Not my best day (I just need to whine).

[sundial]

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR CENTURY!!!!

I would love to share a package of oreos with you in celebration of you grand riding season. Cookies and a good ear always make me feel better when I'm blue.

[quint41]

Oh man, Sundial!!! I want to get you for my next Secret Sister!! Do you prefer double-stuffs? Or are you an Oreo traditionalist?

[slmdunc]

Isn't it fascinating how our mental state really can make or break a ride?

It's not like it's NEWS, or anything, but for some reason, as of late, I've been pondering this subject a lot and am truly intrigued with the power of a positive mindset. Mind you, I don't always FIND it! I've certainly had rides where I was in tears. Often times I think I'm "Lancette" on the bike one day, and a week later, I feel slow, dumpy and pathetic. What gives? How do we change our mindset once we get into a bad one? Is it even possible at that point? These days, major athletes and teams in all sports pay good money for Sports Psychologists to work on this issue. They've found "peak performance" in star athletes is more mental than anything. Again - in one way or another, I've always known this, but lately (I guess with regard to my own riding), I find myself oft chewing on this idea.

All in all, I think, aly, that you are doing the healthiest thing - which is to talk about it here with us, and then to get back out there. Don't worry! You'll find your inner Lancette again!

[Tuckervill]

You can change your state of mind simply by changing your state of mind. Easier: change your physical state, and your state of mind will change, too. A belief is just something you think over and over.

I was on the Katy Trail in MO pulling my dog in the trailer this summer. This turned out to be my longest ride ever to that point in time. On the trail going out I met a woman coming towards me in a motorized wheelchair. We exchanged pleasantries. I noticed that I never saw her distinctive tracks going the other direction all day, so I assume she used the trail for travel, and probably on a regular basis.

When I stopped for lunch, I met a guy that was traveling from Alaska to Key West by bike. He had broken his neck a few years ago and he was really stiff. He had also been hit by an elderly driver from behind while on his bike in Kansas just two weeks earlier. Watching him get off his bike was really painful. I don't know how he could keep on pedaling.

Later, at about mile 25 for me, I hit a serious wall. The sun was coming out after a cloudy, windy day (no rain!). I'd been on the bike for at least 3 hours and away from camp since 8 am. It was closing in on 3:00, and with the dog behind me my average speed was only about 7. The dog was getting too tired to run, but I made him run through the shady parts and pulled him in the sunny parts. The only thing to do is keep pedaling, so I started making up songs. "Just keep pedaling. Avoid the cracks. This surface used to be railroad tracks!" About 2 miles from camp, I just had to stop. I pulled a pillow out of the trailer and sat on it. The dog crashed in the deeper shade behind the trailer. I sat there a few minutes, drinking water, eating a banana, and listening to the cicadas and smelling the corn and sunflowers and weeds. Then, like a bolt of lightening, it hit me and I said out loud, "What the HELL!?! I'm not in any freaking WHEELCHAIR! I don't have to ride all the way to KEY WEST!" I zipped the dog back into the trailer, got back on the bike and sprinted the rest of the way to camp.

I just decided (with the help of two inspirational people) not to think the way I was thinking. That's how you change your mind.

Karen

[indigoiis]

I think of my future self talking to my present self. Like, me, sitting in a nursing home, thinking back to all the fun times I've had, sending out a message: "Come on, honey."

Like a self-created fairy godmother.

[Over50Newbie]

Just wanted everyone to know that I have ridden with Quint41 multiple times and she is an awesome biker! Much faster than I am. My friends and I have adopted the term "Quint Sprint" when we bike with her because she goes into the 'big rig' on the flats and leaves us in her dust.

Lynette