
Oh Kate! You continue to figure out the caregiving on Jeff’s journey. Recovery from the stroke and Parkinson’s is a complex process and you are so wonderful at accessing the resources as well as celebrating successes.
For myself I feel like the song “poor old Micheal Finnegan, begin again!”
But I’m realizing new starts are needed as we age. You got this!
What a great way to plan! Best of luck to you in finding the perfect niche. It is sort of hard to settle on something when we realize one thing or another is not really right for us, but it looks like you’re well on the way to finding your perfect ride(s)!