(sometimes technical challenges force me to publish the post in progress before completely finished-here is the continuation of the previous post)
Experiencing life intensely has been one of the unexpected gifts of this trip. I think that one of the greatest challenges I will face in the future is how to integrate this extreme intensity of living and awareness of life into my day to day experience when I return to my 'normal' routine. Maybe that's a good reason not to let myself get too settled and comfortable in a routine again. Life is truly lived outside your comfort zone.
Sunday's ride took us from Brattleboro, VT to Manchester, NH. By this point, I felt like I had nothing left to prove to myself and I actually enjoyed the ride to the fiat SAG stop at 32 miles. My friends Lindsay and Karen had arrived in the area to pick me up after the ride finished on Mondays so I coordinated with them and they scooped me up and I took Sunday afternoon off to relax with them before the final push on Monday. I was leaping with joy when I saw them!
Sunday evening in Manchester was the final banquet for the ride. Karen and Lindsay got to attend and it was fun to have someone from home meet my new family and put faces with to some of the people they had been hearing about. The banquet itself was a tender experience as we all began to bring some closure to our amazing journey together. Jeff Lazer gave me the inflatible turtle he had used to decorate his SAG stop table and the we presented Crist with a cycling jersey of a train engine to thank him for pulling us across the country. We belly laughed, sniffed back tears, reminisced and wondered at it all.
Monday morning brought the final ride to the ocean. Forty eight miles to the rendez-vous point at Rye Junior High School and then three miles with a police escort down to the beach. The first 20 miles had quite a few short but very steep climbs and I was determined not to get separated from Team Turtle. I rode my heart out and they held up at just the right times and we were able to finish the ride like we started it...together.
There was a 10 mile stretch that started around mile 35 where the terrain was calm as it went through a beautiful wetland and we were on the road just the five of us. We thanked each other for the gift of friendship and the love and support we received during the journey. We also rode a good piece of that ten mile stretch in silence, soaking in the beautiful scenery, the warmth of friendship and the joy of accomplishment. There are moments when life is beyond words and it is my prayer that everyone could experience a moment like we did in those ten miles. It took the 3,668 miles that came before them to make those 10 miles what they were and I suspect that is why many people never get to taste that kind of joy, they give up somewhere in the 3,668 or worse yet, they never even start the journey.
The rest of the day was a glorious blur. When we descended around a bend and caught our first view of the ocean I was filled with awe, gratitude and joy. Had we really bicycled from the Pacific to the Atlantic? How did we make it this far? How is it over so fast? What am I supposed to do next? What does this really mean?
I will post some final pictures and thoughts over the next few days. I want to thank you for your prayers and support throughout this incredible journey, your love and kindness were tangible and a mmajor contribution to the success of the ride. I also want to encourage you to check out Sam's blog at samsride.blogspot.com (or google 'Sam went for a ride'). His blog has many great photos and a lot of great technical information and insight about the ride.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Fat Lady Sings
I have been home now since last evening and it was brought to my attention this afternoon that I haven't posted since last Friday so I wanted to make a moment to share what's been happening.
Saturday was our ride from Latham, New York to Brattleboro, VT. The route started with a detour in Latham to avoid construction but I think the real purpose was to make sure that we climbed every possible hill in the city. We weren't even out of the city limits before I thought I was going to lose my breakfast! I sent Team Turtle on ahead because it was immediately clear that I was going to need my own time and space to deal with all the steep climbs of the day.
The weather Saturday was extremely humid and combined with the steep climbs in Vermont it made for a great test of my new belief system. I'm not proud of how I reacted every moment of every day and there were times on those climbs in Vermont when I was quite surly. Kathy the guide passed me during the 10 mile long climb and shouted "You can do this!" I yelled back "I know I can, but why would I want to!?!"
Good question. I thought about that and about how cranky I was being and it occurred to me that if you want to do something bigger than yourself you have to have a reason why that is beyond yourself. I hunkered down, set my gaze forward and kept pedaling.
By the end of the day I had done over 5,000 ft of climbing in extreme heat and humidity, I was rained on, hailed on, hungry, hypothermic, exhausted and exhilarated. I will always remember this as a day that I truly lived. Experin
Saturday was our ride from Latham, New York to Brattleboro, VT. The route started with a detour in Latham to avoid construction but I think the real purpose was to make sure that we climbed every possible hill in the city. We weren't even out of the city limits before I thought I was going to lose my breakfast! I sent Team Turtle on ahead because it was immediately clear that I was going to need my own time and space to deal with all the steep climbs of the day.
