When David Rowe offered to stop by on his virtual book tour to promote “The Ride of Your Life,” I jumped at the chance to interview him.
It's not often that I get the opportunity to talk bicycling with someone as knowledgeable and expressive as David. Based here in the Pacific Northwest, he's been riding a bicycle for 30 years. Although he doesn't race, he regularly participates in bike rides that are longer than 100 miles.
His ebook is a guide to preparing yourself mentally for the challenge of taking on long-distance cycling. We touched on some of those issues in this interview, like riding through pain, balancing bicycling with your job and family, and how to prepare for a long-distance independent bicycle tour.
He also talks about his earliest memories of bicycling and who inspires him to go the long distances.
At the bottom I tell how you can get a free copy of the “The Ride of Your Life: Aligning heart and mind for success in long-distance cycling.” [Also, check out an excerpt of the book, below.]
Q. I’m always interested to hear how people get started bicycling. I discovered that I could cover a lot more miles and see a lot more on a bicycle than by jogging. How did you get started?
Rowe: I have always loved the feeling of riding a bicycle. I can still remember the first time I rode a friends Schwinn bicycle. The bike I was riding at the time had hard plastic tires. This bike had air in the tires and the ride was soft and smooth. My parents could see how much I loved riding, and they bought me a Schwinn Monarch that year for Christmas.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
Even then I was aware of the distances I could travel on my bike. I rode miles away from home, much farther than would be considered safe for a young child today. And I remember thinking to myself on one ride, “I am going to do this for the rest of my life.” I think I was eight years old when I had that thought. That was 45 years ago and I’m still true to that commitment.
Q. Who’s your biggest inspiration in achieving your goals in cycling?
Rowe: I couldn’t possibly name just one person as my sole inspiration, but there are a few. I drew a lot of my inspiration from watching Lance Armstrong’s 1999 Tour de France win, and from every race he rode since then. I’m inspired even now, as he trains for Tour of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />California, the Giro, and Tour de France.
I drew a lot of inspiration from reading Martin Dugard’s, “Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth.” Although he was writing about adventure racing, and not cycling, I really identified with him as someone who is both a writer and an athlete. I was impressed by Dugard’s commitment to excel at both pursuits, and I could relate to the sometimes awkward position that puts you in during an event.
Two Oregon riders have been huge inspirations to me. One is Del Scharffenberg. Del is one of the most accomplished road cyclists in Portland. I learn just watching Del ride. At 63, he is breaking down the age bias that is so pervasive in sport and in the workplace. Del is a local hero.
The other Oregon rider who has served as a major inspiration for me is John Spurgeon. Like Del, John rides with my club – the Oregon Randonneurs. I watched John step up from brevets to ultras and then to RAAM. He was the first to finish RAAm on a single-speed. I was following him so closely on that ride, it was very exciting for me and for all of us in Oregon.
I have included interviews with both Del and John in my book.
Q. One of the biggest challenges for me has been to balance family, job and my need to bicycle. How do you do that, especially considering the long miles that you must ride in preparation for ultra cycling events?
Rowe: Keeping life in balance while pursuing big goals on the bike is theme of The Ride of Your Life. The pursuit of a long distance cycling goal can overshadow almost everything else. I have seen it first-hand. I’ve seen it in myself, although I think I’ve managed to keep it in check. But I often wonder how some riders manage to keep their lives together, riding 15, 20 hours a week, while holding down a full-time job, raising a family, and taking care of the normal household chores like paying bills and cutting the grass.
The fact is, some don’t. Some sacrifice their marriages. Some miss out on important events in their kids’ lives, like ball games, and musical performances, the things you just can’t freeze-frame and replay. If you aren’t there, it’s gone, forever.
These kinds of decisions aren’t the domain of long distance cycling alone. These are the hazards of over investing in anything that takes our lives out of balance.
For me, it was work. I have always loved to write, so when I was fortunate enough to land a job as a magazine editor coming out of college, I poured myself into the work. Then, one day I realized that I hadn’t been on a surfboard in two years. And, that I had sold my road bike. These were two things that helped define who I was, and yet, I’d let them slip away completely.
I discovered in the work of Charles Hobbs a method for identifying one’s core values, and then getting my life into alignment with those values. That meant I had to make some hard choices about where I would spend my time. Though the years, the bicycle has gotten more or less time, depending on what my family required of me, because I was not willing to sacrifice my family for cycling, for surfing, or working, for that matter.
I have been able to accomplish a lot in life using Hobb’s approach. And when I decided I wanted to go for big goals on the bike, like riding a 600K or a 1200K brevet – I began to adapt it for cycling. It worked.
Q. When I was 35, I thought I might be a little old to be riding a bicycle. More than 20 years have passed, and I no longer think about that. Are there special factors that “older men” should consider in riding long distances.
Rowe: Recently, there has been research published which explains that older males have a distinct advantage when it comes to endurance sport, which may explain why so many older men are riding ultras and brevets in such large numbers. But I would say there are two other reasons: first, their children are grown and out of the house; and second, they have the disposable income to spend on the bikes, equipment, and travel.
