my first 100+ km on my road bike

what i learned today

Hello reader, thanks for being here! I’m Kana and this is Tending Gardens, which you can read about here. If you like it and want more like it in your inbox, consider subscribing. 

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starting road cycling 3 months ago

I started road cycling a couple of months ago, I had such a strong urge to start that I really think I manifested meeting Sean—an American living in Tokushima, Japan for many years, who’s an avid cycler (avid is an understatement for someone who recently rode 35 days straight and regularly banks over 300km a week). Sean, after riding for many years, was really interested in sharing his love for cycling and make the sport more accessible.

I was intimidated to start cycling because I knew nothing about road bikes. The extend of my cycling was riding $50 bicycles that I bought second or third hand to commute in the cities when I was doing my master’s. I knew how to ride bicycles, but I didn’t understand the first thing about the sport.

I slowly gathered gear and knowledge about bicycles in the past months. Each ride became a milestone in itself. My first 10km, 20km, 50km…

I think it’s human nature to feel a sense of fulfilment or joy from seeing progress while learning something new. I felt elation when I rode higher, further, faster. It wasn’t so much a sense of doing “more” or being “better”, but a deep satisfaction knowing that I was becoming a road cyclist (something I was so convinced was near impossible).

rapha’s “Women 100” race

Learning about road cycling meant learning about the communities that form around the sport. I also learned about brands. Early on, I became familiar with was Rapha, a high-end cycling wear brand from London, UK. Sean worked at Rapha in the past and was always head to toe in Rapha.

I followed Rapha online and eventually bought my own jersey (top). When I found out that Rapha would be holding an event called "Women's 100" I was pumped. The annual event encourages female cyclists from all over the world to challenge one goal—completing 100km.

100km was a milestone I hadn’t reached yet, and this would be a perfect time to try. Women supporting women on road bicycles, heck yes.

I started early morning September 12th and headed to the east part of Tokushima with Sean. The plan was 50km out one way, 50km back. The cycle was going well with almost 40km in one go before lunch. Stopping for lunch, I was surprised by how large my appetite was—one large sandwich felt like a bite. I felt that I could just keep eating, so I did. Every time we stopped at a combi (convenient store) I was shocked that I kept having an appetite.

After lunch, we kept going further instead of turning back. We rode another 30km out, so we were already 70km away from where we started. We finally turned around. I was finally approaching 100km and then I did it! 100km, this was it, goal accomplished!

But we still weren’t home… another 40km to go. I lost motivation and started to feel soreness in all parts of my body.

a mental battle

In a matter of minutes (or so it felt like it), the day turned into night and I had to turn on my headlights to see anything in front of me. My field of vision became narrow and short. I started to wonder to myself, “why am I doing this?"

The race goal of 100km gave me the motivation to push through, but after passing 100km, I had to find something deeper to keep me going. The last stretch was a mental battle. I realized that I wasn’t physically as exhausted as I thought I would be, my legs and overall body were okay (I did start to feel discomfort in my hands, shoulders, and butt), but it was the mental challenge that completely caught me off guard.

I realized that I had (in the previous months) been focused on cycling as a physical journey that I wasn’t mentally prepared for a long-distance cycle. Somewhere between dusk and night, I learned to tune into the inherent mindfulness qualities of being on the bicycle—each pedal stroke. There’s a rhythm on the road and my thoughts gravitated towards maintaining this rhythm. Something about shifting my attention to building mental resilience while cycling, by being mindful, gave me the strength to push past the uncomfortable moments (which were a lot after 100km).

Road cycling and the ride today has helped me realized a physical and mental strength I did not know I possessed. I am thankful for what cycling has given and taught me in these past months. It’s just the start of a journey but I’m grateful for this milestone.

Remember to rest and take time for yourself this week.

Rest is radical. Rest says: I’m taking care of my needs before others and I am not subjected to responding to societal demands because rest is and can be productive. Chose to prioritize mental health and overall wellbeing. Rest.

Have a beautiful week!

Take care,
Kana

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