2022 Century Ride

“Tuck my head!” I mentally yelled at myself.

THUD!

I felt the full weight on my body land directly on the right shoulder blade of my back. I wasn’t racing down the trail, but I was going fast enough to keep my body sliding through the dirt on my shoulder blade for several yards before coming to an abrupt stop as I bumped against a decent-sized tree limb that had fallen there in the last few weeks.

The majority of my body came to a quick stop, my Marin gravel bike and legs did not. The bike bounced across the top of me and fell back down to the ground on the other side of me.

I quickly sat about half way up. Took in a deep breath. My body felt okay with the big inhale and exhale.

I sat up the rest of the way. My neck and head felt completely normal. I quickly look to my left, then right. Up then down.

I stood up. My body felt good. I looked down and checked out my arms, hands, and legs. A couple of small scapes on one leg from my bike rolling over me – not a problem.

I felt safe to move around so I quickly picked my bike up, set it up against the tree limb I bounced into, and stepped back out onto the trail.

A couple of yards back down the trail, I could easily see the black walnuts spread around all across the trail. I was able to avoid most of them, but it looked like I bounced off some that were hiding in the shadow of the trees that covered the trail.

I picked up and tossed as many of the black walnuts as I could off the side of the trail as fast as I could. I didn’t want anyone else to hit that same spot I did, and I already knew I’d be crossing the same path back home a few hours later if the Marin was in good enough shape to ride.

At a quick glance, it looked good. I reconnected the chain, positioned the bike back onto the trail, and hopped on. I took the first few pedals cautiously. Everything felt good. The bike felt good. My head, neck, back, arms, and legs – it all felt good. A little banged up, but nothing to worry about. I had a goal to complete that day and I was focused on it.

The fall happened just short of mile 39 of my first-century ride (100-mile ride). I had been riding for roughly 2 hours and 55 minutes. I didn’t want that to be wasted time and energy, I wanted to reach my goal that day. I didn’t want to start all over.

Over the next few miles, I continued to move at a slower pace. I checked over my body several times to make sure I was okay to keep riding. I was good to go. Dirty and a little sore, but good to go.

I then checked over my bike. I switched through all the gears several times. Squeezed the breaks softly and with quick firm squeezes. The brakes worked perfectly, but the gears didn’t. I couldn’t get the rear gears to shirt properly.

I was moving, but not quick. “Fuck, it’s going to be a really long day if this is as fast as I can go.” Quitting wasn’t on my mind. I didn’t want it to be an option.

I kept pedaling forward. Moving slower than I wanted was better than sitting still. I kept fighting with the shifter and thinking to myself…

”Yup, it’s the shifter. What are my options? I’m on a spot on the Katy Trail that doesn’t have anything near me. In the next couple of miles, I’ll hit highway 40 and cross the river into Chesterfield Valley. If I can’t get the shifter working by then, I’ll ride over to that bike shop that’s somewhere in the valley – I can figure out where it is if needed. If I can’t get this fixed, I’ll have them look at it.”

I know that I crossed the river in the easy slow gears, but somewhere shortly after getting into Chesterfield Valley I was able to fight with the drop bar shifter enough to get it back into place and working again. I was back up to speed and keeping my desired pace again by mile 42.

I was thankful I didn’t need to stop for help. That would have made for a long day as well. I was also proud of myself for quickly riding together a plan for forward movement while moving forward and while trying to work through why the shifter wasn’t working by feeling it out and seeing what was different and stopping it from working.

I believe the ability for me to keep moving forward and to create plans of action at the moment came from the training I had been doing all summer.

Training on the bike and knowing how it felt was important to get the shifter working again. But, mentally training and preparing for things to go wrong helped keep my mind in the right spot too.

How much training should be mental? I don’t have the answer but I know it made reaching my century goal happen. On September 22, 2022, I finished a full century ride, riding 103.58 miles that day.

 

2022 Biking – Physical Training

2022 Biking Stats based only on rides tracked by Strava

  • 53 rides
  • 69 hours 39 minutes
  • 902 miles
  • 21,224 feet of elevation gain
  • Longest ride 103 miles.

Late 2021

I started setting yearly goals for 2022. One of the things I was focused on was being more active, to be healthier, and to enjoy it. In the past, I enjoyed running, biking, and paddle boarding. So I wanted to do all of these and see which brought me the most enjoyment. Riding my bike stood out very quickly.

