Simplicity

Week 3, Day 5 (June 26th)

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" a church sign asked me at the beginning of my ride today. "Nope, not a clue," I replied with a smile.

Yesterday I complained about not having a specific plan for my scheduled three and a half hour ride today. Well, today I still didn't have a plan, but I just took it with a grain of salt (or rather, several grains of salt as I sweated off most of my body's reservoir of water). I took my time waking up, took my time eating breakfast, and took my time getting ready. I think I finally got out of the door at 9:30.

I rediscovered today why I ever loved riding my bike in the first place. I just got up and went. The only boundary, the only goal I had for myself today was to go the full 210 minutes. It didn't matter where I went, how far I went, or how long it took me to get there. I was reminded of some random cartoon I saw awhile back where two kids' lemonades, or something, were accidentally replaced with beer and they inevitably got drunk. (No, I have no idea what cartoon it was or why I was watching it - one of those very random memories that got stuck in my head) While they were intoxicated, one of the kids said to his buddy, "Hey, you know... you know what we should do? We should... we should just get on our bikes... and go... just go." While I was not in the lest bit inebriated, that's kind of how I felt about my ride today - just get on the bike and go.
Don't ask me where I went because I really don't remember. If I saw an interesting road that I hadn't explored before, I took it. I was never lost, but I was never on a certain path either. Each turn was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
It's been awhile since I truly enjoyed a ride. I usually have some quota of miles to reach, some time constraint to heed, some worry at the back of my mind that steals my attention. But today I had none of that. Nowhere to be, no one to answer to, no deadline to meet. I once again admired the fields that rolled along beside me, chuckled at the cows' absent gazes towards me, waved at other cyclists, wondered at how birds fly, briefly visited the flea market, had the wherewithal to realize my sister was driving by and wave, and even answered a random phone call from Lacy. (I think her pocket must have missed hearing my voice.) I really didn't even notice how hot it was until about 12:15. And this absentminded lack of temperature gauging may be part of the reason my legs are now much pinker than they were when I started.

Now, don't let my euphoric description cause you to believe there was no pain or struggle involved. I actually accomplished a lot today, reaching a new cycling personal record of riding 50 miles in one day, in one trip. I got sunburned significantly, despite reapplying sunscreen during the ride. I also ran out of water and Gatorade with 30 minutes left to go. That would help to explain why I weighed four pounds less than I did at the beginning of the ride. Dehydration sucks. My legs are quite sore, and though I've eaten enough to equal two complete meals since my ride ended, my stomach is growling at me again. Guess I used up all my extra calories too.

Despite all that, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. God helped me through, as He always does, including keeping me from getting overly dehydrated. I'm still not yet sure how I'll be able to make it 70+ miles each day for the Ride to Remember, but I have another two and a half weeks to continue working on it. I will do my best, I will not stop until I'm finished, and I will do it for those who can't do it for themselves.

Thanks for reading.