fear and (self-)loathing in mendocino county
Firstly: A wonderful thing happened this week. I reached my AIDS/Lifecycle fundraising target! To everyone who donated, the deepest bow of thanks. I am so massively grateful for the support I’ve received.
Soon, I’ll be heading to South Africa for a few weeks where my ability to train will be spotty at best, so I wanted to prove to myself that before I go, I’ve got a solid foundation of biking fitness.
And so: today I set off on the longest ride of my entire life. It did not begin auspiciously. Soon after setting off, I ended up deflating my front tyre accidentally when I was attempting to bump up its pressure with my little hand pump. I was furious at my continued lack of technical cycling knowledge, and a little frightened too. Of my 74mi (119km) route, roughly 0.5mi of that has cell service (thanks, Verizon!). If things go awry, your options are limited — there ain’t Uber in these parts.
I managed to re-inflate my tyre. For the next hour or two, I obsessed over whether it was firm enough, whether air was seeping out, whether I’d get a flat. Soon enough, though, I stopped worrying about the tyre, and started fretting that I wouldn’t get to the only store in the first 50 miles that’s open on a Sunday in time before its closing at 4pm. I was furious, again, that I hadn’t set off early enough. What was I going to do if it was closed? The next store was a further 13 miles away. Why hadn’t I packed more supplies than a 250ml bottle of water? What about an energy bar, Alex?!
I passed cow-speckled meadows, was swallowed up by redwood groves where the only manmade sounds I could hear was the bike, and my own breathing. The only other cyclist I saw was one driving a Tesla, his bike strapped to its rear.
At last, I caught a glimpse of the Pacific for the first time in 10 days; it greeted me with chilly indifference. I arrived at the Elk Store at 4.20pm; its door was locked, but the lights were still on. I knocked, and — to my great joy — was admitted. Thankfully, they hadn’t closed the register for the day, so I was able to buy a Coke, a kombucha and a chocolate chip cookie. I was fortified!
As I pedalled onwards, the mixture of sugar, caffeine, endorphins and exhaustion (highly recommended, fyi) meant I largely stopped worrying about anything. It helped that the front tyre was holding up, I guess, and that I was no longer thirsty. The steepest hills were behind me. Rain was sifting in: gentle, insistent, keeping me company all the way home. Occasionally it stung my eyes, but I was grateful regardless; in this part of the world, rain is always a gift.
After over 5.5 hours on the saddle (and another stop for a Coke and that post-ride Pliny), the idiot aboard arrived home. Unscathed (I don’t take that for granted!), and extremely sodden.
THIS WEEK’S FACTS AND FIGURES
Number of rides: 4
Total distance: 127.3mi | ~204km
Time left till AIDS/Lifecycle: 10 weeks