For the immersive experience: You’ll need a friend for this one. Sit on your spinning bike (in the sun, or a sauna if it’s cloudy) and pedal. Pedal until you can’t stand it any more until you can’t tell if the pain in your body or the pain in your mind is worse. Pedal until all you can think about is stopping. Resting. Even if you have to pass out or fall off or suffer a minor injury. Then instruct your friend to force you to keep going. Keep going until there is nothing left in your mind. Keep going until you are the bike, and the bike is pedaling you and you are pedaling it and pedaling is all there is in the world.This is what always happens on my third day of a trip. Usually I make it through, and sometimes I don’t. If I’m gonna throw in the towel, I almost always decide on the third day. When I stop there’s always a “good” reason.
Going across Florida - the bridges in Mississippi and Louisiana were too dangerous, there were too many alligators, too many drunk drivers, too many swamps. Cleveland to Pittsburgh - on the third day I tore both of my Achilles’ tendons. Okay, this one might be valid. It hurt a lot, and took months to recover, but I’m convinced I could have finished. Instead I was close enough to home to call for a rescue. I’m glad I can say that I’ve pushed through the wall more times than not, and overwhelmingly the reason is because of other people. Whether they are behind, beside, or ahead of me. warmshowers.org got me through it going to Seattle. People were expecting me in just a couple days, and those people sent me along with encouragement toward the next people. Or random people on the roadside would feed me lunch or give me money or advice and push me along a little bit farther Other people weren’t so outwardly supportive. One good friend bet me that I wouldn’t last 20 days. By the time 20 days hit and I proved her wrong I had no desire to go back. (Though I did later daydream that I’d break my arm and be forced to stop) Know that it’s going to suck at some point. And when you hit the wall, find the people who will push you through to the other side where there is no pain, only bike. Note: This is the fifth day of the Erie Canal trip. The day I wanted to quit was, predictably, the third day. Not during the construction zone, but just after when we got back on a particularly crappy stretch of trail. I even looked up train tickets home.
1 Comment
Clare Cornell
7/5/2018 07:51:25 am
great writing Mike and great perseverance I'm cheerleading for you here in Pittsburgh!! :-)
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