Countdown to Triathlon – 202 Days, 28.85 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 49 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - PROGRESS

 I got out of the car Friday to go to the pool at 7am, it was cold and foggy and I was all bundled up. I smiled to think of the constrast to this training and the bike ride training.  Then I was crying, whining and complaining because of the heat and humidity - now I am not complaining, whining or crying at having to get out of a warm bed and house into the cold.  At least I think I have learned not to compain.  My attitude is now quite different.  I just do what I have to do without giving any thought to it as far as the conditions are concerned.


        We had a great weekend.  Yesterday we went to help our youngest daughter Laurel and her husband.  Bob had painted the baby's room last November (she's due in April).  Saturday they got the crib and put it together.  She had her new bedding and valance and Bob installed the valance rod.  I took my sewing machine and altered the store-bought valance.  The room is decorated in "Farm Animals" decor.  It's really exciting awaiting the birth of a new baby.  It will be a boy.  That will make seven grandsons and four granddaughters.  We are richly blessed.

        My sister Cindy flew out from Virginia last week to spend two weeks with our Mom.  She's coming this morning at 8:30 to swim laps with me and participate in the conditioning class.  It will be great to have company. 

Friday, I swam 21 laps in 45 minutes (had to stop and rest after every two laps). 
Cindy said she swam 72 in 1 hour 15 minutes.  I'm not worried - I still have 6-1/2 months to get up my distance and speed.

The Journey - Installment Forty-Nine

        Several days before I was to fly home, Hollen and I decided to arise at 3AM in order to be on the bikes by 4 AM.  Morena had to be to work at a certain time and we didn’t want to take the baby with us that day so we had to be back in time for her to be at work.   It was still dark as I finished stretching my muscles and tightening the straps on my shoes. I had prepared our breakfast, filled our water containers and was ready to go, both mentally and physically.   I heard a sound outside and went to the back door and opened it to see what was making the noise I was hearing.  It was pouring rain.  There was no way we could ride in that downpour, especially because it was still dark.  My first reaction was anger because we had gotten up so early to ride and I had really prepared myself to do the ride that morning. Preparing oneself mentally is a bigger challenge than the actual riding.   As I held the door open looking out into the rain, I remember saying, “Lord! We got early to ride.  I am doing this ride for you so why did you let it rain?”  It was beyond my comprehension that God would allow it to rain and keep us from the ride, especially since I really didn’t want to ride in the first place but had been able to put myself in a proper frame of mind for once. So Hollen and I did the only thing that seemed appropriate at the time; we went back to bed!  

         When I mentioned the incident to Ann on the phone that evening, she commented to me that I need to be grateful and thank the Lord.  She suggested that the Lord was possibly protecting us from something that might have happened to injure us on that ride.  That thought had not occurred to me and I realized, once again, how ungrateful I was but grateful for wonderful people showing me the way. 

Countdown to Triathlon – 205 Days, 29.28 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 48 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -  No thoughts today.  I think I might be brain-dead!

I did have a funny experience.  A man in a store today said "Hi" to me and introduced himself.  He asked me my name and was I single or married.  I said I have been married for almost 45 years.  He asked me if I needed a backup plan.  I told him, "No! I married the love of my life and that was working out just fine, thank you."

The Journey - Installment Forty-Eight
         On the second Saturday morning in Hawaii, Hollen and I determined that in order for me to be on schedule with my training, I needed to ride 35 miles that day. I called back to the mainland to a friend named Ann who attended our church.  I asked her to pray because I needed an attitude adjustment and I was dreading the ride that day.  I even cried on the phone when I told her how horrible the riding was in Hawaii because of the humidity and heat and the HILLS!  I told her I didn’t want to continue riding but now that so many people had been sending in donations to Focus on the Family in my name that I was trapped.  I couldn’t let them down.  Never mind that letting down the Lord was furthest from my mind. She replied to me over the phone, “You know Barbara, God wouldn’t have motivated all those people to donate if he didn’t know you would finish.” How prophetic that was and if I had been able to understand that comment fully and been able to latch on to that thought and hold it tightly, it would have alleviated a lot of worry and concern about my finishing the ride. “You will complete this! Ann said.”  Her words were a great encouragement to me at that moment.

