Three months from today, I’ll hopefully make it four years of daily cycling. For April-June 2023, I didn’t travel as far as January-March. I came up a couple hundred miles behind the goal for the year. In my last post, I encouraged you to ride your own Tour de YOU. That’s how I’m thinking about my biking these days in light of that little bike race going on across the pond, something called Le Tour de France. As always in these sort of taking stock blogs, I refer to my Strava fitness app stats. So let’s take a look.

But first, an observation: They aren’t just numbers; they tell a tale. Each ride in Strava gets a unique title. For example, here’s tonight’s ride, Slow So No SoLa Sidewalk Snakebites for Sommar. I wrote this little blurb to go with it:

“South Lamar sucks for cycling. Both lights ran out of juice. Ron Burgundy The Anchorman on a digital billboard made my night a little better, tho.”

-moi

The visual summary below shows a combined biking and walking, for a total of 1,350.4 miles. For comparison in January-March, I managed 1,478.2 miles, a 128.2 mile difference. Note: The total of 2,784.5 is through July 10. By month it was April 402.7 miles, May 475.4 miles, June 472.3 miles. Not too shabby give the heat and some sort of cold in late April into May that slowed me down considerably but not completely.

Overall, I’m still within striking distance of the goal of 105 miles per week, or really 5,2000 miles per year. The extra five is for padding. I’m currently averaging 98.8 miles per week. Elevaton is not too shabby at 50,784 feet. Total time is 235 hours and 12 minutes, which includes my nightly yoga sessions.

As I often say, every ride could be one’s last. At least in my streak, which has not been verified by Guiness Book of World Records. There are many things that could interrupt things: a crash or illness or doctor’s orders or anesthesia for a procedure or a full-time job. One just takes each day at a time. When I’ve missed a walk or salad or foam rolling, I feel that I’ve messed up. Miraculously, life goes on.

You might say there’s a lot of ego involved, and the Buddhists would say there is too much attachment, and both may be so. But it takes determination to keep throwing a leg over the top tube and pedaling, even if just a mile. And unrolling the yoga mat, and going through the poses. Skipping a day might mean two, and then before you know it I’m not a walker, or yogi, or cyclist, or writer, or reader, etc.

It’s all an experiment, and to the extent that I’ve avoided major injuries or illness, it’s been a success. Not necessarily in results like getting faster or thinner, but in the process. And that’s where the good stuff is. The ride where you see something new or in a new light. Or exchange words with a fellow rider. I like hanging out on the couch watching Streamberry as much as the next dude, but this quote sums it up for me:

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”

― John A. Shedd

Tomorrow, I’ll keep bicycle riding, writing, reading, yogaing, walking, music making, salad eating, foam rolling. And best wishes for whatever you do, streak or not.

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