what have i done?

There are times in one's life when one wonders what one has gotten oneself into. This is one such time.

Bicycling across America sounds like a great idea, right? Wind in your hair, breathing in fresh air, cycling through mountains, plains... from sea to shining sea. What could be better?

These were exactly my thoughts when I clicked the "Enter" button and submitted my registration for the American Lung Association's Big Ride Across America. I was giddy with excitement.

I awoke the next day in a cold sweat. Now that I'd signed up, I'd have to actually drag my rear end from one coast of America to the other. Turns out, it's over 3,300 miles. Turns out, we'll average over 80 miles per day.

What was I thinking???

As I write this post, I have the radio on in the background, and quite ironically, I'm now hearing...

Nowhere to run to, baby
Nowhere to hide
Got nowhere to run to, baby
Nowhere to hide

... blasting from it. Oh, how I can relate!

For many children, the big yearly event in their mind is Christmas, or their birthday. They'll have a count down to it, and eagerly await its arrival. The big event in my young life was the annually required one mile run that was part of P.E. class. I had an anti-countdown. With each day it grew closer, my trepidation grew. At last, when the day arrived and the running could not be avoided, I forced myself to struggle, and do I mean struggle through the four laps around the school field, and generally came in dead last. I did not excel in other physical areas either. I never managed a single pull up. I played softball for a year, and didn't have a single hit. I played basketball for a year, and didn't have a single basket. I played soccer for a great many years, and didn't score a goal (I suppose this one was somewhat legitimate as I played a defensive position) but did manage to tear cartilage in both knees that required four knee surgeries between the two. I did once manage to drag myself 13.1 miles, but that was a rarity and my crowning physical achievement. In summary, saying that I am not known for my physical prowess would certainly be an understatement.

And yet... off I go. Attempting to get myself across the whole of the United States. After much thought, I've realized that there's only one way this will turn out: I will certainly die. The other riders will be cycling through the glory of the scenic woodlands and mountains of America, and I will be this shell of a person that collapses into a heap of misery, unable to carry on. I've already requested that my parents get a large shovel as they'll most certainly be having to scoop me off the side of a road somewhere in middle America.

While this is my current outlook, I admit it may be a smidge grim. By the end of writing this post, another fitting song has come on the radio... The Five Stairstep's Ooh Child:

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Right now, right now

Dear me, I hope so! And for an additional bit of inspiration, I recently ran across this little fellow who gives quite a pep talk about bicycling. If he could make it, surely I can... right?