Some Things are Easy, Others Aren’t

Some people tell me that they could not imagine riding the distances that I’ve been doing.  Honestly, doing so is easy compared to other things in life.  All you have to do to ride great distances is to keep moving forward.  Unless you are dead, it’s always possible to move one inch further, to creep closer to the finish line, to keep moving forward.

I think other things in life are much harder to do.  Saying goodbye to someone you care about is one such thing.  Despite technology that keeps you connected, there is something about the physical connection that just can’t be replaced through modern telecommunications. 

The miles I ride as I train for the FC508 are soothing and fill the hours of the day.  They leave me no time to think about things I miss, want, desire or need.  My mind is filled with the kaleidoscope of moving images and I roll through town after town and ride on road after road.  It is easy to lose myself while training and the tiredness I feel after the training is over helps to put me to sleep at night.

In matters more immediate, I heard from the race director of the FC508.  I was reminded not to forget about speed training as part of my training regimen.   Over the past few weeks, I’ve become mileage and hill obsessed.  I am very grateful for his reminder and will start encompassing this aspect into my training at least once to twice a week.

I don’t know where I will ride this coming weekend.  I just did a 223 mile ride which saw me go from the GW Bridge, through Nyack, Harriman State Park, Tuxedo Park, Bear Mountain, Croton on the Hudson and over the Beacon-Newburgh and Bear Mountain Bridges.   (You can see the route here: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=741598).  Maybe I’ll ride up to New Paltz and back or perhaps Albany.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.