My Bike, My Way So why would someone cycle 5000 miles or more around Britain in 70 days? The Simple answer is why not. Never be afraid of trying something new is my philosophy, remember amateurs built the ark, professionals built the titanic. There are several reasons why people attempt such epic challenges, all having their own personal motives for doing so. Some prime athletes will be trying to set new world records or new personal bests, for some others maybe just for an amazing adventure, but I think for most, it’s to find how far they can push the boundaries of their own limitations. And then there is also an elite few, (maybe not athletes even) that attempt it for a soul searching exercise, an experience to find some equilibrium in their lives. Why would this mere mortal do this challenge is another question. What would possess this unemployed, overweight, middle aged disillusioned man to cycle over 5000 miles ignoring all the so called professional advice most of which are adamant that he should not do it because it will kill him? So what motivated me and what are my specific reasons? Every endurance athlete will have heard a similar question at some point, either from concerned friends, loved ones, doctors, or psychologists, not that I am calling myself an endurance athlete, a long distant touring cyclist maybe, it’s debatable. I myself nowadays am no athlete far from it, unless you are counting a game of darts as being in the athletics’ category. It’s a full seven foot, nine and a quarter inches to retrieve them darts every time they stick in the board, this does also include some bending exercises as well, every time one hits the floor. I have goals; I do have fortitude, grit and determination. Foremost I believe it would be fun to see how far I can push my limitations and push my own personal boundaries, just to see how durable I really am. Considering most folk had written me off only made me more determined to prove my point. Nobody pushed me into doing this challenge, only me; I did it because I wanted too and also because I felt I needed too. It’s strange when I think about it all now, the more I think I know the more I know I don’t know. To be honest, this is a fair question; there is nothing normal about propelling yourself for long distances really. Every person is unique to his or her own motivations plus their own personal circumstances. It’s a hard question to answer, especially to people unfamiliar with an endurance athlete’s world, or a pub dart player’s world, so its gets even more confusing. I had the misconceived notion about my proposed journey as an endurance ride. Endurance is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. Aerobic endurance or staying power is a measure of your cardiovascular fitness. Your ability to continue cycling is limited by the capacity of your heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to the working muscles. The more efficient this system is, the more oxygen will reach the muscles and the more work you can do, So after defining the word endurance I am not sure if you can class plodding your way around Britain on a bicycle as endurance? I may push myself to the extreme, sometimes I felt I almost pushed past it, but just before I do exhaust my supply of glycogen in my muscles I can stop and rest, so endurance it most certainly isn’t. How can I give a short response without sounding crazy? If I say “I like to challenge myself”, I am clearly a masochist. If I say “it’s a spiritual journey that I share with like-minded people”, they think I am one step away from joining the Hare Krishna’s. I do have some sporting background so I have not always been a couch potato, in the past I have ran five marathons and twelve half marathons. For three years prior to 2009 I was working out at the gym five days a week, pushing and exerting myself more than your average gym goer, Then after my daily workouts drinking more than your average pub goer. “Most improved individual I have ever known” was my personal gym teachers own words. It wasn’t 20 minutes on the running machine for me; I would do hour long stints and sometimes more. I worked on my cardio more than the weights. My sessions at the gym were two hours at a time, finished off with a nice swim and sauna, it became routine for me and part of my everyday life. Week days were like groundhog days for me, so predictable. Up at 7am, walk my dog through the woods for 3 miles or more, no matter what the weather, walk home cycle to the gym do my work out, back home, a bite to eat, and then take the dog out again, Pop into my local on the way home. Why did I stop? My accident in January 2009 put the kybosh on all that. Anyone can do what I did with the right desire, my previous background though did give me an advantage over most that would consider it, but this is doable by anyone that wants to do it. I for one would certainly recommend it, as will all the other around Britain cyclers. Don’t be afraid to give it a go, cycling over 5,000 miles is not as daunting as it may appear, it is certainly more rewarding than the pain that goes with it. Younger days I competed in ice hockey ,hockey, tennis, football, badminton you name it I did it, so as my friend Kurt says I am an athlete, just a out of shape athlete. The Wall, the Pit, and the Abyss maybe the best answer without oversimplifying matters. The Wall, The Pit, and The