The weather Saturday was extremely humid and combined with the steep climbs in Vermont it made for a great test of my new belief system. I'm not proud of how I reacted every moment of every day and there were times on those climbs in Vermont when I was quite surly. Kathy the guide passed me during the 10 mile long climb and shouted "You can do this!" I yelled back "I know I can, but why would I want to!?!"
Good question. I thought about that and about how cranky I was being and it occurred to me that if you want to do something bigger than yourself you have to have a reason why that is beyond yourself. I hunkered down, set my gaze forward and kept pedaling.
By the end of the day I had done over 5,000 ft of climbing in extreme heat and humidity, I was rained on, hailed on, hungry, hypothermic, exhausted and exhilarated. I will always remember this as a day that I truly lived. Experin
Friday, August 3, 2012
A Day to Remember
Today was a day that I will look back on the rest of my life and say "That was a truly pivotal day". Today I learned what a difference my beliefs make. I knew all the cliches about how attitude is everything and all that, but I didn't really KNOW how simply changing my belief about something could so immediately change my experience of it.
When I went down to the breakfast lobby this morning and saw all the other riders, my first thought was "I wish I was like them and was strong enough to know that I would be able to do today's ride". This is something I notice myself thinking at some point every day. This morning when I noticed that same old sad story I decided that I WOULD be strong enough to do today's ride and I would know that strength and enjoy it.
It is absolutely astonishing the difference that changing that belief made. As I saw each hill ahead, instead of panicking I thought 'I can do that'. As I was climbing I would roar out my 'Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!' The Turtles got a chuckle out of that and after a bit they were growling back at me. Big fun!
I felt the power I can posess and how to summon that power with my belief. I am so, so grateful to learn this. Thank you God for this amazing experience.
Besides all the self-realization, the scenery on today's ride was also stunningly beautiful. We spent most of the day riding through the Mohawk river valley. We would climb to the crest of a ridge and you could see the river and the valley and the the Adirondack's to the north. Spectacular!
Tomorrow we have a big day of climbing (5,000 ft). I know it is going to take effort and determination and I know I can make it.
Please continue to hold us all in your prayers. We had favorable wind today and that is truly the difference between enjoying the day and just suffering through it. We are also going to ride some narrow roads to orrow in Vermont with lots of traffic so say an extra prayer for safety and patience. Safe travels also to Karen & Lindsay as they begin their drive east tomorrow to meet me in Manchester, NH on Sunday and bring me home after the ocean dip on Monday.
On to Vermont!
When I went down to the breakfast lobby this morning and saw all the other riders, my first thought was "I wish I was like them and was strong enough to know that I would be able to do today's ride". This is something I notice myself thinking at some point every day. This morning when I noticed that same old sad story I decided that I WOULD be strong enough to do today's ride and I would know that strength and enjoy it.
It is absolutely astonishing the difference that changing that belief made. As I saw each hill ahead, instead of panicking I thought 'I can do that'. As I was climbing I would roar out my 'Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!' The Turtles got a chuckle out of that and after a bit they were growling back at me. Big fun!
I felt the power I can posess and how to summon that power with my belief. I am so, so grateful to learn this. Thank you God for this amazing experience.
Besides all the self-realization, the scenery on today's ride was also stunningly beautiful. We spent most of the day riding through the Mohawk river valley. We would climb to the crest of a ridge and you could see the river and the valley and the the Adirondack's to the north. Spectacular!
Tomorrow we have a big day of climbing (5,000 ft). I know it is going to take effort and determination and I know I can make it.
Please continue to hold us all in your prayers. We had favorable wind today and that is truly the difference between enjoying the day and just suffering through it. We are also going to ride some narrow roads to orrow in Vermont with lots of traffic so say an extra prayer for safety and patience. Safe travels also to Karen & Lindsay as they begin their drive east tomorrow to meet me in Manchester, NH on Sunday and bring me home after the ocean dip on Monday.
On to Vermont!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Get Your Climbing Face On! Grrrrr!!!!!
Today was another great day full of cycling lessons and personal growth. I woke up about 3:45 am and couldn't really get back to sleep because Inwas anxious about all the climbing we have to do these last few days. I had an upset stomach and dry heaves, I was that nervous.
After breakfast, we noticed there was a semi-truck parked in the hotel paking lot that was hauling 'Superior Lubricants'. We all started pressing our bottoms against the truck and taking photos and laughing. In the middle of the laughter I decided that it doesn't matter how high or steep the hills are, I am getting to that ocean!!!
