Go on - It's just one more pedal
My first stint with cycling began 20 years ago. But I guess somewhere along the way, life caught up and I was more enamored by the sturdier wheels of a bike and then a car. But that’s not nearly important to this story.
Zoom ahead to 15 years later. My friends and I decided to participate in a cycling expedition at Leh. Now I was nervous. From what I read the route presents challenges of high altitude, freezing temperatures, uncertain temperatures and long stretches of unwinding roads. I remember a friend telling me. “ Brown will be your new colour. Bleeding from your nose isn’t uncommon. Don’t fret.” Of course, I did. It was time to pull up my socks and prepare. This was my foundation. Little did I know that no matter how much you practice, you’re never going to be completely prepared. Or that there was no looking back.
Our training began 6 months in advance with progressively longer rides. 20 km on weekend one to 70 on weekend five. Staying in Bangalore for more than 25 years, I had not nearly heard some of these places forget visiting them. I also discovered that some of these routes like Turahalli forest, Hesserrghatta and the climbs of Basavanagudi and Nandi Hills were quite popular among regular cyclists. What a world I had been missing! This was my first step towards understanding the various life lessons I learned from cycling.
Life has no shortcuts: My first few rides were manageable. As a group, we stopped multiple times, we took breaks while we laughed and got to know each other like never before. Then came my then impossible ride to Nandi hills, a 65 km ride from Bangalore city with 3 km uphill. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. I was out of breath in the first 15 minutes! To makes things worse, everybody in my group and otherwise were ahead of me, I ran out of water and made it only halfway. Disappointed, I vowed not to go to my Leh expedition the following month. Two days later, I started practicing harder, eating and drinking right, exercising for strength and researching techniques and went on a few solo rides. Long story short, I did make it to the trip and completed it.
Breathe in Breathe out: In a fast-paced world like today, we hardly take the time to notice the small things in life. When you’re cycling and the faster vehicles overtake you, sometimes your ego takes a hit. Soon enough, you learn to move at your own pace and enjoy everything around you. Take time to think about things that really matter to you and it’s a whole new perspective to the road. The cute puppy dogs wrestling each other, the grandfather holding his wife’s hand before crossing the road, the fields of sunflower gold blowing cold breeze to ease your ride and sometimes even the mountains teach you a thing or two about your ego. As one of my most respected mentors said “ Don’t try to trick or overtake the mountains, they will put you in your place”
Some of the best routes have shit on them - We may have discovered an awesome smooth route giving you that high to crank up those gears and speed your way through. Think forests surrounded by lush greenery and peace like you’ve never experienced before? But who is to say you will not find a huge crater surrounded by animal dung? When you’re downhill, you rarely have the liberty to abruptly hold the breaks or slow your pace down. The road takes over you. What’s your best bet? To keep riding and move ahead. What happens when you fall? Well, just dust that mud off, keep moving ahead and reach your destination.
Whom you ride with matters - You may ride alone or with a group. When you ride alone, sometimes the loneliness gets to you. Your mind starts playing games on safety and stumbles. Sometimes, in a group to keep up with the pace, your legs will feel heavier than logs and the initial enthusiasm you felt while embarking on a long bicycle-ride adventure would have vanished. This is when the composition of the group matters. Sometimes, your group will offer help. Take it if you need it. If you don’t, confidently ascertain you can take care of yourself and they can wait for you a few kilometers ahead. In converse as my mentor says “ Offer help only when needed. Never become a burden to somebody.” This may not work for many. But then again, cycling also teaches you to make your own choices.
Consistency goes a long way - When I completed my Leh expedition, I thought I had conquered it. On the same trip, I attempted Kardung-la. At one point in the journey, the mountains got to me. I sat down and wept like a child for 10 continuous minutes. I realized the tiny speck I occupy in this world. I realized the long way I had ahead of me. My strengths and my weaknesses. I also realized it was more important to consistently perform that peak performance. I learned more recently that the best cyclists aren’t great because of one awesome performance or race. It is their ability to consistently ride from every day to every day of the year and improve over time. It’s also the ability to ride when strong headwinds are hitting you or pedaling through that uphill instead of pushing your bike all the way.
Lastly, as the saying goes “When in doubt, keep pedaling”. One revolution at a time.