First Ride of 2022

  •  April 7, 2022
  • 5.84 miles
  •  Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 2

  • April 13, 2022
  • 10.02 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 3

  • April 15, 2022
  • 4.40 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 4

  • April 19, 2022
  • 11.20 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 5

  • April 25, 2022
  • 9.94 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 6

  • April 26, 2022
  • 8.15 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 7

  • April 27, 2022
  • 8.86 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 8

  • May 2, 2022
  • 10.65 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 9

  • May 17, 2022
  • 9.34 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 10

  • May 23, 2022
  • 8.90 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 11

  • May 26, 2022
  • 8.80 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 12 

  • May 27, 2022
  • 0.89 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike
  • Sent Aunt Marilyn a picture of Uncle Rich’s old bike and told her I started riding it.
    • Aunt Marilyn: “Rich did at least 4 century rides on that bike. You can go for 5!”
    • Me: “It’ll be a while before I’m ready for that long of a ride. If I get comfortable enough with it, maybe I’ll try for one.”

Ride 13

  • May 31, 2022
  • 4.33 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 14

  • May 31, 2022
  • 4.32 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 15

  • June 3, 2022
  • 6.32 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 16

  • June 13, 2022
  • 1.84 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike
  • Flat Tire

Ride 17

  • June 14, 2022
  • 10.38 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 18

  • June 14, 2022
  • 5.04 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 19

  • June 15, 2022
  • 3.83 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 20

  • June 16, 2022
  • 18.04 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 21

  • June 20, 2022
  • 13.23 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 22

  • June 20, 2022
  • 6.82 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 23

  • June 21, 2022
  • 9.80 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 24

  • June 22, 2022
  • 11.39 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 25

  • June 23, 2022
  • 23.22 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 26

  • June 24, 2022
  • 9.53 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 27

  • June 27, 2022
  • 30.62 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 28

  • June 28, 2022
  • 6.08 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 29

  • June 29, 2022
  • 11.44 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 30

  • June 30, 2022
  • 1.39 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 31

  • July 1, 2022
  • 1.36 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 32

  • July 1, 2022
  • 4.33 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 33

  • July 5, 2022
  • 38.43 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 34

  • July 7, 2022
  • 16.99 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 35

  • July 7, 2022
  • 1.10 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 36

  • July 11, 2022
  • 10.28 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 37

  • July 12, 2022
  • 50.51 miles (Half Century)
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 38

  • July 14, 2022
  • 9.66 miles
  • 1980s Univega Sportour Road Bike

Ride 39

  • July 21, 2022
  • 62.81 miles (Metric Century – 100K)
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 40

  • July 25, 2022
  • 11.19 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 41

  • August 1, 2022
  • 6.62 miles
  • Trek 4300 – Hardtail Mountain Bike

Ride 42

  • August 10, 2022
  • 5.20 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 43

  • August 11, 2022
  • 20.82
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 44

  • August 15, 2022
  • 41.52 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 45

  • August 17, 2022
  • 11.78 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 46

  • August 19, 2022
  • 21.42 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 47

  • August 22, 2022
  • 69.88 miles (Metric Century)
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 48

  • August 24, 2022
  • 9.78 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 49

  • August 24, 2022
  • 3.11 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 50

  • August 27, 2022
  • 28.24 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 51

  • August 31, 2022
  • 15.95 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 52

  • September 8, 2022
  • 82.73 miles
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

Ride 53

  • September 22, 2022
  • 103.58 miles (Full Century Ride)
  • Marin Gestalt Gravel Bike

2022 Biking – Mental Training

On The Bike

  • On the bike: Focus during early rides to get comfortable
  • On the bike: Focus during rides to increase speed and distance
  • On the bike: Thanking God for my health and growth in physical strength over the last few years
  • On the bike: Thanking God for my family and working on becoming a healthier example for my kids
  • On the bike: Thinking of Uncle Rich riding a Century and imagining what it would be like to ride with him
  • On the bike: Comparing the long time sitting on saddle to the long amount of time I had to sit in a chair when receiving chemo infusions

Off The Bike

  • Years before / Off the bike: All the hours sitting in a chair, hooked up to wires which were pumping poison into my arm (Chemotherapy). I was sitting still, embracing the uncomfortableness of it all, thanking God I was able to get a diagnosis and a treatment for my illness. Imagining and planning my future as a healthier version of me. Sharpening the blade and getting ready.
  • Off the bike: Plan training based on distance and hill climbs
  •  Off the bike: Mentally road each training ride over and over again the night before the ride
  • Off the bike: Mapping out a full century ride and training for specific challenging portions of the ride over and over again
  • Off the bike: “What will I do if…” If I get a flat, do I have what I need to change it? Where will I fill up waters and snacks? What if it’s raining? What if it’s hot? What if it’s cold? What will I do if I fall? And many more. These were crucial for me. I wouldn’t have to question things during the ride. I knew when things went wrong, how I should respond and the what my options were to ensure a successful ride – both training rides and a full Century ride.
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