Riding, Racing, and Realizing Your Goals

On taking the first step

“But what if I finish last?” asked bird.

“Then, you should congratulate yourself,” replied bear. “Because finishing means you started.”

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📷: Parts & Pieces
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He laughed, and said: “Good luck with that.”

His sarcasm was not hidden.

I’d just turned 40, and was getting my very first bike fit.

When the shop owner asked me what my cycling goals were, I told him I was interested in racing.

And why not? I was fit, loved mountain biking, and thought it’d be a fun way to both challenge myself and meet new people.

“Don't bother,” he went on to say as he adjusted my saddle height.

“Most guys your age who are racing have been doing it for years, and they’re not, well, they’re not recreational riders.”

That ended the conversation, and – embarrassed – I couldn’t get out of the shop fast enough.

As I drove home, as if on cue, the thoughts flooded in:

Clearly, I’m not fast enough.
I’m not strong enough.
I’m not tall enough.
I’m too heavy.
I can’t climb or do drops.
I’m too old.

The list went on and on.

“What was I even thinking to consider racing?”

And just like that, a dream was gone.

It would be convenient to blame that shop owner, but really the idea of racing had already made me nervous.

It was something new, something unknown. And that meant scary.

So, it was easier to let a stranger tell me why I couldn’t or shouldn’t do it, than to try it for myself and see what actually happened.

I can’t count how many times I’ve consciously and unconsciously allowed my fears and self-doubts to stop me from trying new things.

The result? Life narrows. Regrets widen. And the life you think you were meant to lead, the person you thought you were going to be slowly disappears.

Over the past couple years, I’ve worked really hard at owning my own life; at leaning in to things I *think* I want to do; at embracing being a beginner; at listening to what I truly feel rather than being guided by what my fears and self-doubt tell me I should be feeling.

It’s been 14 years since that bike fit.

I started racing mountain bikes this spring. And I couldn’t be happier.

What’s one goal, big or small, new or deferred, that you can lean into this summer?