Keeping the Faith

So I've been biking for over a month now and I've had some great highs and not so great lows - both on and off the bike.  Returning home after Thanksgiving Day weekend spent with family and friends in Georgian Bay brought some of these lows.  One of which I found out that someone I used to golf with had succumbed to cancer.  Margaret was 53 (she died the day after her birthday) and had only been diagnosed in May.  Something else then happened which resulted in a friend of mine telling me to keep the faith and that it will get better.  That statement got me thinking:  How do you keep the faith?  Is it always the case of believing in yourself or picking yourself up when you're down?

And that's when I realized that I had been keeping the faith.  Every time I get on my bike and ride, I keep the faith.  Every time I fall off and people joke about how I need training wheels or orange cones, I keep the faith.  Every time life slaps me upside the head or knocks me down, I keep the faith.  Why? Because bumps, scratches, bruises and bruised egos heal.

Yesterday, Friday, October 26, I went for my first century ride - in layman's terms, that's 100km journey.  As I watched the bike computer hit 100.00, tears filled my eyes.  Why? Because I believed in myself and kept the faith.  And I know that I am keeping my promise to Jennifer.

So I will continue to keep the faith, believing in myself and my goal.  I also keep the faith that we will find a cure for this dreaded cancer disease and there won't be families like Jennifer's or Margaret's having to say goodbye to their loved ones.

Oh and by the way, in yesterday's ride, I finally conquered that damn little incline I spoke about in my last blog. 

If you would like to donate to my ride effort, please click on the link below.  I appreciate your help.

http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Montreal2013?px=2645026&pg=personal&fr_id=1451

Obstacles

During my training, I've come across some obstacles - some verbal, some physical and some mental.  Each one can take you down if you let it.  And just like in life, when on a bike, you have to deal with each one as they come along. I've learned to ignore the verbal and know that the physical will get better but it's the mental obstacles which are the challenge.

There is a little hill (some experienced cyclists I know have referred to it as an incline) near my house.  When I start out on any bike ride, I love that hill.  Why? Because I'm going downhill and fast.  At the end of the ride though, it's uphill and my thighs are screaming for me to stop.  I have heaped verbal abuse on that hill, on my thighs, my bike and my brain.  But I still won't stop.  Why?  Because to stop is to give up.  And I'm not going to let some little incline (because that's what it will be when I conquer it) stop me.  So bring on the verbal, physical and mental obstacles. I will work on defeating each one as they come along.  Because,in the end, the obstacles I face are nothing in comparison to the obstacles the cancer patients I am doing this for face.  And that is what counts.



If you would like to donate to my ride effort, please click on the link below.  I appreciate your help.

http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Montreal2013?px=2645026&pg=personal&fr_id=1451

Goals

I mentioned to a friend of mine at dinner a couple of weeks ago that my goal for the following day was to take the day off and cycle down to the Old Port of Montreal - a distance of about 60 kms return.  It would be the longest ride of my short bike career but I was determined.  She looked at me and asked, "Why do you set such small goals?"  My answer, quick in coming, was decisive.  "Because", I said, "I'm only back to biking since the beginning of September.  If I set huge goals and don't accomplish them, the result is disappointment and discouragement.  If I set smaller goals, the overall feeling is accomplishment and encouragement."

When I set out on that Friday morning, her words and mine resounded in my head.  I was determined to make it and make it I did.  When I arrived at the Old Port and cycled onto the boardwalk, I laughed out loud.  But the biggest grin was when I cycled back into my driveway 2.5 hours later.  Why? Because I believed in myself and that belief paid off.

And really that's what it boils down to when setting goals isn't it?  Encouraging yourself and having the faith to achieve them along with a feeling of accomplishment.  And as each small goal is achieved, larger goals can be set.

After all, my large goal is the finish line, come July 7, 2013 in Quebec City.  And all these little goals will help me get there.

If you would like to donate to my ride effort, please click on the link below.  I appreciate your help.

http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Montreal2013?px=2645026&pg=personal&fr_id=1451