Ride for Passion

Posts Tagged ‘Ride’

The training was complete and it was finally time to ride. I loaded the pickup with the two bikes and started down Interstate 80 headed west towards Wyoming. I was making the journey in the truck by myself as Susan and the girls were flying out a couple days later. I enjoyed the drive through the western states. When I get in the drivers seat, my mind starts to work. I love just driving and thinking. I couldn’t wait for the bike ride to begin.After a couple of days visiting with my sister and her family in Portland, it was finally time to ride. Susan and I arrived at the hotel we were staying at prior to the start of the ride. The nerves were starting to pick up in my body as I was thinking, “what in the world have we gotten ourselves into?” We wheeled our bikes into this beautiful hotel, on to the elevator and up to our room.

After getting very little sleep due to the excitement of the event, Susan and I grabbed our gear and the bikes and headed to the parking lot for the start of this journey. We were not sure just how many miles we were actually going to be putting on our bikes, but we knew it was more than 200.As we arrived at the starting line, the sun was peaking out over the buildings in downtown Portland. We started to introduce ourselves to the other riders that had joined up with for this ride. People from all over the country had flown in, drove over and pedaled their way to this event.

Finally the time had come. A prayer was said and we locked ourselves into the pedals of the bikes that would be a part of us for the next three days. Though we had guides, the ride was really on our own. We were to go at a pace comfortable for us and enjoy the sites of the Northwest.I remember starting down the streets of Portland at a pace that would’ve matched Lance Armstrong, at least that was what I had dreamt the night before. The excitement of the day and the adrenaline flowing through my body kept telling me to go faster. Thankfully, I had a wife who reminded me over and over again, to pace myself; this was just the start of the ride. I had to be reminded that the finish line was our ultimate goal, not how fast we started.

It seems I have to be reminded of this often in my life. It is not how you start, but how you finish. My personality tends to lend itself, more times than not, to come up with a great idea and start running as fast as I can towards the intended goal. As I sit here now writing this and my leg is shaking at feverous pace with excitement of the thoughts running through my mind. Now, I don’t believe this is a bad trait to have, one of excitement, enthusiasm, and love for life. The issue I have faced is, how do I keep the excitement I have for life and at the same time have the patience I need to enjoy the ride.