Our good friend and customer, Michele McGuinness, is on an adventure of a lifetime. She is cycling across the United States from California to Florida. I asked her to give us a little update as well as her thoughts about such an epic adventure.
I’m on an Epic Ride biking across the southern United States: the adventure of a lifetime that I have been pursuing for seven years and preparing for this last year. I’ve left my playful husband and loving labrador back in Fountain Hills, oops I mean, my loving husband and playful labrador.
I left San Diego March 8th. Three weeks ago today. Over 1000 miles. Only 2000 more to go. Today is a rest day in Fort Davis, Texas. Breakfast and lunch were scarfed, laundry is done. It’s been a windy, chilly few days on our bikes, so we are holed up in our hotel rooms resting and getting ready for a segment of seven straight biking days, one day we ride 119 miles.
I’ve gone from the the planning and preparing to pushing uphill, fighting chip seal and battling headwinds. A group of 20 women over the age of 50 committed to riding across the country, we’re settled into the routine of daily biking.
I spent a lot of time figuring out a plan to get here. I wondered, do I have the right bike with the right gearing? Will I be strong enough? Can I handle the heat? How am I going to be able to ride day after day for 48 days?
And the only way I figured it out was to break it into pieces and try. I worked with a coach and she organized rides and workouts. When I realized I had to climb (a lot!), we added dedicated climbing days to my schedule. Even now, I climb slowly, but I can climb all day.
When I struggled with my bike position during long rides I added strength training and a bike fit.
I worked on nutrition, and then I worked on it some more. On the road, I’m still working on it.
When I worried about my tire changing skills, I was blessed with three flats on one lonely training ride.
The hardest piece to describe is the mental preparation. How do you build a plan for stick-to-it-ness?
When I was training, I built a routine for riding. Checking the weather, getting clothes layers out, setting up nutrition and bottles, checking tires. On the road, I found focusing on that same routine nightly helps me prepare. The butterflies are still there each morning. But I know what I am doing, I’m biking!
Along the way I keep learning to be flexible. I adjust. Some days I still don’t hydrate enough (ok- one day I hydrated too much and had to jump off the bike three times by 10 a.m. and hide behind bushes). In the moment, I think what is critical that I take care of now? How can I best serve myself and my body so I can complete this quest? Different energies for different days and different strategies work at different times. I’ve battled injuries, upset stomachs, mechanicals and gotten back on the bike. I work on focusing less on the map and elevation gain of the ride each day, and more on the views around me.
I revel at the end of some long days with a hot Epsom salt bath and a cold beer. Then I prepare for the next day. I’m on my way again, biking in the morning!
Michele J. McGuinness
Follow me on my journey at https://mjmcguinness.com