Two Hundred

Remember my first blog posts from two-and-a-half months ago? The guy who could barely remember riding a bicycle in his childhood? The smirks the staff at the local bike shop gave me when I told them my plans? The dusty, flat-tired, piece of machinery I pulled out of the garage in an attempt to take my first pedal strokes toward my goal?

That bike's been put aside; just like that guy's been put aside. No more anxiety. No more doubt. No more questioning whether or not I can succeed. Each day I climb into that saddle, I'm more and more confident I can do this (although, honestly, I'm less confident how my arse is gonna feel once I've done it!). The more I read success stories from those who have gone before me, the more I get past that moment on a ride where I want to turn around, the more I pull into my driveway thinking, "I can make it a few more miles today." Yep - that's the guy I am now.

Yesterday I hit a milestone. Two hundred miles. Can you believe it? At first, I didn't. But there it is... in black & white:

When I first saw it I thought, "But that's not even half the ride." But then I turned that thought upside down. Two months ago I was completely naive about cycling - and I've now ridden over 200 miles in only eleven rides? F*%# yeah!

These past couple months I've encountered some challenges in keeping to a training routine. I've switched jobs. Been sidelined by a minor medical issue. And my equipment wasn't exactly built for distance riding. I knew these things would come up and I planned for them. That's part of the reason I started training so far out from the event.

But even more I knew it would take me more time than others to build up my endurance, my speed, and my belief in myself. I don't go into things lightly and even though I love taking risks, I also know I have to watch out for number one. In my case, that's taking care of a body that's not 25 years old anymore. It's learning to do something that my muscles have never before experienced. It's slowly building up capacity to handle an extreme physical event. It's staying in-tune with those little signals my body sends out - a body that's been fighting a virus for over twenty-one years. All stress - physical & emotional - wears our immune systems down and, as you know, that's not something I want to risk.

And I won't be risking it because I'm doing it the right way. I'm giving myself the time to both train and rest. One of the many things I've learned in living with this for so many years is that understanding those hints our bodies give us - catching the slightest change early - is one of the most important keys to good health. So I'll take my time. I'll push myself a little harder when my mind wants to give up but I'll turn around when my body says it's had enough for the day.

The past couple months have been spent getting used to riding, learning about the sport and acquiring the gear for riding long distances. Now it's time to set a mid-term goal. I've researched training schedules and understand my strengths & limitations. Today, I make the commitment - to myself & to you - to complete my first century ride before the end of the year. One-hundred miles in a single day. I've got four months to prepare for it.

I'll enter 2013 with a major accomplishment under my belt, leaving open plenty of room for even greater New Year's goals. Let's just hope the Mayans weren't right - because I'd really hate for the end-of-the world to screw up my plans.

If you'd like to support my ride by making a contribution which will provide HIV/AIDS support & services at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, please visit my ALC12 page at http://bit.ly/Onzhaq.