Disclosure: I’m not a writer, so don’t expect a masterpiece.
Time to reflect on this challenge I came up with myself. It’s not ground breaking by any means. Many people have done more, many have done less. This was challenging for ME. I did it because I wanted to get on my bike again. I orignally picked up my Cannondale CAAD10 in 2014. I couldn’t tell you if it’s a ’13 or ’14 model year though. I looked for the serial number but it’s covered up by the housing’s for the gear change cables. But it’s not very important so I digress. I always like to get to the point instead of writing a novel so I’ll do my best in summarizing the 7 days of enjoyment and hell, all bundled into one. Though it was more enjoyable than anything else. If you’d like to watch the video instead. Head over to my Youtube Channel: @ PhiLLitup93.
Day 1 :
The darkest day. Literally, not figuratively. My headlight wasn’t strong enough. I could barely see ahead of me when I finally reached the half-way point of the ride. This was the longest ride of the 7 days. The most forgetful day of them all and I don’t know why.
Day 2 :
Didn’t decide I was going to go for 7 days straight until I finished this ride. I felt good. I did reach near 40 miles-per-hour on a steep decline. It was a relief after a very tough climb just a couple minutes prior. I didn’t go crazy but on the main straight of the ride I made sure to maintain at least 16 miles-per-hour given I wanted to have a reasonable completion time and average pace.
Day 3 :
Leisurely ride. Except the downhills of course. I made sure to take advantage of the descents to gain momentum and get up the tougher climbs. I felt fantastic. I stopped a few times to take some pictures and video, but overall, this was my favorite day of the 3. I was feeling a bit overconfident by the end of day 3 though, and it would come to bite me in the butt.
Day 4 :
The worst of all days. Not that the beginning of the ride wasn’t enjoyable. It was for the most part. Other than not having a strong enough headlight that is…Anyhow about 12 miles in, I hit something, hard. I can’t tell you what it was because the street light was out in roughly the same place that I hit whatever the object was. There was a burning smell. I figured that maybe the brake pads had shifted and began to rub on the tire so I pulled over. I adjusted the brakes and brought the bike right-side up. Thunk! Instead of the the tire taking the brunt of force after hitting the ground, it was the wheel. Thankfully it wasn’t all that hard. I proceeded to change the tube in the little light that I had. I removed my frame pump and pumped away. I felt it was going to take a lifetime. I was wrong. I would have been there for eternity. Why? The new tube had a puncture. I was so happy that this was the day I decided to bring my patch kit. It’s incredibly light so the weight savings is miniscule. I had only brought a tube on the other days. Lucky I guess!
I patched the brand new tube, pumped up the tire as much as I could and I was on my way. I took it slow the rest of the way, constantly looking down at both of my tires hoping that this wouldn’t happen to me again. I didn’t have any tubes left.
Day 5 :
Took the same ride as Day 4. It’s a very scenic route, very enjoyable. My drone flew perfectly, picking up some beautiful shots. I wish I had more time but it was well worth the extra weight in my bag. I was feeling a lot more pain. My legs felt very sore and I began doubting myself until I finally got home where I suddenly started to feel better. I attribute this to forgetting about the pain. A lot of the time, it’s all in your head. Other times, you don’t want to ignore actual pain. There’s a difference between soreness and pain. You need to learn what those differences are. There is mental toughness and then there is arrogance.
Day 6 :
Due to the previous day’s soreness, I was going to take it easy. I would stop if I wanted to stop. Not every day is a race and it was a lesson I had to learn along the way. I have a problem with always wanting to beat my best time or speed. This is how you get better. It’s not always about beating your best record. It’s about improving your attitude. Wisdom.
I saw some beautiful things. Fisherman out in the water surprised me. I never realized how shallow the water was during low tide along the Shrewsbury river. The fishermen must have been 150 feet out into the water. It was only waist deep. Waist deep!
I hopped back on my bike and stopped again. I felt like I was in a video game. A woman was on the phone looking down at the passenger side of her car. She had a flat tire and clearly didn’t know how to change it. I learned she was watching a youtube video. Instead, I offered to change it for her.
Not how I expected my day to go.
I said I was going to take it easy, and I did, for the first half. the second half of the ride were a mix of downhills and uphills, but it was a very short cycle of them. The last descent brought the bike and I to nearly 40 miles-per-hour and then to flat ground for the next 8-10 miles. The tailwind behind me kept my average speed up so I took advantage of it. I pushed myself faster than I should have and I paid the price by the time I got home. I was exhausted. But I was still okay. Lesson learned finally?
Day 7 :
The most enjoyable ride, though the least scenic. I’ll make it make sense. I started the ride wanting to take a completely different route than I had taken so far in the past 7 days. One I had taken almost two weeks prior except in reverse. Even with my headlight on, I nearly sped through a group of deer on the roadway. I decided to slow down after that. After all, a headlight doesn’t make up for the lack of natural light during the day. I casually made my way south for some miles until I was reached my turn around point. I circled through a jughandle passing a lake to my right and made one of my last left turns on way back up north for a long stretch of road which took up the majority of my ride. Moving from one end to the other the blackness gave way to normal daylight. Like I said, I was going slow. The boardwalk was near empty. I saw a few couples but more solo walkers, runners and riders than anything else. It was very quiet. What’s normally the busiest part of the city is as close to silent as you can get. I could hear footsteps as I passed them.
What did I take from all this?
I learned a lesson on day 4. I would have been fuming if I had to take an Uber or been stranded, but by being prepared, I saved myself from that. Now I bring a patch kit no matter how long the ride is and two tubes. I’m going to buy a spare tire as well. It’s always better to be over-prepared than underprepared. It may seem like overkill for every single ride but we’re all different. We all have different experiences, different expectations and perspectives. This oddly makes me even more excited for my century ride.
But most important of all…
I describe the last day the best because not only was it the final day but the most pleasing. I wasn’t trying to break any time records or top speeds. I was taking my time enjoying sights I’ve seen all my life in this town I grew up in. It’s very different now than when I was a kid. Being on a bike, or throwing on my running shoes, I’m learning to appreciate what’s around me a whole lot more than I ever have. I still want to move away and see some other places. That’s for sure. But I’m glad I did this. I learned a lot from it. There are other challenges like these I’ll be taking part in every month. I hope to learn something new every time.
Be Active Daily 