[CHANGES] I did the impossible.

[Sandra Ahten]

THE IMPOSSIBLE
I rode 500 miles on my bike in seven days. Yes, me! By any and all accounts 
this should not have been possible. It simply should not have been possible.

Last winter I had almost totally given up any exercising. I couldn’t drag 
myself to the gym. But I scheduled a ski vacation. I love to ski and didn’t 
want to be sore so I determined that I would do a 30 minutes toning / 
exercise video every day. Except for Christmas I didn’t miss a day. I went 
skiing and had a blast.

I got back and simply stopped exercising again. What is it about me? With 
the arrival of spring I did start walking and riding my bike a little more. 
But not much. I decided to challenge myself again and go on a bike vacation. 
For training I tried to ride 10 miles a day. It was hard to get it in, but I 
did pretty well. Three weeks before d-day I rode two 20 miles trips back to 
back. Then the next weekend I rode 40 and the next I rode 50 miles. At the 
end of the 50 mile trip I almost cried from sheer exhaustion.

My goal was to ride an average of 50 miles a day. How would I do it? The 
plan was to ride either straight north or south depending on the wind 
conditions. Ride with the winds and stay close by the Amtrak for the ride 
home. I thought I would ride 200 miles if I pushed it.

I rode 500 miles. I rode every day seven days in a row. Unbelievable.

HOW COULD I DO IT?
I am absolutely convinced that our limitations in life must be nearly all in 
our heads. As, we got up at 5am to depart on that first morning, Kevin, my 
mega bike riding husband was convinced that we could ride to Kankakee, more 
than 70 miles down the road. I had my doubts but knew that I could make it 
to Gilman at 50 miles, with a strong wind and enough time. We did have a 
strong wind and were in Gilman before noon.

The thing about bicycling to hotel rooms is that there is often not a choice 
in hotel rooms except every 25 or sometimes even 50 or more miles. Such was 
the case. What were we going to do, hang around Gilman until check in time? 
Gilman is just not that exciting. I puttered around for a half hour deciding 
whether to go on and finally just got back in the saddle. I didn’t want to 
waste the south wind. Seventy six miles I rode that day. We literally got 
blown into Kankakee with a wind and storm.

Well, I think that first day opened me up to possibilities. I had to admit 
that I truly did not know my limits. It was time to set them aside. We rode 
from Kankakee to Chicago. To Kenosha Wisconsin. To Lake Geneva Wisconsine. 
To St. Charles Illinois.To Dwight Illinois and finally home to Urbana. 
Eighty three miles on the last day! Seventy two miles per day average.

Based on his trip from Denver last year Kevin told me that I would get 
stronger every day. It may be true. But I honestly believe that it was the 
strength acquired through mentally letting go of my limitation and truly 
living in the moment that was the key.


I ACTUALLY ENJOYED IT

It was essential to live in the moment. Dreaming 20 miles down the road was 
depressing, when you had another 20 or more to go after that. So living in 
the moment was essential. Being outdoors for seven days was it own 
particular delight. Every day my senses came more alive. I was particularly 
aware of all of the different smells; wild onion, cut grass, clover, musky 
river water, bar-b-que joints, bakeries, pungent factories, nasty carcasses, 
and gravel pits, to name a few.

It was surreal. Every day I would just think, “Who is doing this? Who rode 
seventy miles yesterday and is getting up at 5am to do it again? It is not 
the Sandra I know.” Well, the Sandra I know has been left behind.

I had read that a survey of women in their 60s and 70s reported when asked 
the best age to be they said 43. I turned 43 on May 2nd.  The Nervous Nelly 
in me says it is all down hill from here. But based on my trip, I’ve decided 
to leave ole’ Nervous Nelly behind and instead embrace the SuperWoman that 
is apparently living inside of me. Sounds like a plan, I’ll let you know how 
it goes.


If you might want to bike yourself and want details on which bike maps are 
best, good routes to take, what you MUST pack and what you must NOT pack. I 
have a few recommendations, just email me.  Take care.

Sandra

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself with the new version of MSN Messenger! Download today - 
it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/