        The next morning Hollen and I rode our usual route and then rode to Barber’s Point, a former U. S. naval air station. It was the Navy's last  naval air station in the Hawaiian Islands has been disestablished, closing out 57 years of service. NAS Barbers Point--the "Crossroads of the Pacific," carved out of brush and coral on the leeward side of Oahu early in World War II--has been turned over to the state of Hawaii. It was sad to see all the vacant building which have just been left to the elements.  A few buildings were still occupied but for the most part there was little going on there.  

           We rode around and around until we completed the mileage we had intended to ride that day.  The day was hot and humid and it felt like we had been riding forever. I was demoralized and felt as if I were truly riding in hell, not the paradise as advertised on the travel posters. We even passed a golf course but none of the golfers seemed concerned with the heat and humidity.  At the end of the ride I was relieved to get off of the bike and shower.  I was grateful to the Lord for getting that task accomplished and for putting up with my whining.  Calling Ann again, I told her how difficult the ride had been and to please continue to pray for my attitude but I was encouraged that we had done what we set out to do that day.   The following Monday night I slept soundly all night and awoke to realize that the feeling of anxiety was gone.  I cannot say that I was looking forward to the morning rides, but I could definitely feel the change in my spirit and the sense of dread was gone.  I thanked God for his grace and silently thanked Ann who was praying for me across the many miles back at home.  I could feel the prayers.

Countdown to Triathlon – 206 Days, 29.42 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 47 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -
"Never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics."
That's a true statement if ever I saw one!

Today Bob and I slept until 9:00 - unusual for us because I generally get up at 6 or 7.  Because it was foggy, I opted for swimming at the 12:00 lap swim time and then went back at 5:00 PM for the one hour conditioning.  Not a good thing to do on a daily basis because then I get my hair wet twice in one day and have to deal with drying it twice.  It's too cold and damp just to let it dry in the air.

The Journey - Installment Forty-Seven

AN AMBULANCE COMES FOR ME

There I go again.

The reason for alll the falling - clip-less pedals and shoes that attach:

The grooves in the shoes clip into the pedal and hold your feet in a secure position.  You  must move your heels outward in a quick, strong movement in order to release the pedals from the shoe.  Then, it is important to be sure you don't allow the shoe to re-attach, which is what happened in this case.

      
         On our way back from our ride one morning, we crossed through a busy intersection.  Hollen had suddenly changed his mind and stopped at the intersection to turn right and cross over toward Barber’s Point rather than to continue straight towards his home as we usually did.  As I sped past him, not realizing he was going to stop, I braked and clicked out of my pedals.  Evidently though, I must not have moved my heels away from the grooves in the pedals and the shoes fell back into place.  Not realizing that my feet were once again held captive, I braked and began to dismount.  Over I went onto the sidewalk landing hard on my left shoulder and skinning up my knees and legs.  As I lay on the ground I had such an excruciating pain in my shoulder that at first I thought I might have broken it.  Then as I realized the possibility; I began to hope that I had broken my shoulder because then I would have a legitimate excuse for not riding in the bike ride.  I remember thinking, “Oh! I hope I broke my shoulder.”  All I can say now as I write this is that our God is a patient and merciful God.  What an ungrateful baby I am. 

            

        Hollen tried to help me up but I hurt so badly that I told him to just get my feet out of the pedals, pull the bike off and leave me alone for a minute.  I finally was able to stand with his help.  At that point, I told him to lay a blanket out on the grass and we would change the baby’s diaper since we were stopped anyway. My grandson was our constant companion on these excursions riding behind his dad in the baby carrier, which was attached behind his father’s bicycle.  I think I would have died if I had been forced to pull that contraption along with the weight of the baby behind my bike.  Yet Hollen always managed to keep up with me and even get ahead of me at times.  That was a bit disheartening when I could barely keep my own bike and myself moving.

