I finally met my own cycling goal today that I have been trying to reach for the past 6 months. I finally broke the barrier in my mind. I accomplished this by doing some small talk with a woman who also cycled. We were both resting at the bottom of a steep hill. She told me that she too had been riding for the past four years. Her training regimen was much harder than mine. She mentioned to me that she rode 3 times a week. I was thinking to my self….”How lucky I was to get in one ride a week” My usual routine would be to ride 8 miles to the bottom of the hill and rest before I made a three mile incline. I told here that I was going to tackle the whole six mile incline some day. She replied, that it wasn’t too bad and that I could do the whole thing if I paced myself. I decided to precede up the hill by myself, so I could go at my own pace. As I approached the top where I would usually rest for a few minutes, the woman that I met 10 minutes earlier zoomed by me saying “follow me!” I still had three miles to climb and I wasn’t feeling to energetic. I new that I had to tackle my fear some day and today was the day. In the past, I would get off my bike a walk the last 1/10 of a mile up a 13% grade hill. I ride a 18 speed bike in 1st gear and that wasn’t enough to get it done. I became “the train that could” at this point because I knew in my mind if I got off my bike. The woman would be waiting at the top of the hill to tell me that I could have finished the ride… if I simply paced myself. My point being….it is all about connecting with people. We are all connected in some way or another. You can’t do everything by yourself. A little motivational help can go a long way!

Tags: cycling, motivational, Self Help