Don\’t forget to dream big!

Now that we\’re on the verge of a new year, it\’s a good time to catch a few cycling dreams.

It\’s fine to make New Year\’s resolutions; and to set goals.  Resolutions can give us a jump start, so to speak. Without goals we might not make progress.

But what about dreams? Oh, the things I can dream of! A double century! Long bicycle tours, such as those offered by Adventure Cycling! And my impossible cycling dreams: a sub-5 hour century; and successful completion of Paris-Brest-Paris!

Long-term dreams, so Joe Friel says, can become goals (The Cyclist\’s Training Bible, page 19 in the 4th edition). I can see the sense of making a dream into a goal. A goal gives you something definite to work towards. It makes the dream more tangible, and therefore more attainable.

That doesn\’t mean that making dreams come true is easy. Training for a double century requires longer training rides than I have time for during the work week. I\’d need several years of grueling workouts before I\’m ready to try a sub-5 hour century. Preparing for a long cycling tour would mean working to increase my daily ride distance; and likely a considerable amount of simulated hill climbing.

As to \”PBP\”; well, our cycling dreams can involve more money that we have. PBP would mean transporting myself and my bicycle to France; and, of course, back home afterwards. Not to mention the randonees required to qualify for PBP. Talk about dream big!

The work required to make a dream come true is worth it — as anybody knows who has done a long day\’s riding, and finally sees the mileage meter hit 100!

So let\’s hang up our dream catchers, and snag a big dream!