(Grandson Kaleo in the bike trailer.)

(3-1/2 months old)

                

After I stood up, I began to slowly move my arm and shoulder to make sure they were working properly.  Way down the boulevard I heard a siren.  The siren didn’t mean a thing to me until it got closer.  All of a sudden I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that the siren was for me.  The ambulance passed us and made a U-turn across the center divider in the road and pulled up along side of me.  Both paramedics jumped out and ran toward me.  Then they saw the baby lying on the blanket on the lawn and thought that perhaps a car had hit the baby.  They started to run over to him and I had to quickly reassure them that he was not injured.  Evidently, when I fell and didn’t get up immediately, someone who had been sitting at the stop light at the intersection called 911.  All I could think about was dollar signs!  It was going to cost a fortune for this ambulance.  I told them that I was sorry that they had been called but that I was all right. They noticed that my leg and knees were skinned up and bleeding and said, “At least let us clean up your legs.  We have antiseptic wipes.”  I replied in a half-panic voice, “Wipes? We have baby wipes.  I’ll be okay.  Thanks and sorry for the false alarm.”  I breathed a great sigh of relief as the ambulance pulled away and they hadn’t even asked me my name.  I was in the clear.



Hawaii Fire Department



Countdown to Triathlon – 207 Days, 29.5 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 46 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -  No quotes today - I think the fog has fogged my brain.

It's pea soup foggy tonight and 41 degrees.  It will be difficult and probably impossible to get myself out the door in the morning to swim.  I'll probably get on the elyptical trainer unless the sun comes out later in the day.  I'm sure Roxi would like to walk since we've been in Mendocino and she has been here by herself.  Don't worry though, she knows how to use the can opener and turn the faucet on for her water bowl.

I forgot to mention the whales we saw this last weekend.  They were heading south toward Mexico.  We could see their spouts with our eyes, but when using the binoculars we could see their backs.  It was really neat to see them.

The Journey - Installment Forty-Six

       “The Hill” was my daily special challenge.  Just riding in that temperature was a challenge because I do not do well in heat and humidity.  My energy is totally sapped when the temperature rises and the humidity causes me to literally wilt and my energy drains like a battery on “discharge”. That hill was my nemesis.  Whenever we saw we were approaching a hill, Hollen would yell at me to pedal faster.  I would start pedaling as fast as I could when I saw I was approaching it so that the momentum would help me get to the top.    It took almost two weeks before I could get to the top of “The Hill” without stopping.  The first several days I had to stop about half way up that incline and I felt that my heart was going to burst. Finally, one day it happened.  I actually made it to the top and started down the other side.  Of course that still meant that I would have to go up the hill again from the other side on the return trip.   Oh how I hated that hill.  In retrospect, it wasn’t much of a hill as one imagines a hill.  It was more a steep incline.  But to me, it seemed like a mountain.  Again, Hollen used this hill for training purposes.  He told me to look up to the top of the hill when I approached it and that by doing that, it would help me to visualize the completion of the hill.  This small example also taught me that we all learn and accomplish tasks differently.  He likes to see his challenge before him.  To me, the challenge was demoralizing.  I had to glance at the upcoming hill, but then I would look down a few feet in front of the front bike tire and keep my eyes pinned to the road directly ahead of me so as not to scare myself at what was looming in the distance.  This method of climbing hills became my way to navigate each and every hill on the actual bike ride a few months later and always I would say, “Come on Lord!  I need your help.  We can do it, You and I!  Help me Lord!”

Countdown to Triathlon – 208 Days, 29.8 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 45 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.

