Mantra

So the title of this blog (and my cycling mantra) comes from a short poem I wrote during a long solo tour out west in 1996.  Here it is.

Bicycle Tourist

This

mountain 

is not the sum

of all the obstacles

I have faced in my life.

It's just a hill!

When I first returned to cycling in my 50s I was afraid of every hill I came to.  I had no confidence that I had the capacity to ride over anything bigger than a bump.  But the more I rode the stronger I got and the "bumps" I was riding over got bigger and bigger.  But I still faced each climb with fear.  Then one day on a long loaded tour in the Rockies I met another cyclist and told him how every climb seemed like a battle to me.  He suggested that I practice relaxing as I climbed.  It seemed like a silly idea but I decided to try it.  And that's when I figured out that my fear had very little to do with the hill in front of me.... and wrote the poem.... and found my mantra.  I have no doubt it will be useful as we head east from San Diego!