It's Okay To Fail

The team meets after the last game of the season which they lost by less than a touchdown.

I have been trying and trying to get things together to do another century length bicycle ride. Life, circumstances, and illness have conspired against me and I've lost a good month plus to various things which have kept me from my goal. There have even been a few mechanical and technical issues to overcome as well. Some could say that my Fall has been one great big bite of "fail" and it doesn't taste very good.

One of the bigger disappointments was an event I wanted to do. I was signed up for the Spotted Horse, but I got sick, had a vacation come up, which was a bit unexpected, which I didn't know about until mid-August. I had to make the difficult decision to not join in on all the reindeer games that weekend of the Spotted Horse due to those things. In fact, I've been off gravel and only recently really started doing any significant riding beyond my commutes to and from work. I thought by now I would have had an easy 5 century dstance rides for the year, maybe six, but I still am stuck at three.

You know, it would be real easy to get all down about all that. Failing doesn't feel very good. It can eat at your mind and bring you down. However; I try not to dwell on it and there have been a lot of good, albeit non-cycling related, things happening in my life of late. Cycling is important, for sure, but it isn't everything in life. Not when you have a wife and two children. Or, at least cycling shouldn't take preeminence over those things. 

The Pofahl with some proper gravel tires and different I-9 wheels.

One of the things I've been enjoying is watching my son and his football team this Fall. They are freshman and still have a lot to learn about the game and each other. Still, their character and actions on the field of play have been inspiring to me.

They haven't won a lot of games. In fact, they lost more than they won. However; the way they failed was what I was intrigued by. Yes, they made mistakes. Costly ones, but......and this is key....they never gave up or backed down. I watched two games of theirs, both lost by less than a touchdown, that came down to the final seconds of the game, and they never lost heart. They kept pushing. They did not let the loss affect their resolve to come back again the following week and give it their all again.

Football isn't everything in their world, and it shouldn't be, but obviously these young men find importance in doing their best at it. I guess I could use a bit of that motivation in terms of my cycling goals. I have a tendency to get too far down the rabbit hole of comparison and too many times I let my emotions take over and I get down about things. The lack of daylight doesn't help matters either. But again, cycling isn't the be all, end all for me.

The key is finding balance and to keep a positive outlook on my cycling. Oh, I am turning the corner now on a lot of things, but my son's team experiences really resonated with me after watching their last game that they played Saturday. It made me take stock and realize that this ain't over yet. So, I am forging ahead, and my plans for the Single Speed Century, however long delayed, are still on.