I rode with Lynne and Sam today and we had a really great, fun ride. I did a good job on the hills today and even 'pulled' our little line for a total of about 30 of today's 78 miles. Sam gave me some more coaching on how to properly execute the 'pull' position in a paceline and I really feel like I learned a lot.
There is a laundromat across the street from our hotel tonight so most of the group went over there to do laundry for what will hopefully be the last time. I had a great conversation with Mike Munk (the head guide & an amazing cyclist) about the climbing over these last four days.
"Your body has proven it can do it or you couldn't have gotten this far, now it's all just mental. You're about 20 pounds lighter than you were in Oregon and a whole lot stronger. Now all you need to do is get out of your head and put your climbing face on! Let me see your climbing face - grrrrr!!!!!!"
He's absolutely right. I have been telling myself a story that doesn't serve me and it's time to tell a better story. I keep telling people (and myself) that I'm not athletic. I have riddine my bicycle from Astoria, OR to Little Falls, NY...if that doesn't qualify as athletic, what does!?! I tell other people (and myself) that I am not a good climber on the bike...I climbed the freaking continental divide at 9,680 ft, how much more climbing do you need to do!?!
Am I the most athletic perwon on this trip? No. Am I the best climber on this trip? No. The real reason that I tell myself these dis-empowering stories is to give myself an excuse for not being the best when what I really need to do is just celebrate who I am. When I tell these dis-empowering stories about myself, it's not humble, it's not even being realistic, it's really just an expression of ego.
Wow! It feels really fun and light and free to reqlize and release that!
So the next few days have some significant climbs in them and my plan is to enjoy them and marvel at all I have learned and how much stronger I have become. In other words, I plan to be grateful and have fun.
Grrrrrrr!!!!!!
After breakfast, we noticed there was a semi-truck parked in the hotel paking lot that was hauling 'Superior Lubricants'. We all started pressing our bottoms against the truck and taking photos and laughing. In the middle of the laughter I decided that it doesn't matter how high or steep the hills are, I am getting to that ocean!!!
I rode with Lynne and Sam today and we had a really great, fun ride. I did a good job on the hills today and even 'pulled' our little line for a total of about 30 of today's 78 miles. Sam gave me some more coaching on how to properly execute the 'pull' position in a paceline and I really feel like I learned a lot.
There is a laundromat across the street from our hotel tonight so most of the group went over there to do laundry for what will hopefully be the last time. I had a great conversation with Mike Munk (the head guide & an amazing cyclist) about the climbing over these last four days.
"Your body has proven it can do it or you couldn't have gotten this far, now it's all just mental. You're about 20 pounds lighter than you were in Oregon and a whole lot stronger. Now all you need to do is get out of your head and put your climbing face on! Let me see your climbing face - grrrrr!!!!!!"
He's absolutely right. I have been telling myself a story that doesn't serve me and it's time to tell a better story. I keep telling people (and myself) that I'm not athletic. I have riddine my bicycle from Astoria, OR to Little Falls, NY...if that doesn't qualify as athletic, what does!?! I tell other people (and myself) that I am not a good climber on the bike...I climbed the freaking continental divide at 9,680 ft, how much more climbing do you need to do!?!
Am I the most athletic perwon on this trip? No. Am I the best climber on this trip? No. The real reason that I tell myself these dis-empowering stories is to give myself an excuse for not being the best when what I really need to do is just celebrate who I am. When I tell these dis-empowering stories about myself, it's not humble, it's not even being realistic, it's really just an expression of ego.
Wow! It feels really fun and light and free to reqlize and release that!
So the next few days have some significant climbs in them and my plan is to enjoy them and marvel at all I have learned and how much stronger I have become. In other words, I plan to be grateful and have fun.
Grrrrrrr!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Quick Update Part II
Sometimes the connection in the hotel isn't great and my tablet jambs while I am writing. That's what just happened and it forced me to end the last post before I was actually finished.
So we started today with the five members of Team Turtle (Crist, Diane, me, Lynne, and Sam). About 20 miles into the ride,we had our first climb of the day and I just had a mental meltdown. I started to cry and I told them to just go on ahead and leave me and that I wanted to go home. They moved ahead a bit to give me space but didn't get out too far ahead. I had my little fit and then I pushed to rejoin the group and the rest of the day I did fine.
Crist's knee started to really bother him at about 35 miles and so he and Diane hung back together and Sam, Lynne, and me finished the ride together.
