A friend posted about getting back on the bike after being away for a few years. He rode about six hilly miles and suffered. It seemed like he felt guilty about letting himself become so unfit and having such a tough time of it on the bike. My reaction? I told him that rides like that are ones you keep in your back pocket forever.
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| After an unforgettable 135 mile ride |
Rides where you suffer and finish - or heck rides where you suffer and fail become your index rides. Back in 1995 I did a five or six mile ride after taking some time away from the bike. I couldn't get down in the drops in my bike because my gut got in the way. Afterwards my back hurt for days! I've done a lot of very tough rides since then. Freezing cold, crazy hot, stupid far. Each of them was a deposit in the bank of mental toughness that I can make a withdrawal on. But that spin out to Newton from Allston in 1995? That's an index ride. I can measure how far I've come and how little I'm suffering in comparison.
So, seek out and treasure those tough rides. And for so many of us they start with that five mile ride that lays you out while a butterfly passes you as you creep up a steep climb.
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