This morning I convinced my friend to attempt a 12 mile bike ride with me. The longest he’s ever done before was 4.5 miles. It was a mental hurdle (that I constantly try to jump), that was holding him back from trying anything longer. He was hessitant to go with me on Tuesday, but for some reason, he accepted the invite this morning. With my promise not to go too fast (like I can anyway (you never know what someone else thinks of your abilities)), he was ready at 7 AM.
We headed toward Philadelphia and turned around at the 4 mile mark. We weren’t going fast, nor were we lollygagging either, but both of us commented at one point that our legs ‘felt it’. We stayed going the same pace (around 18 mph) on the way back to Conshy. Right after the last Conshy train station, I went left and he kept going straight toward Norristown to the office. I finished my ‘usual’ 12 mile loop and was guessing that his mileage was going to be around the same when he got to his destination. When he got to Norristown, he realized that he had the key to a van that I was supposed to drive in the morning. Hmmm, his decision…. ride his bike back and drive the van in himself. That was a total of 16.5 miles!
That may not sound like a lot of miles (to some people (because those people are nuts)), but when he couldn’t get past riding 4.5 miles in his mind, that’s a lot of miles.
Now, he can’t wait to go further! How fun is that? I’d like to think I had a hand in that mind shift, but it had nothing to do with me and all to do with changing his own mind from stopping him.
