Deciding to Ride

Last year we decided to start an endeavor of setting physical fitness goals.  It started as an attempt to reduce our cholesterol levels but has turned into a lifestyle.   Our challenge of the spring is riding 50 miles.  

Clay has been an avid bicyclist his entire life, I have become more adventurous riding on the mountain bike trails over the past year.  As a challenge to ourselves we decided that 50 miles would be a great physical challenge.  Through the next few months as we start increasing our distance, we will try to use this blog as a journal.  

Though it was difficult to find a training program for a 50 mile bike ride, we found many for the century ride and revamp them to accommodate our 15 weeks and counting until it ride day. 

We call it a ride because it is the accomplishment of completion not the accomplishment of doing better than another that is the focus of the ride.  We chose to ride in our local Tour de Cure and raise money for diabetes.  Diabetes is a disease that has affected three of my grandparents and led to complications that took the life of both of my grandfathers.  Clay has chosen to do this with me in honor of my grandparents as well as all the other individuals who we know that suffer from diabetes. 

We have currently been riding stationary bikes in order to prepare and keep our riding muscles in shape, but tomorrow we will do our first long ride starting out at 15 miles we will gradually increase for one long ride each week until ride day.  During the week we will do shorter rides of 20 to 30 minutes of varying intensity and inclines.