Napoleon famously said, “Give me enough ribbons to place
on the tunics of my soldiers and I can conquer the world.”
I strive to find my motivations internally. I believe
that courting the fickle mistress of public favor is unfulfilling and ultimately
an exercise in pointlessness. Maybe it
is my finely honed elitism, but I fancy myself as having the patience (or lack
of interest) to allow me to skip the latest trend or urgency of the “extended”
sale. Life as a Luddite is not all bad as I can avoid the wild oscillations
that befall those whose moral compass is driven by the current of popular
perceptions. As KB says, “Keep an open mind.”
Nevertheless I silently made a goal to complete ALL the
STRAVA Fondo challenges for each month of 2017.
A one hundred-plus kilometer ride each month is more convenient in
summer than winter. In March and April
A-Fib was my unwelcome companion. In May I was in recovery though still
nervous. Later in the summer I had multiple rides that met the criteria. In November El Chefe’ and I experienced an
early holiday miracle and enjoyed a dry ride in moderate temperatures. December
delivered a grey and wet hundred.
In the end I met my goal. They say that by declaring your
goals to others it makes it more real and helps you complete your goal. Science has shown that “They” are wrong. It is in fact better to keep you pie hole
closed and put your effort toward achieving your goals.
I’ll get a little star next to my name on STRAVA for a
moment. I doubt there is anyone keeping
track of those who did all twelve in 2107. Like so many of my achievements it
is more a matter of just doing it than a grandiose accomplishment of a supremely
difficult task. I recall how surprised I
was when I showed up at the first Vicious Cycles Fondo of 2016 and was handed a
T-shirt for finishing all five in 2015.
What are my goals for 2018? None of your damn bidness!
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