I received a text last Thursday evening which said “I’m around tomorrow morning, are you interested in a cycle?” The text came from Donagh McGrath, a Corkman (Bishopstown) who now lives in Dublin and, like me, was spending the New Year in West Kerry.
Donagh is a fit and determined guy. I learned from past experience that he likes early starts, so my replay was “What time?” He replied, “around 9?” I wanted to go for a cycle but not if it meant getting up at 8am on December 30th so I seized on the question mark in his reply and bought an extra half hour in bed. “9.30 would suit me, see you at Bric’s (a shop/pub in Riasc) it that suits?” His reply came back “C U then”.
Donagh is a stronger cyclist than I am. He is also 10 years younger than me and he did the Dublin marathon last October. For a variety of reasons, my bike had only been on the road four times between the day of the Dublin marathon and Christmas Day. I needed to be in charge of setting the time because it was likely to be the only chance I would get to dictate any aspect of this cycle.
As it transpired, Friday morning was pretty rotten in West Kerry. There was a heavy mist (or “ceo”, to give it a true Irish description) and a strong wind blowing. If I had not made a commitment to be at Bric’s at 9.30am, I would have gone back to bed once I looked out the window at 8.30am. The great thing about making arrangements to cycle, or train with someone else is that once you make a commitment, you are no longer answerable to just yourself, so you have to keep your promise.
By the time I met up with Donagh it was raining. It was a light rain but when it was combined with the wind, it was a nuisance. There was no going back however. We were well wrapped up for the cycle, or so we thought, it was only a case of deciding on a route.
“I was thinking of the Conor [Pass]” said Donagh. I do not know if it was the gust of wind that blew across us, or the pale look on my face that made him quickly add, “or will we do the Slea Head circle?” Before he could say any more I said, “Slea Head sounds good”.
One of the good things about cycling a circular route is that you are bound to get the wind to you back as some stage. In rough terms we had the wind to our back for the first quarter of the journey, it was going to be in our faces for the next two quarters and it would carry us home for the final quarter.
The second great advantage about cycling with others is the company. You can chat as you go along. You feel that you are not carrying the fight against the elements on your own. The first quarter of our trek flew because we had the wind behind us and we were catching up on the gossip since we last cycled together in the summer.
It was when we turned at Cuas (under Mount Brandon) to face the wind, and the now considerably heavier rain, that we really appreciated each other’s company. The cycle was no longer about the chat and the company; it was about saying to yourself, “If he can do this, I can too”.
There were long periods of silence as we cycled slightly uphill and into the unrelenting wind. Finally we met the main road again. There is a tough uphill kilometre of road at that point, but once you reach the top, you know it’s more or less downhill into Dingle. There was a bonus too; the wind was now blowing across us rather than in our faces. Unfortunately the rain was worse than ever.
If I had been on my own I would have quit when I reached Dingle. But being part of a group (even if it was only two) makes you want to stick it out. Besides Donagh kept saying “I think it is brightening up”. Under those circumstances I was not going to be the one to suggest we call for a backup car.
Fortunately, the rain did stop and we managed the road from Dingle to Slea Head with only the wind as a nuisance. Once around Slea Head it was plain sailing. The wind was behind us and even though it did start to rain again, we were on the homeward leg. It was no longer the fear of being the first to crack that spurred up on; it was the thought of a hot shower.
The point of this story is that the best cycles are the ones where you cycle with someone else or as part of a group. That is where real work can be accomplished and it is better fun.
This week is the week of the New Year resolutions. Thousands of people will make promises to get fit and set goals for themselves. The gymnasiums of Cork will be choc-a-bloc for the next few weeks with people trying to meet their new goals. Almost inevitably, these gyms will be back to the regular crowd by St Valentine’s Day.
People make two common mistakes. They set the goal too high and they try and achieve the goals alone. Going to the gym, going for a walk or going for a cycle is one thing, but trying to do it five times each week is a completely different challenge. The resolution very quickly becomes a chore. Eventually you will miss a night or two and never go back.
One of the best ways to keep focused on your fitness goal is to get a training partner, or join a group. It is easier to keep a commitment that way. You will no longer have the comfort of saying to yourself, “Sure, I’ll get back to it next week”. Even if you are not as fit as your partner or group, you can meet at the appointed time, set your own time and distance, and work at your own level until you catch up.
Finally, one of the best motivational tools of all is to keep a record of your training. It does not have to be a detailed record, just an entry in a notebook giving the date, the task (run, walk, cycle etc.) the weather, and how you felt afterwards. The time that it took to complete the task is not important. What is important is that by Easter, you should be able to say “I have completed ‘X’ amount of tasks and covered ‘X’ distance. That should be motivation enough to set you up for the longer summer nights. Then, come the end of July, you can sit and watch our Olympic athletes and say to yourself, “I know how they are feeling”.