The Speedometer Stopped at 53mph
5,280. That’s how many feet are in a mile. Also the elevation at the very top of the Trans Mountain Parkway in El Paso, TX. Literally a mile above sea level. And now there were 4.4 miles of downhill in front of me.
I watched the speedometer start to climb.
25–35–45–51…52…53mph and it just wouldn’t go any higher.
No, it wasn’t broken.
I just couldn’t pedal my old GT mountain bike any faster. The highest gear was broken, so I couldn’t quite get to 55mph.
Anyone else look back on your life and wonder how you survived the craziness from your teens and 20s?
Maybe it’s just me.
My handlebars were bent from a previous crash I had riding on a mountain trail, my helmet was the same one I had for years, and I was wearing shorts and a tshirt.
All while careening down what is basically a freeway cut through a mountain range in west Texas.
Let’s just say that confidence in my equipment and skills greatly exceeded the reality of the situation, yet somehow I made it down the mountain without crashing.
50mph for 4.4 miles…about 5 min and 15 seconds is what it took me to get to the bottom.
And it took me almost 2 hours to make the 6.6 mile climb to the top.
Climbing up at what seemed like a snail’s pace to reach the top, then pedaling until my legs just couldn’t keep up with gravity on the way back down.
But that was the only way to be able to enjoy the ride down. I had to make the climb to the top first.
I wanted to experience the downhill rush on my bike. But it was painful and slow to climb to the top of the mountain.
Isn’t it that way with most of life? The only way to accomplish dreams and deep rooted desires is to work and suffer and grow and climb the mountain in front of you.
Ronnie Coleman, who won the bodybuilding competition Mr. Olympia 8 years in a row, said this:
“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.”
I’m not quite sure that really everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, but…he’s right.
Everybody wants success, but few are the people who want to put in the work to make it happen.
Whether it’s a marathon, writing a book, losing weight, having solid family relationships, building a business that has impact, or whatever it is, the things worth having and doing usually are difficult and hard.
We say in F3 — Do Hard Things.
Everyday I’m working to increase somewhere by just 1%. To pedal a bit more up the mountain. To work on so many things!
Parenting
Patience…so much patience…(where my parents at out there!?)
Writing
Business Operations
Forgiveness
Contentment
The list could go on with so many more things, but you get the idea. Everyday it’s work to keep climbing up the mountain.
But I’m really looking forward to that ride on the downhill.
Don’t let the mountain beat you.