Leonardo Da Vinci

We just got back Monday night from Mendocino with our friends, Shirley and Lynn.  Here are some photos taken this weekend.  I've rested and relaxed (partially) and now am ready to get back to the training.  A funny thing happened though.  On Saturday, I decide to walk toward the ocean (a few blocks away).  If I had returned the way I came, all would have been well.  However, I said to myself, "I wonder where this street goes!"  I had a general idea of the direction I had come, but three hours later I still hadn't found my way back.  Someone asked me if I wanted to use the phone and call someone, but there is no cell phone activity there  so I couldn't call Bob or Shirley and since Shirley made the reservations in this great rental home and I forgot to get the address, I had to wander until I found my way back.  It was three hours of walking and my toes were really beginning to hurt when I found the street.  Bob was just leaving to look for me and as I turned into the street, there he was in the car.  Did I ever get a bawling out for scaring everyone.  I didn't take my cell phone because there is no cell activity.  I didn't consider that I did have a GPS which works off a satellite.  Therefore, lesson learned - I will always find out where I am staying and I'll turn on the GPS.  When I encountered people on the walk who wanted to help me, I told them I was doubly lost - lost because I didn't know where I was and lost because I didn't know where I was supposed to be going.  Can you say, "Stupid!"

Before I got lost.

On the way to Mendocino.  The whole area has trees covered with Spanish Moss.

Friday night we went to a cioppino feed and many of the guests wore a crab hat.  Bob wanted me to buy and wear one, but I declined.  Don't know this lady's name and hopefully she wouldn't mind that I put her picture on this blog.

The love of my life, Bob, eating crab.  The sauce was really excellent.

A wild turkey I encountered on my walk.  When I got close enough to photograph it, it took off running.

The California coast was really rough this weekend.  You can barely see the birds - the white dots on the taller rock.

To get in this surf would be suicide.

If I hadn't been lost, I wouldn't have gotten this great photo.

Old broken fence and gnarly tree roots.








The Journey - Installment Forty-Five

GOD SHOWS ME DEAD BIRDS

One morning as I was riding, with Hollen, a short distance behind me, with tears in my eyes, I was silently muttering to myself and the Lord that I was so miserable.  I looked down and saw a dead bird on the ground to my left.  Normally, I would not notice a dead bird while riding my bike.  But this bird, with its feathers fluffed out, which was of no particular coloring or one that you would normally notice, became very important to me.  As I passed the bird, all of a sudden it was as if I could visualize “ticker tape” crossing through my head from right to left.  On this ticker tape was the Scripture that the Lord knows even when a sparrow falls to the ground (Luke 12:6-7)  and He cares for the birds but how much more he cares for me (Matthew 6:26).  God gave me a dead bird to remind me that He cares for me, even though I was feeling that I was being tortured in doing this training and feeling that God had forsaken me.  So every day for five days, just about the time I would be tired and hot, crying silently and wanting to quit, I would reach the “dead bird” location.  That dead bird became my rallying point each day. As I passed the bird, I would mutter quietly under my breath, “Hi, dead bird!  Yes, I know that the Lord cares for me and loves me.  Thank you for reminding me Lord.”  Lest the reader think I had really lost my mind, perhaps I had.   Later after returning to California, God would continue to show me dead birds to remind me of His love for me and His presence on my journey.  This “dead bird” spot was approximately at the half way mark for our daily ride and just before “The Hill”.

As I have reviewed the above installment to the bike ride story, I just had what Oprah calls an “epiphany” or an “Ah-Ha Moment!”  After reading what I had written about the poor dead bird, I wondered what kind of bird it was. Now remember, the Bible verse that the Lord put in my head on ticker tape was about sparrows falling to the ground.  It has never occurred to me until this moment to wonder what species of bird it was or if  the bird might really have been a sparrow.  I always thought that sparrows were really tiny birds.  The dead bird in my story was larger than tiny, but not as large as a robin.  Of course, it looked bigger because it was all fluffed up.  I went on the Internet and typed in “birds of Hawaii” and that is exactly what it was – a sparrow.  The Hawaiian variety evidently is bigger than the ones we have here in California.  Leave it to the Lord to actually give me a sparrow.  All these years I have just thought of it as a“bird”.   

Here is a picture of a live bird similar to the one I saw dead on the ground.

