Day 60: 20.3 miles/1:15
“Fulfillment of your goal is the ultimate objective. However, the real power of the journey is discovering and learning from all the experiences along the way.”
Getting to the place where accomplishing a something significant involves succeeding in doing a lot of little, seemingly insignificant things along the way. In reality, it is all those little things that make successful completion of the journey possible. Rather than overlook the small accomplishments, it is important to realize and celebrate them. For these are the little gems in our life that provide real meaning to the entire experience.
The 100 Pedals journey is about finding clarity and strength while maintaining focus and commitment through one hundred consecutive sixty-minute (or more) bike rides. Completion of this journey is official with the 100th ride in April. Every day that I go for another one-hour bike ride I am closer and closer to my goal. And, every day I learn a little more about the challenge of the mission as I organize my priorities around fulfillment of this daily objective. But, this mission is bigger than simply one hundred consecutive bike rides.
This real benefit of the experience in 100 Pedals is the unanticipated lessons learned and shared. This commitment is providing inspiration to others who have joined me on my journey. Their comments provide inspiration and energy back to me. Though I did not plan on writing when I made this commitment, here I am making notes on a daily basis. I am now getting joy and energy from the rides in combination to these writings. This challenge has provided me with both the mental clarity to write and the physical ability to ride on a daily basis.
Originally 100 Pedals was all about the rides. Now 100 Pedals has provided the inspiration, energy, clarity, joy, daily experiences, and opportunities to explore a wide variety of thoughts and ideas not previously considered as part of the commitment. It is the little things on this journey that make the big stuff meaningful and worthwhile.
Whatever you are working on in your journey, look at the other discoveries you have made along the way. These are not insignificant. They are the real experiences of this trip. You will cross the finish line one day. You will celebrate your success with the biggest end zone dance ever. What you will take with you, besides the thrill of the accomplishment, is all the lessons, experiences, and conversations you had along the way. This is where the real lessons were taught and provided. Internalize them. Make note of them. They are what will really make the entire project a successful and complete experience.
