Day 24: Tuesday, May 10 - Prattville, AL to Columbus, GA 113 miles for the day, 4,075' up, 4,147' down

We are finally "in the land of cotton, Old times there are not forgotten" (Just not planted yet.)

Today was looked forward to as the first of four pretty easy days. Unfortunately, the 3100' of climbing turned out to be 4,075', with some pretty steep "granny gear" hills.

I started out just taking it easy. It was warm at the start, no wind jacket or skull cap needed. The first 19 miles or so went pretty easily. Then we began to hit hills of the size and frequency that we were not expecting. There was one particularly long and steep, and I was soon sweating bullets, with sweat running into my eyes. My legs really felt these hills. The miles were definitely not "just flowing by" as they had been on some other days. 

I began to think that THIS was going to have to be the day that I treat as a training day and forget my intent to ride the entire 113 miles. After another hill at about mile 44, I had decided that was what needed to happen. Mike in the van did not appear until mile 51 and I immediately held my hand on top of my head (the signal that I wanted some assistance). Mike gave me a bump up to mile 63, under the rationale that it was only 10 more miles to the lunch SAG at mile 74, and it remained a possibility to still ride a century if I changed my mind.

At lunch, I told Judy to watch out for me as she moved up the van and trailer as I may wish to be picked up to be brought straight to the motel. After I started out after lunch, the first 4 - 5 miles did not go well. On a slight hill, I was riding 7 miles per hour, then on another one, 6 miles per hour. It was time to throw in the towel. Then I thought of those of you following me in the blog, and did not want to disappoint you by giving up. Then I hit another hill and thought "This is it, time to get bumped up in the van."

Then I recalled picking strawberries as a young kid with my mom at Wisti's. Mom had taught me perseverance, again by her example. In fact, we were indoctrinated into the FACT that the Finnish had sisu, or stick-to-it-ism. When I was 12, we picked strawberries for the Wistis. Another farmer offered the crew 7 cents per quart picked, versus the 6 the Wistis were paying. But mom had committed to the Wistis and she would not abandon them. So we picked. Mom and I were the only ones who stayed with the Wistis. Mr. and Mrs. Wisti picked with us, as we tried to salvage as much of the crop as we could (and their finances). One day, it got really hot with the sun beating down. I was ready to quit. I was very tired (and picking strawberries is not the most thrilling thing for a 12 year old boy to be doing in the first place). Mom said, “Just keep plugging along” and I did. That day, I ended up picking 106 quarts, the most I ever picked, well beyond the usual 50-60 quarts. Admittedly, it was a long day, with good picking, but it taught me how much could be accomplished if you just stick to it. I still remember being able to buy that new baseball glove that I wanted with some of my summer’s $45 earnings. Yea, I got that much because the Wistis gave us a half penny bonus per quart for sticking with them! Her admonition of "just keep plugging along" stuck with me. Lesson learned: if you just persevere, you can accomplish much.

I am a strong believer in "want power" vs. "willpower". Willpower is easily lost, but if you want something badly enough, it can be a huge motivator. My desire to ride all the way across the country - my original dream - was long gone. My desire to get better as a rider could easily be satisfied if I rode 50-60 miles today, so was not a big motivator to continue today. But, my desire to receive your approval as a blog reader was still strong. I did not want to disappoint "my team". So, when Judy went past me at mile 78, I made a snap decision - I would try to finish the day so I stuck my hand out horizontally (the signal that I did not need any assistance). I was then committed, with 34 miles to go. I just plugged along until I reached a store at mile 94, an objective I had in my mind for many miles. There I rewarded myself with some chocolate milk.

When you are struggling, you need to keep setting short term or intermediate goals, so you get a feeling of accomplishment when you reach them. This is motivating, and the treat at mile 94 was also helpful, not only physically due to the calorie content, but also psychologically.

Thank goodness, much of the up and down was not too severe in that stretch, and I regained my energy. The last eight miles or so were not so forgiving, but with not many more miles to go, I was able to continue. It was now over 85 degrees, so the heat was an issue, lessened by wetting my skull cap with water every so often so the evaporative cooling would cool my head. The winds again really were not much of a factor today.

Bottom line: I was able to ride 101 of the 113 route miles for the day. Another century down, which feels good when I almost gave up with less than 50.

See, when I said very early on in my training, you as member of my team are important, as "I could not be doing this without you."

Tomorrow should finally be an easy day: Day 25: Wednesday, May 11 - Columbus, GA to Perry, GA 96 miles for the day, 3,150' of climbing, with none of that supposed to be steep.

Only three more days to go!

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For the ride leader's take on yesterday's and today's rides with photos, go here.