“Bicycle, Bicycle, I want to Ride My Bicycle”

“I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like“. Queen, Bicycle Race. RIP Freddie Mercury.

Ok time for the next installment of this blog. My ride is now roughly a month away. I was doing ok until I drove to Palm Springs this week and found a part of the route we will be riding. I drove through Brawley and Blythe, CA and Quartzite AZ. I also drove past Needles, CA, which is mentioned in the Three Dog Night song “I’ve Never Been to Spain.

To say these areas are basically in the middle of nowhere would be a pretty good assessment. Lots of cactus and few trees. It will be a sun beaten ride for sure. Also daunting is the fact that it will take a week to ride the distance I drove in 6hrs. But on we go.

These are the picturesque sites I will be seeing the first week!

Today I got home and hopped back on the bike. Had a nice first 40 miles and then the wind picked up and shifted to a headwind for the next 12 miles. But I got a good 52 miles in and felt really good at the end. About 3:30 hrs or just north of 14 mph.

I’m starting to shift from speed to distance. I will be ramping the miles next week and hope to get at least 3 50+ mile rides in each week and I will start taking on hills once my new 11-34 cassette is installed. Z

I think I’m done with Amazon purchases for the trip. I just got my tires. Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons. Hell they cost more than I used to spend on car tires @ $44 each. I wanted to start with a new set and will probably need to change out half way through the ride

My next big expense will be the tune up and new drive train. Then I’ll start attaching some of the equipment I bought, to the bike.

Now the butterflies are starting to swirl a bit. A year of preparation is now down to 34 days. We will see how much the prep has paid off.

One more visit to the cardiologist to be safe and then I’ll be ready.

I did reach out to my doctor at the Mayo Clinic who did the stem cell treatment on my ankle. They are amazed at my progress and the upcoming trip. It appears I will be interviewed by their publicist and they will put something on their site detailing my successful procedure. I cannot speak highly enough about Mayo. They were fantastic and the stem cell treatment (my own stem cells) dramatically improved the arthritis in my ankle and has improved my quality of life. Keep them in mind if you ever have a serious health issue. The place in Rochester, MN is amazing. There is also a great documentary on how it came to be on public tv.

I am a lucky man. I am so grateful to have survived a Triple By-Pass, then a small heart attack, an ablation and the stents with in an 18 month period, not to mention the stem cell treatment. I have been very fortunate and frankly I rarely think of these things as hurdles I’ve over come. I just accepted them and was determined to continue on with my life. But let’s face it I have been blessed. I’m sure it’s part of God’s plan but I wish he would provide a touch more insight on how he plans to use me😉.

I was thinking of what would make a successful trip and that led me to think about success in general.

I think we all have a tendency to set rules to be successful or happy. Sometimes we make these rules too hard to achieve and we always find the carrot just out of our reach. A little higher salary, a nicer home, Car etc. Are we setting ourselves up for failure? Will our lives ever be fulfilled if we keep moving our goals? I believe we should have stretch goals in life but they should not be the condition for happiness.

I remember Tony Robbins was talking about a group session he had and he asked the question “who here is successful?” There were business men and women and other professionals but one person who raised his hand was a bit of a flower Child and free spirit. (Tony said one way to confirm a person’s statement is to ask “how do you know?”) So he asked the guy “how do you now you are successful”? The guy answered “ because everyday above ground is a success”!

Interesting isn’t it. The guy set himself up to be successful every day.

So when I think of what it will take for me to be successful on the ride it will waking up, seeing the ceiling and hopping on the bike for the next leg of the journey!

That’s all for now. I’m trying to keep these posts brief and interesting until I take off.

Til next time, smooth roads, may the wind be at your back and may you wake up and see the ceiling!