Countdown to Triathlon – 212 Days, 30.2 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 44 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

I really did have beautiful scenery to look at while riding.  On the other side of the palm trees is the ocean.  You can just see the sand on the beach.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

Misery is almost always the result of thinking.  Author Unknown

  What a difference my training would have been if I had taken my thoughts from myself and my daily biking and done what my son had told me to do - "Look around at all the beautiful scenery of Hawaii while you're riding, Mom!"

Although I did a lot of crying, complaining and whining, this story does have a great ending so I hope, dear reader, that you will not get discouraged and quit me because of all the doom and gloom.

The Journey - Installment Forty-Four
       

        Sometime around the fourth day of riding when I was hating riding my bike and wondering what I was doing there, anyway, I  was again complaining to the Lord  under my breath with tears in my eyes.  I told him that the training was too hard and I couldn’t’ continue. I told the Lord that I was so upset because there was no way I could get out of completing this ride now because of all the people who had been contributing to Focus on the Family ministries in my name.  It was so stressful thinking about the pressure that was now on me. Before the contributions began to arrive at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs,  I didn’t feel so trapped.  I remember riding and crying and saying to the Lord, “This is just too hard!  I don’t want to do this and now the only way out is if a truck hits and kills me or injures me so that I can’t ride.”   Then I remember thinking, “Oh, I hope a truck does hit me.”  I was delirious about then.  I am so ashamed of how I reacted when the riding became difficult or the heat was unbearable to me.  It is interesting to note that the Island of Oahu was full of people, a population of about 900,000 souls, and those people were going about their business and I didn’t see any of them crying or hoping a truck would hit them.  I don’t know how Hollen put up with me or how God could stand to listen to my whining and crying every day. 

             Hollen was pushing me constantly by saying such things as, “Mom!  How fast are you going?”  When I told him the speed, he would tell me that I could do better than that.  He would tell me to control my breathing and to look around at the beautiful scenery of Hawaii and take my mind from my riding and myself.  He would remind me to make “circles” with my feet; not just to push on the pedals, but to pull up as well making complete revolutions. He’d ask, “Are you making circles?” Usually I wasn’t and I’d have to again concentrate on this new way of pedaling.  I’d ridden a bike all of my childhood days and never pedaled in that manner because my feet were never made prisoners of the pedals.   Periodically he would ask me what I was thinking about and I never wanted to tell him because usually all my thoughts were negative and dark.  Satan was really doing a number on me and I was allowing it.

Come back Tuesday for some encouragement the Lord gave me in my darkest hours of training.  You won't want to miss what He did. 

Countdown to Triathlon – 213 Days, 30.4 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 43 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

Philippians 2:14-15
Do everything without complaining or arguing,
New International Version of the Bible

Definition of Grumbler

1. Noun. A person given to excessive complaints and crying and whining.

Exact synonyms: Bellyacher, Complainer, Crybaby, Moaner, Sniveller, Squawker, Whiner

Oh boy!  Was that ever me in those days.  I'm not doing that now.  I may not like all the exercise, but I am definitely not complaining and grumbling.  I learned my lesson.

The Journey - Installment Forty-Three

        Hollen lived in Ewa Beach, Hawaii and his house was right on the beach.  The view was stunning each day, all day long.  I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect place to stay and visit with my son, his wife Morena, and baby Kaleo.  Kaleo was only about three and a half months old and it was so nice to get acquainted with him since we lived so far away and wouldn’t get to see much of him as he grew. Hollen, Kaleo and I rode every morning on the bike trails, streets and sidewalks.  It was hot and the humidity made it so much more difficult to ride.  I was discouraged because at first we were not riding very far and I felt as if I were riding at my maximum and wondered how I would be able to ride 220 miles in three days.  Knowing how far I had to ride in June made it seem as if I were not training at all.  I really hated riding each day and I knew that I needed an attitude correction and couldn’t seem to change my attitude myself.  I began to sing under my breath because I didn’t wish to expend any more air than necessary.  The song that I sang over and over was Change My Heart O Lord. The words go something like this – at least this is how I sang the song:

Change my heart O Lord,

Make it ever true.

Change my hear O Lord,

Make it ever new.

You are the potter,

I am the clay.

