There aren’t all that many notable endurance cycling marathons in this neck of the woods, with the exception of the Tour de Victoria. The Tour de Victoria occurs once a year and, as you can no doubt glean from the name, it takes you on a trip around the Greater Victoria Area. There are three routes available: 45, 90 and 140 kilometers respectively. I figure that training with the idea of entering the Tour de Victoria next year at the 45 km route level will put me in the best position, physically, to then go on and conquer Canada the following year.

Now, I know that 45 kilometers in one go is actually at the lower end of what I should be aiming to achieve, but I think my rationale is sound. I figure that if I give myself a more conservative goal, I will be absolutely thrilled when I am either able to handle it comfortably or even register for the 90 km route when the time comes simply because I can handle 45 km with no problem.

At this point, however, even the 45 km route seems like pie in the sky. The 15 km route I am currently doing leaves me tired at the end of it. Sure, I’ve only been at it for about a month, and I am not in peak physical condition, but the impatient side of me says “Get on with it.” With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about the best course of action for the Fall, when I go back to university. The 15km a day bike ride is pretty much a given, since that route is actually the route I take to and from school anyway. I think that, when I get around to dishing out my tuition payment, I will include the price of a membership at the school’s gym in that payment.

When the weather is good enough to bike in (that is, not snowing and not pouring rain), I should only need an extra hour to work in some strength training. But, when the weather is yucky, I’ll need to include cardio so that I don’t end up impacting my cycling ability through inactivity. So, perhaps I can look at including some spin classes, or something like that.

In addition to the fitness aspect of my training, I will need to look into the practical side of planning a long cycling trip. That is, I’ll need to take some classes on bike repair and packing and planning efficiently. My local Mountain Equipment Co-op store, where I get all my gear anyway, offers courses like these on a regular basis.

I will also need to start my fund-raising campaign soon.

Some days, I think about how far I have come in a short time, and feel so on top of the world that I can accomplish whatever goals I set for myself. Other days, I look at how much farther I have to go before I can achieve those goals, and I feel like an ant standing before a mountain.

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