What goals might you ask? Well, one takes us back to the Before Times of October 2019. When the world was, while not pristine, it was still pre-pandemic. Fear and loathing were not yet endemic. And we had the same leader who is seemingly now more schizophrenic. This here dude from Texas would ride his bike often, and gaily. Until one day he decided to do it daily. To make that  six years is one goal I seek, and that is about which this blog does speak. (Or it will when I return to it to tweak.)

The other goal is my annual long ride which either starts or ends the year, depending how you look at it. But as I often say, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Well, sometimes rain or other things delayed the big ride, like the time I got the aforementioned plague Literally the day before. I recovered–while still managing to do minimal daily bike rides. I comleted the big ride a couple of weeks later. Nobody’s perfect.  “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans,” John Lennon said.

When I first started the streak it was not terribly intentional or well thought out. One day I connect to the dots between my lung standing regular yoga practice and the number of miles I wanted to bicycle every year. Since I was commuting to work five days a week anyway and didn’t have a car, plus also doing errands and charity bike ride training sessions on the weekends,  it wasn’t a big leap. So, starting with the big ride in autumn of 2019, I decided to make it official and see if I could go for a whole year without a rest day. My dad and here we are almost 6 years later.

For the first time, however, both milestones are in serious danger of what one might call, if you were looking for a cheap laugh, goalus interruptus. The particulars are not important and rather beside the point. What is the point? As is often the case in these digital pages, I tend to wax or wane (or Wayne?) poetic about the psychology of sport. It is a topic that interests me and I dare say it is relatable to those of you who dare and deign to read A Dude.

At this point I’m going to say something not poetic but rather grass and possibly controversial:

Streaks are stupid.

No offense is intended to fine folks like Strava sibling and blog buddy Bike Goddess who after retirement recently completed a year of daily bike rides in her town in southern Washington. I say bully for her and all who believe (as I still partially do) that a daily habit is one that is hard to break. Go check out BG’s excellent post here: Every. Single. Day. Consecutively 365 Days of Riding. I stole this image from it. Because it’s a great quote and the source is attribute, I’m sorryless.

But there is a dark side, Luke. It is that your ego and identity can get too tied up and over-identified with the thing you are doing. I’ve written about this in prior posts Cyclist With an Injury Problem, or Injured With a Cycling Problem and Rainy Friday Blahg Post: The Value of Sleep and Rest Days for Cyclists and The Rest of the Story About Rest Days for Cyclists. Feel free to follow the links and read them and return here. I will go back and re-read them myself. I mean, riding while you’re sick, tired, or sick and tired, may not be the wisest choice. When you adhere to the #Don’t Break the Streak idea, you are sticking to a habit or a practice like the Orbitz Gum spokeswoman with the alluring smile and seductive British accent: “No matter what!” But are you also hurt your body and brain? I think it’s both.

If there’s one lesson I can draw from all of this, it’s that it’s my brother’s fault. He introduced me to the newsletter of James Clear years before he wrote the book Atomic Habits. (Use the search bar to find all the blog posts referencing him and his evil, evil book and ideas.) Seriously, brother, it’s been a lot. If you are new here or missed it, did you know that I have 50,000 Miles Bicycled! A Dude Abikes Did It!? Definitely go read that one. But seriously, it’s no one’s fault (in our stars). It has been my choice.

So, what will happen if I get to 5 years, 11 months, and 20 days and cannot get on my bike? I suppose the Five Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance (and a new sixth, Meaning). Maybe I will cry a little on the inside, if I’m honest, because six years is a long time to do something and then have someone or something else stop it against your will. I’ll also probably let loose a big sigh of relief. I mean, there’s war, famine, poverty, and all the rest. Nobody cares about your dumb streak, Dude!

Frankly, I often didn’t care about it, but I just kept it going. (I kept it going, til the sun went down.) I came close to quitting last year, but didn’t. Ultimately, the streak is about many things, but one of them is being lazy. If I miss a day, to make my annual goal of 5,200 miles, I have to make up for it over the next days. I mean, the only rule was I biked a mile, for when it was iced over and I couldn’t get to a gym or I had COVID or something extreme. Ending the streak won’t be the end of the world, and I doubt I would start another. As an aspiring lower-case buddhist, it is just too much craving and attachment, and yes, that is the root of suffering as the Buddha teaches.

As far as the big ride, I expect I’ll make it, or it may be on another day, but it make take longer, with more breaks. I have a new acquaintance who lives on the route and it’s not at all cheating to go to a rest stop for a snack and a rest. But if my riding is interrupted, it’s possible the big ride won’t happen on the day I plan on. I also have some additional challenges like the extra weight I seem to have gained avoiding the hot Central Texas summer sun, which leads to later nights, and other stuff I won’t bore you with.

After this year, I have a big choice to make, or perhaps it will be made for me. To keep going, or maybe pick up some weights, swim, or do other activities to try to get into overall not just shape, but health. (Remember your George Carlin, “I’m in shape. Round is a shape.”) But at some point, we all cycle off into the sunset, like it or not. And the sooner we accept that, and ride our bikes (and live our lives) for Big Fun Units, instead of trying to get fit, or for transportation, Strava numbers (few as they are for me), or WordPress blog likes, the better off we may be.

If you like streaks and have one or more going that bring you joy, by all means, keep going. If it gets broken, this dude says get back on the horse and exercise regularly. Rest. Enjoy. Do other stuff. Be good to yourself. That is more rational. We could all use a bit more of rationality in our reality right now.

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