Everyone in the group seems to be getting quite tired and testy. We are all ready to get back to 'normal life'. I had a great conversation with Crazy Jeff this afternoon. He seems really pumped and excited about the next few days. I notice that when we are facing hard miles, Jeff is always rationalizing about how we can do it. "This is gonna be cake. We've done way harder than this before. We can do absolutely anything!" I, on the other hand, tend to get worked up about how hard I think it's going to be and then I get over-whelmed and practically have a panic attack just thinking about Vermont.
I plan on looking at the next few days as an opportunity to practice Jeff's approach to life. These next few days are like a final exam to test if I have met my goals of becoming a better cyclist and a better human being.
It's gonna be fun to see what I've learned!
So we started today with the five members of Team Turtle (Crist, Diane, me, Lynne, and Sam). About 20 miles into the ride,we had our first climb of the day and I just had a mental meltdown. I started to cry and I told them to just go on ahead and leave me and that I wanted to go home. They moved ahead a bit to give me space but didn't get out too far ahead. I had my little fit and then I pushed to rejoin the group and the rest of the day I did fine.
Crist's knee started to really bother him at about 35 miles and so he and Diane hung back together and Sam, Lynne, and me finished the ride together.
Everyone in the group seems to be getting quite tired and testy. We are all ready to get back to 'normal life'. I had a great conversation with Crazy Jeff this afternoon. He seems really pumped and excited about the next few days. I notice that when we are facing hard miles, Jeff is always rationalizing about how we can do it. "This is gonna be cake. We've done way harder than this before. We can do absolutely anything!" I, on the other hand, tend to get worked up about how hard I think it's going to be and then I get over-whelmed and practically have a panic attack just thinking about Vermont.
I plan on looking at the next few days as an opportunity to practice Jeff's approach to life. These next few days are like a final exam to test if I have met my goals of becoming a better cyclist and a better human being.
It's gonna be fun to see what I've learned!
Quick Update
Greetings from Liverpool, NY! It's getting pretty close to my bedtime but I haven't blogged in a few days and I just wanted to give everyone a quick update.
Sunday July 29, we biked from Branton, Ontario to Niagara Falls, NY. The weather was absolutely perfect and I rode with Team Turtle the whole day. We had lunch on the Canadian side and then hung out together and took pictures for a little while before getting in line to come back into the States on the Rainbow Bridge.
The border patrol guards walk up and down the bridge between the cars with the drug sniffing dog. When they saw us they came over and asked where we had come from and where we were going. They were really impressed with what we were doing and were all smiles as they asked us about our trip. After they moved on, other cars rolled down their window and asked us about it. The whole experience felt a bit like being a rock star. It was great fun!
Monday was our rest day and most of the group did cheesy tourist activities. I saw the falls at night and the fireworks Sunday night with Crist, Diane and Sam. Monday I went to Cave of the Winds and the Maid of the Mist with a woman on the tour named Marjie.
Tuesday we rode from Niagara to Henrietta, NY. I rode with Marjie and shortly into the ride, we were joined by LT. Marjie is an incredibly strong and experienced rider and LT is also quite good. They worked with me on learning more paceline etiquette as well as how to lead the paceline. After riding so many miles with Team Turtle it was interesting and a bit strange riding with someone else.
This area of New York is Lynne's hometown so we have been getting lots of stories from her. I rode all day today with Team Turtle and it was great fun listening to Lynne. She's a great story teller!
Sunday July 29, we biked from Branton, Ontario to Niagara Falls, NY. The weather was absolutely perfect and I rode with Team Turtle the whole day. We had lunch on the Canadian side and then hung out together and took pictures for a little while before getting in line to come back into the States on the Rainbow Bridge.
The border patrol guards walk up and down the bridge between the cars with the drug sniffing dog. When they saw us they came over and asked where we had come from and where we were going. They were really impressed with what we were doing and were all smiles as they asked us about our trip. After they moved on, other cars rolled down their window and asked us about it. The whole experience felt a bit like being a rock star. It was great fun!
Monday was our rest day and most of the group did cheesy tourist activities. I saw the falls at night and the fireworks Sunday night with Crist, Diane and Sam. Monday I went to Cave of the Winds and the Maid of the Mist with a woman on the tour named Marjie.
Tuesday we rode from Niagara to Henrietta, NY. I rode with Marjie and shortly into the ride, we were joined by LT. Marjie is an incredibly strong and experienced rider and LT is also quite good. They worked with me on learning more paceline etiquette as well as how to lead the paceline. After riding so many miles with Team Turtle it was interesting and a bit strange riding with someone else.
This area of New York is Lynne's hometown so we have been getting lots of stories from her. I rode all day today with Team Turtle and it was great fun listening to Lynne. She's a great story teller!
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