Mold me and make me,

This is what I pray.

As I rode and sang under my breath, I just kept imagining myself as a huge lump of wet clay and picturing the Lord molding that clay, (me) to His own purpose.  I have always struggled with the verses of Romans 9:20-21 which say:

               : But who are you O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?”  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same  lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? "

           My parents taught me to always strive to be the best I could be.  By my way of thinking, the best always meant that I should not be that lowly pot for common use but rather I should be used for noble purposes.  Of course, that way of thinking occurred before I became a Christian. But even after loving the Lord for many years, I still did not understand the significance of this verse nor how I could let the potter mold me to become what He wanted me to become; not what I wanted.  I wanted to be able to let go and let God shape me, but I just didn’t know how to go about doing that.  So sing I did.  Every day I prayed that God would change my heart and attitude and make me joyful in my preparations for the bike ride.  I wanted to be riding with joy in my heart, with gratitude that God had chosen me to participate in this ride instead of riding each day with a sense of dread.  But each afternoon about four o’clock I would begin to think about the next morning’s ride with my son, “my torturer.”   I prayed constantly for a change in my outlook, but nothing was happening to change my bad attitude.  

Countdown to Triathlon – 214 Days, 30.5 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 42 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

We had a very busy week last week selling our car and buying a new one.  Below is a picture of Bob and I at Geweke Toyota in Lodi where we had excellent help with our purchase.  I'm giving them some free advertising here.  Buying a car is normally very repugnant to me but this company was great and made the adventure pleasant.  Bob says it's my last car but what if I am still driving in 30 years (age 96) I won't want to be driving a 30 year old car.  "96" and still driving - that's a scary thought.  LOOK OUT FOR THE LITTLE OLD LADY IN THE CORVETTE!  Yes, I think my next car will be a Corvette.  Just kidding!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

      

If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.
~Lance Armstrong quotes (American Cyclist, b.1971)

 

 The Journey - Installment Forty-Two

(Not us.  Just wanted to show you what it looks like)

On the third day after my arrival in Honolulu, we set out with two bikes, my new water backpack full of water on my back, a  baby carrier that hitches to the bicycle, and the baby. (The correct word is not baby carrier, I just noticed on the internet - it is bike trailer.) Hollen pulled the baby and it reminded me of those people in China who pull tourists riding in carts with their bicycles.  No way I could do that.  That was my first day for clip- less pedals and the backpack.  Rather than let me get used to them for a day or so on the flat land, Hollen took me up the road by Diamond Head.  We left Waikiki behind us as we climbed an enormous hill.  I thought that I would have a heart attack and of course I was terrified of falling.  Wearing clip-less pedals in akin to having someone making your feet prisoners by tying your feet to the pedals with rope.  We got to the top of the hill and rode around the residential area where we saw many beautiful homes, AND HILLS!  At one point, I was trying to ride up a hill and going so slowly that I just fell over before I could get my feet out of the clips.

        As I lay on my back in the street, a man who had seen me fall, drove up beside me in his car and rolled down his window to ask if I was hurt.  I told him that I was okay, just a little skinned up.  Hollen unclipped my feet and pulled the bike off  from on top of me and helped me up.  The man commented that it is sure tough the first day in clip-less pedals.  He knew exactly what had happened - that I hadn't been fast enough to unclip my feet before losing my balance.    Hollen has such a sense of humor and laughs hysterically.  When he knew that I wasn’t injured other than skinned legs and arms, he commented that I looked like a turtle on its back and perhaps we should wrap tires around me like the Michelin Man.  I wasn’t amused.  But again, God provided protection because I could have been hurt badly without the water backpack, which was filled with water and broke my fall. I had never worn it before that day but then I had never worn the clip-less petals before either.

It would have been much safer and I would have had fewer bloody legs, elbows, etc. if I had been the Michelin Man.

