In 4 months I will be embarking on a journey I have wanted to do for quite some time - years really. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that one day, I would bike around Lake Superior and I would do it before I turned 35. Well, this summer - August to be exact - will be my opportunity. From the 12th - 26th, my friend Lisa and I will head out on the 1300+ mile trip, averaging about 100 miles per day on our bikes for 14 days, regardless of weather conditions. We'll start and end in Duluth, camping most nights - perhaps indulging in some crusty roadside motel a couple of those nights just for a bed that isn't the ground. This is the last summer I have before I start my doctorate program, and I have been feeling the itch to do something big before school once again consumes my life.
For those who know me well, you know my love of biking. I have been seriously biking since I was 17 years old. Most of my rides have been on my own terms. What started out as a way to lose weight and get in shape back in high school has morphed into something that is my meditation. Biking has become so much more than a fitness activity. It has become a necessity for the maintenance of my own well-being, centeredness, and calm. I push myself to bike year round and explore new routes and bike trails whenever possible. May 1, 2011 will mark my 5th consecutive year riding the 100 mile route in the Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride. I just signed up for another 100 mile ride on June 4th, and this Friday (4/15) I'm actually riding with Lisa from Hinckley to Duluth (about 75 miles). We did the Cannon Valley Trail last weekend (40 miles) in the cold, rain, hail, and lightening. Hard core!
Biking Lake Superior will be the most challenging biking adventure I've ever taken. I've got 4 months to train and in addition to adding more distance training in, I am also running longer routes for cross training purposes and plan to run some 5Ks with my sister (first one being the Fitger's 5K this Saturday [4/16]), and upping my weight lifting regime. Lisa and I decided that we need to figure out how much extra weight we'll be carrying on our bikes, and do our best to lose those pounds off our bodies before we go. In addition, we'll need to outfit our bikes with racks and paneer bags, and purchase lightweight tents, food, and other necessary gear. As much as I am looking forward to this trip, and also being moderately terrified of it, I continue to see through the trip to the other side when we roll across our proverbial finish line in Duluth. I imagine the conversations we will have with people on down the road when our trip is done talking about what we did - that we actually accomplished this! That thought alone is enough to make me feel invincible - like I could bike it 5 times around! It's so energizing and amazing and will be a true testament to how I roll when I set a goal for myself.
In a "find myself" sort of inner reflective trip doing one of the things I love the most (biking) in a place that has always held incredible significance to me (Lake Superior), I have no doubt this will be a life-changing journey. I think it will mark an end to alot of things for me (this is a good thing) and the beginning of many wonderful things yet to come. I will definitely be maintaining this blog as much as I can during this trip as well as during the months leading up to it.
It's funny, I began this blog about 3 weeks before I left on a life-changing trip back to my beginnings as I traveled back to Korea. I'll be wrapping up a little over a year of blogging with another major trip of self-discovery. Hmmm...yet another full circle will soon be complete!
