Goal Achieved

Riding my bike to Mountain Equipment Co-op meant that I crossed over 3,000 km. on my bike.  Actually  156 Street marked the exact spot and I thought I would feel a great sense of achievement.  You know.  Stop the bike.  Open up a bottle of champagne.  Set the camera up on a small tripod and take a picture.  Instead, I blew through the intersection without walking my bike across (which would have made me a pedestrian) and continued on without much feeling about all the klicks I'd done.  Maybe I set my goal too low and it really didn't require that much effort to attain.

I must admit there were some trying moments mixed into the 3,000 k. I remember specifically the first day of our Kettle Valley Railway trip this year and how exhausted I was near the end of the day.  We'd been climbing steadily all day in +30 degree heat (and full sun) and my friend Richard and I took as many shade breaks as we could and my friend Roy and I had soaked ourselves in the nearby Tulameen River to try and cool off.  We had even stopped in the shady oasis at the Dirty Laundry winery to enjoy the shade and purchase a bottle of the best to have with supper.  A longer break still at the Kettle Valley Steam Railway station.

But later in the afternoon, I was so tired that with each pedal stroke I told myself "You can do it.  You can do it.  You can do it!"  By this time I was hunched over the handlebars and head down.  After 11 1/2 hours since leaving Richard's place near Naramata, we were still in the saddle and just starting to look for a campsite where we could set up our tents and have something to eat before darkness fell.

Or riding for two days in the rain during the MS Hinton bike tour.  That was tough.  While I didn't have to be like the little engine that could, I did have to stop frequently to try and dry off and warm up.  And near the end of the second day when I lost all braking power, it was rather hair-raising!

I recall early in the season going for a training ride with my friend Charity on a rainy and cold Saturday.  When I woke up and saw the rain I thought about bailing out but when I got a text from her asking if we were still going - then I wanted to see how determined she was to get in shape for her Cancer 200k. ride - so I said "Yes!".   We met downtown and rode what became a miserably wet and cold ride.  Half way we stopped under some trees to get out of the rain and it was so cold that our Cliff bars could have been called "Stiff" bars - they were so hard to bite into.  I think it was -4 degrees.

I love cycling so much that my attitude is "You have to take it as it comes - good or bad."  And I only mention these few tough rides to balance the fact that the majority of my riding has been fun and worth writing about.