Cross-Country Ramble 21: Refiner's Fire

Sent: 96-05-22 21:27:49 EDT

Pedaling down a flat quiet road with the sun shining and the temperature 75 degrees was the image I had conjured up of our coast to coast bike trip. I knew, of course, it wouldn't all be like that but that was my main image. When friends asked me how I was going to deal with the rain, heat, steep hills, insects, etc., I said glibly, "We will deal with that when it comes."

As a former runner, I knew I couldn't wait until the last minute to get my body in condition. Ken and I began a fairly serious training program in January. When we left Ventura at the end of March, I was in the best physical condition I had been in for quite a while. Each day we pedaled we became stronger. At first, 30 miles was a long distance. Later, we began to think first 40 and then 50 miles a day was no big deal.

Yesterday when we left Van Horn at sunrise, the air temperature was already warm. Out on the access road to I-10 I was irritated at every uphill. I was irritated a lot. In the middle of the afternoon we got off I-10 and cycled on a farm road, generally flat and slightly down hill. The thermometer kept going up. I began to wonder about this trip. What was the possibility that the rest of the trip would be HOT? Pretty good, I thought. What story was I going to tell myself to keep this trip alive? I pondered the possibilities past the cattle ranches. No story in those 100 degrees felt strong enough to make me want to go to Florida. We arrived in Balmorhea. Strangely, my body felt fine--no joint or muscle aches--but my mind still said, "No bicycling tomorrow."

This morning in the shower it struck me: I need mental discipline. I need to train my mind to face the daily adversity. I am totally surprised that my body was in condition to go 75 miles in the heat and yet my mind was not. I hate that "no pain, no gain" saying. It seems masochistic to me. But now I'm beginning to think it may not be talking about body abuse but about training the mind.

As I bike the next couple of days, I will ponder how to discipline my mind and not kill the spirit.

Carol

PS: We really appreciate your encouragement. In the evening we hunch over the computer reading the e-mail. We often break out in raucous laughter and begin animated discussions. Thanks for your support.

Ramble 22: Beyond Balmorhea.