Abyss - What Defines You Lies Just Beyond Each Of These Challenges. The Wall Most people will have heard about what we call The Wall. Its that physical challenge most athletes hit around mile 20 mark in a marathon (often exclaimed as oh, shit, god help me, I just hit the bloody wall) when your glycogen gets dangerously close to E and your body starts messing with you to try and get you to stop. This is when cramps, fatigue, stress, fluctuating body temperatures and an ego that is tells you to throw the towel in. It’s not fun. But in truth, it’s a defining part of the whole experience. You push your body through this barrier and carry on despite everything your body is signalling to you; at the same time you learn to trust your self will. Then on the other side of this wall you won’t find Berlin, but you will find you are more courageous than you ever thought you were. This all helps you to engage and build your character and you will finish a much stronger person. In a nutshell, thats really it. What lies beyond the challenge is what defines you. By overcoming your own perceived limits, you face the undeniable truth that you are stronger than you thought, and thus must redefine your-self image as a more confident and capable person. Its not always a conscious thought, but its always there. Its what gets you ready to take on the next challenge. I needed to prove to myself that despite everything I am still capable. I never doubted myself but felt I needed to prove my sceptics wrong, Doctors, gym assistants, family and even some friends. I had been shoved to the bottom of the pile. So this challenge was not going to be just a normal bike ride. It was for a second chance in life if you like, Hare Krishna I probably hear you say, but first of all I do have to get over the wall and remain strong. The Pit Beyond this Wall we have just conquered lies what we call The Pit. This is when your head is so full of reasons to stop, so many excuses piling up that you can barely acknowledge them (let alone answer them), that it feels like quicksand pulling you into a deep pit. I myself was in the pit every single morning, as soon as I climbed out my more comfortable pit that is, my bed. You try and claw your way out of the pit, but the mounting excuses are relentless. Its all the reasons you arent good enough, all of your self-doubts, and every parental/ex-girlfriend/bully-at-recess lashing that you have unwillingly stored in your memory banks. Its self-imposed mental torture. And it seriously sucks ass. Then suddenly; you get tired of hearing all that bullshit and just push on through. What awaits you on the other side is a calm serenity; a flow where you hear nothing but the rhythm of your steps. Hours seem like minutes, and in this peaceful state your world is awash with possibilities. Then you realize the source of all of those excuses - it was you! Ha, ha! It was you all along! Little did you know you could just turn it off just like a tap? Most of us need to push ourselves to this limit to understand that the ability to create a strong, positive outlook lies within. When you feel it, its almost embarrassing how simple it is to access. If you do this you will find, what a revelation it is. It may not be clear to you in that moment, but your self-image just sprouted like a spring flower sipping the first rays of sun. This experience builds confidence unlike anything I have ever witnessed. I see it in the smiles of all I encountered on my journey, from mountain climbers, fridge carrying lunatics to other endurance cyclist, making this one of the main reasons I loved being a part of this challenge. The Abyss Beyond the Pit, lays the ultimate spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical challenge called The Abyss. Its when youve taken yourself frightfully close to your limitations, stripped away all of your judgment and ego, and find yourself staring into a black void so incomprehensively large that it forces you to redefine everything. And I mean everything. Time wont just stop; it will become irrelevant, as will most of reality. What is your place in this universe? Who is your God? What defines me? Its why Buddhists meditate. Its why shamans fast or take peyote. To go beyond The Abyss is to find enlightenment and truth. Its to understand and embrace your role in the cosmos. Great achievements especially endurance sports can absolutely help you find it. Mark Twain summed it up well when he said Man looks in the abyss, theres nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss. (Some will know this from the movie, Wall Street. Nietzche also pointed out When you stare into the abyss, it also stares into you. My own experience with The Abyss combines the two –“the abyss is the great mirror, the reflection of your soul, and my god, it’s full of stars”. No matter how you slice it, its a worthy quest when youre ready for it. You may never encounter the abyss. But to have a chance at finding it, you have to make it to the starting line of a great challenge and be open to the possibility that its out there. If you do, I guarantee you will finish the challenge a very different person than when you started it, no matter how your journey goes. So there it is – the simple answer is The Wall, the Pit, and the Abyss.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 09:42:06 +0000
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