The health considerations are real, and people thinking about getting into endurance cycling should consult their physicians. I know, I know, that’s a phrase you hear often from people that are trying to cover their behinds. But the fact is, renewing your relationship with your family doctor is just plain smart. Even if you’ve been commuting to work on your bike, and riding 15 or 30 miles on the weekend, if you decide your stepping up to centuries, you have to consider the implications on your health. Not all of it will be positive.
Q. I enjoy bicycling touring and write about it at this blog. Could the strategies you present in The Ride of Your Life work for someone planning a self-supported long-distance bicycle tour?
Rowe: Without question, bicycle tourists will benefit from the book. I think that people underestimate the demands of bicycle touring. There is a tremendous sense of freedom that comes with being self-sufficient, and riding through the landscape under your own power. But it takes a lot of work to achieve the physical fitness necessary to get to that point. You can do the preparation for a long distance, unsupported tour in advance, or you can do it on the first days of the ride. Either way, you’re going to need motivation to stick with it. To be self-motivated, you will need to manage “The Why Factor.” You need to know why you are riding, or you won’t. Not once the road gets rough, in one way or another.
I train for brevets on the Oregon Coast. I’m usually alone out there on Highway 101 in winter, but in spring and summer, I meet bicycle tourists from all over the world. I always try to avoid getting so caught up in my own training goal that I miss the opportunity to match their pace and find out more about them, where they’ve ridden in from, and where they are headed.
The ones who are on a two-or-three day loop out of Portland are in the minority. Most of these riders have maps they’ve purchased from Adventure Cycling, and while they may know the names of riders up ahead or behind, they are pretty much riding on their own. They come from points far and wide, and most are in the final leg of their journey when the reach Oregon.
The stories they tell about the adversities they’ve overcome to stay in the ride and to get to their planned finish are incredible to me. From the weather, to mechanical problems to physical injury to thieves – these riders encounter all of it. The Ride of Your Life will help bicycle tourists clarify their goals so they, too, can manage the challenges they meet, and keep on riding and make their goal a reality.
Q. What has been the biggest challenge you faced as a cyclist? Was it convincing yourself to ride that first brevet, tackling a long, lonely slog up a hill one dark and stormy night, or just plain finding the time to train for an event?
Rowe: Managing pain is a big one for me. Sometimes, the pain comes on the shorter rides, so it’s not so much the distance as it is the pain level. I have been riding with knee pain since I decided to take my cycling out of the Willamette Valley and into the Cascade Range. I’ve had knee surgery, but it’s really not solved the problem, not completely. Because when the knee pain isn’t there, its second cousin, the Achilles Tendonitis, has got him covered.
Sometimes the pain gets pretty bad on a long ride, and the Advil won’t touch it. When it comes on like that, like it did on the Rocky Mountain 1200 last summer, you’ve got to find a way to push through it. The thing to do is just to lock it up, and go somewhere else in my head. When that doesn’t work, the only thing to do is to have a good cry. And to keep the pedals turning.
There’s nothing else you can do when quitting isn’t an option. And for me, quitting isn’t an option. You pay a price for that.
Q. Do you find it necessary and useful to spend lots of time researching and choosing the components of your bicycle? Are there factors you must consider that are particular to the Pacific Northwest?
It does take some effort to lock-in on the ideal frame-set and components for endurance cycling. Riders who are new to the sport spend a ton of time researching it. But once it’s done, it’s done. I would say that a new randonneur should view their first season in the sport as one of getting their gear together. There are good resources today, more so than when I started in the sport in 2005. But in the end, the final selection is unique to the riders’ preference, so it does take some experimentation. Bring your checkbook – you’re going to need it.
Q. Lastly, there are lots of people who are considering making the leap from last summer’s 25-mile fun ride to an organized century ride or even a two-day, 150-mile charity bike ride this summer. What advice do you have for them?
Rowe: I would say they are making one of the best life-decisions they have ever made. The health benefits of preparing for a century will reduce the stress they would normally feel from everyday life. You will sleep better. You will be more pleasant to be around and people are going to notice these changes in you. You will lose weight and lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
If you have doubts about your ability to do such a ride, welcome to the club! Riding long distances is challenging. But the good news is, millions of people are doing it, and many are facing challenges that are greater than the ones we face, and they have succeeded.
In the Ride of Your Life, I share my own “can’t be dones.” You know, the list of reasons we make as to why the ride I’m dreaming about can’t be done. My list this week included excuses like, “I’m too old,” and “I can’t ride that fast,” and “my knee isn’t going to be able to handle it, and I’ll have to quit.” The key is to ignore those can’t be dones when you hear them in your head, and instead, focus on why it must be done, and to get started, to make it real.
Free book
David is collecting stories from readers who overcame physical, mental, or equipment challenges to finish a challenging ride. BikingBis readers can win a free copy of the “Ride of Your Life,” simply by telling their story.
David is going to publish a compilation of the best stories in an eBook, which he will make available free in the Spring of this year. If your story is selected for publication, you’ll win a free eBook.
If you have a story that you want to share, simply go to http://www.rideofyourlife.biz/my_ride.zip for an entry form. Be sure to mention that you learned about the eBook giveaway at BikingBis.
Recent Comments