Countdown to Triathlon – 215 Days, 30.85 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 41 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world.  ~Frances Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle

The Journey - Installment Forty-One

By March, it became apparent that the June ride was looming in the very near future.  It was no longer a year away; an event which until now had no sense of urgency.    As much as I knew I should be riding longer distances and faster speeds each day, I seemed to pull back and my riding habits began to wane.  A trip had been planned to visit our son Hollen, his wife Morena and our newest grand baby that had been born on December 28^th.  At the last moment, Bob informed me that he could not get away from the office and that he would not be traveling with me.  I almost cancelled the trip, but at the very last minute decided to go forward with my plans. That decision turned out to be the right one, because in retrospect, if I had not gone to Hawaii and gotten training from my son, I would never have been able to complete even the first day of the bike ride.

Upon checking with bike shops in Hawaii, I found that the cost of renting a bicycle for two weeks was more than the cost of taking my own bike.  Besides, the bikes available to be rented in Hawaii would be too tall and I needed the training on my own bike.   Before leaving I had the bike partially torn down and crated for shipment to Hawaii.  I purchased clip-less pedals and biking shoes to take to Hawaii where I knew that Hollen could install them for me upon my arrival.

            The first couple of days were spent visiting with Hollen, Morena and the baby.  Hollen spent the afternoon of the second day putting my bike together and showing me how to change a tire, and other mechanical chores.  I really did try to listen, but I think that most of what Hollen tried to teach me about fixing flats and other mechanical problems probably were wasted on me.  Hollen and Morena presented me with a tool pouch for the bike along with a patching kit and a great fold-up tool which contains most of the tools I would need for emergency repairs.  It was a good idea, but I couldn’t imagine that I would actually do repairs myself.  Knowing my mechanical skills, it seemed unlikely. 

Countdown to Triathlon – 216 Days, 30.85 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 40 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

"This I do know beyond any reasonable doubt. Regardless of what you are doing, if you pump long enough, hard enough and enthusiastically enough, sooner or later the effort will bring forth the reward."
Zig Ziglar





Pump those pedals - pump - pump - pump!
















The Journey - Installment Forty

       Once again, God provided help by way of a kind person, Richard, who was my husband’s CEO at the bank where Bob worked.  I had been out riding earlier a particular day and felt as if I could barely make the bike move.  There was a slight wind in my face, but I still felt that after all this time, I should have been able to ride faster and farther than I was able to ride on that day. I pedaled with all my strength but it seemed that I couldn’t build up much speed and the pedaling got harder with each mile as I headed back to the house.  After I got home from the ride, feeling very dejected,  the phone rang and it was Richard.  I told him how discouraged I was because I had ridden such a terrible ride that day and that forward progress seemed so difficult.  He asked me when I had last checked the air in my tires.  I replied, "Checked the air in my tires?  I never have."   He asked me if I had a tire gauge, which I did have, and he told me he would wait on the phone while I checked the air pressure.  The pressure was about 17 pounds; the tires indicated that I needed 75 pounds.  Even to me, I realized that it was a “no brainer” why I hadn’t been riding well that day.  He told me that he checked his bike tires every day that he rides. I just assumed the problem was with me and let it get me down.  Here was the hand of God again from an unexpected source, lifting me up. 

Countdown to Triathlon – 219 Days, 31.28 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 39 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

If we are to complete a challenge, we certainly cannot say, "Our get-up-and go, got-up-and- went!   Our get-up and go has to get-up and GO!"  Cold, rain, bad weather or not!!!

Quote from me - Barbie Jo

The Journey - Installment Thirty-Nine

GREEN FOR "GO, GO, GO!"

      2002

THE YEAR OF THE BIKE RIDE ARRIVES -

or now I really have to get serious about this!

         After the first of the year I noticed that my outdoor bike riding was not occurring as much as it should.  I did go to the gym more often to keep exercising and spoke with some cyclists who convinced me that I needed toe clips in order to get the most from my pedaling.  I purchased the clips and began riding with Don using great caution because I was scared to death that I would fall and not be able to get my toes out of the clips.  That was a very real fear so that whenever I came to a place where I even thought I might have to slow down, I would jerk my feet back and remove them from the clips.  There were several close calls, but I began to master the fine art of toe clips.

