17. Get Back on Your Bike

Biking

My friend rang me to see if I wanted to be part of a mountain-bike relay team for a local 10-hour event. Each biker rides a lap that takes about 20-25 minutes then rests until it’s their turn again. The bigger the team, the less laps you ride and the more rest. Last time I did this race, I rode in the solo 12-hour non-stop section, so this relay option was pretty cruisy comparatively. Now I haven’t done any serious riding for a couple of years when it would be fair to say my bike riding was a little out of control. If you train for biking it’s kinda an all immersion sport where you are pretty much rewarded for the time you put in. I had competed in a 3-day stage race and did a couple of these ‘crazy’ 12 hour non-stop races. These endurance races require some serious training and it wasn’t uncommon for me to get up at 4am and ride my bike for 4-5 hours before the day began. I did love it as for me there is something about being on a mission and having a goal to work towards. But one day the love for it left me. I was biking up a mountain while on a family holiday and I had what I called my ‘Forrest Gump Moment’ when he was running across America. I just stopped my bike and said “I don’t want to ride anymore, I want to go back to my family”. So I turned around, rode back and haven’t raced or trained seriously since.

Anyway, I accepted the challenge and got back on my bike. With only 18 days training, I rode in the team and had the best day! Instead of completing 22 laps non-stop like I did in the 12-hour event, I probably only rode 5 in the relay format. It was so much fun being with an awesome team and enjoying each other’s company. We had a bbq rolling non-stop, coffee and beers (not me as balance is not my strong point). Thanks Rodney and friends for inviting me and we made a great TEAM ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’.