I’m having some real doubts about the Audax Challenge I’ve set myself this year. The turn of the month, my reasonable success restarting training in January and starting to increase my training for February has made it all more real than it was in the early days of January.
My first big marker is April 23rd with the Dark Hedges 200. I’m mostly confident that I will be able to manage that ride. I’ve done both the course and the distance a number of times and know what to expect. It’s the next BIG marker that has me really worried – Coast to Coast 600 on June 10th just 7 weeks after the Dark Hedges! I’ve no experience of distances over 200km and none of multi day rides either. That scares the 💩 out of me right now!
part i
part ii
Where the brain starts to screw me now is with those doubts. I’m finding it much harder this month to keep the same motivation for my training. Some of this is that the initial excitement is wearing off and that shit’s getting real. Mentally it would be much easier to find an excuse to give up than deal with the possibility of failure. However, I keep setting targets, making plans and focusing on the next ride.
On Sunday I rode almost 60km, slightly longer than I expected and my longest ride since August 2021! Milestones like that keep me motivated.
Perspective? My blogger friend Jim at Fit Recovery is dealing with the shock of being made redundant after 25 years with the same company and the prospect of starting all over again with a new company. Good luck with the new job Jim 👍
the idle cyclist 
Just as you told Jim, it’s normal to worry about leaps into the unknown. I felt terrified getting on the ferry in Portsmouth to ride, solo, to the alps – but the one way to guarantee failure is not to try. I believe that you will succeed.
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Thank you 😊
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Small steps are best (unless you are super fit) it took me lots and lots of 200K rides over my first year to get anywhere fit enough to take on a 600k.
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Thanks, brother. The multi-day tours are a blast, man. Especially if you have a few friends to ride them with you (we have 12 to 16 for our big one every summer). The long distance rides are tough, though. 200k takes a lot of want to. I wish you the best. And thanks for the kind words of support.
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It really does take courage, but the body does have its surprises. Last year I rode my first 1500km audax but my longest ride before was 300km. I found that my barriers were mostly mental, and that after the first day, the next day came and went, as did the next, until I found myself at the end. The scales are different, but you might surprise yourself!
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I hope so 😊
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Perspective indeed. I went through a job change two years ago that ended up being very positive, but a big disruption in my routine. My cycling goals were the first casualty of that change and my worsening knees. So I cut my cycling by a third, but I’m enjoying it more. Might as well ride the distances that feel good, while you still can.
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Head down. Keep peddling. You’ll get there. Don’t forget to enjoy it 😎
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Take each day by day tick it off and don’t look too far ahead. Fear is normal because riding that distance isn’t.
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🤣 Love that last bit 👌
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Stick it somewhere to remind yourself 👍
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You’ve got this. Long games are hard to play, but victory is all the sweeter then.
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My two pennies, just keep riding whenever you can and don’t add pressure thinking about big rides. You’ve ridden 200 before so you can do it again. You’ve not ridden 600 so not worth worrying about the unknown Whatever happens happens and you’ll take from it what you need. Also training solo is different from events where there are other people riding so people to chat with on the road and at controls to break the monotony and inner monologue 😉
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