      

           By the end of January,  I was riding alone because Don had come down with a very bad cold. I rode 22 miles one winter afternoon and was so blessed by the beautiful scenery of rolling hills and a view of the snow covered Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.  Clouds were threatening rain by the time I reached home and just as I dismounted from my bike it began to rain.  I thanked our Heavenly Father for once more watching over me and holding the rain back until I had reached home.  But even after such a beautiful day of riding and blessings, discouragement crept in again. My Bible study ladies and my church had all been praying for the Lord to find someone for me to ride and train with.  Don had not been able to ride because of health problems and I felt that I needed someone as a riding partner.   I had to continually remind myself and repeat the motto of my journey:  THE POWER BEHIND ME IS GREATER THAN THE TASK AHEAD OF ME.

January 13, 2011 - I need to reinstate the above motto in my training for the triathlon.  This is exactly the same time of year as the above installment and I'm facing the same challenges, except I have to add swimming and running/walking. 

And away we go.........................................

See you all on Monday.

 

Countdown to Triathlon1 – 220 Days, 31.4 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 38 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -  Let Down

This could have been me, but it wasn't.  I don't have long blond hair and I'm not that thin (or at all).   However, after a week of being away, no bike riding and all of the excitement of New York City for five days, it was a bit of a let down to come back to Hughson, CA.  I was back to the drapery shop, back to cooking dinners, washing clothes, cleaning house and back on the bike.

I've been gone all day today so I have to hurry to get in my excising.  It will be dark in about an hour and a half.  (Jan. 12, 2011)


The Journey - Installment Thirty-Eight
        When I returned home from New York there was an email waiting for me from the man who had been the former editor of the bicycling magazine.  I was truly surprised that the Prevention Magazine editor had remembered to give him my email address and that he would actually contact me.  He gave me his phone number and invited me to call. On the phone I described my needs and my dilemma since I needed a bike that would be suitable for the June ride but one that I could also ride on the canal banks.  He strongly recommended that I purchase a road bike.  I carefully considered his advice and prayed about the purchase because I knew I was blessed by our son and daughter-in-law to get the opportunity to buy a new bicycle and I didn’t want to make a mistake.

        After checking the Internet for bicycles and visiting several bike stores in the area, I decided which bicycle I would buy.  The bike is a hybrid, which means it is a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike.  I felt that it would allow me to ride either on the canal banks or, after changing to road tires I could also train on the roadways.  I was a little nervous about making the final decision, but when I rode with Don the next time, I mentioned to him what my plans were for the purchase.  I told him the bicycle came from a small company in Marin County (San Francisco area) and that the bike store had told me they had great results and good service from the Marin Bike Company.  As I mentioned the name of the bicycle company, I happened to look over at the bike that Don was borrowing from Mike.  There, written on the frame was “Marin”.  I had been riding at least three days a week next to Don and I never even noticed what brand name bike he was riding.  This was definitely a sign for me that God was giving me the go-ahead.  Some might say that subconsciously I had seen this name on the bike every time I rode.  But I know myself.  When I don’t notice something, I really don’t notice it even if it could reach out and bite me.  When I saw “Marin” written on Mike’s bike, it was if I had never seen it before. 

 December 23^rd I drove to the bicycle store to pick up my new bicycle. I called Hollen and Morena to thank them again for the bike.  Hollen asked me if I had ridden it yet and I replied that I didn’t have time because I was preparing for the Christmas festivities.  He chided me to at least go out and take a ten-minute spin.  I decided that I could take a quick ride to the corner and back.  Since I was only going a short distance, a quarter mile, I did not put on my helmet or gloves.  When I got to the corner, I swung out into the road to make a U-turn.  The next thing I knew, I was face down on the road.  The new bike had bucked me off!  I skinned up my hands and bruised my knees, elbows and hip.  So much for a quickie ride.  That taught me a lesson about leaving the helmet and gloves at home. At least now I didn’t need to worry about falling and scratching my new bike.  I had already broken it in.