A few thoughts… 

1.  “I could never do that” – YES YOU CAN!   Not too many years ago I thought a 5-mile ride was enough!  Then I went 7, then 10, then 12….    I just kept going a little further each time and before I knew it 30-40 miles was a normal ride. It just takes a bit of time.

2. “I hate hills” – this one is all about attitude and training, but mostly attitude.  I determined that every hill I found was a challenge between me, the hill, and gravity.  I learned that if I see a hill and decided to get an attitude to conquer it made it easier.  Plus, you get to enjoy the downhill part…  which equals coasting.  If you see the hill and say “I can’t do it” – you won’t. 

3. “That hill looks huge” – yep and perspective is the problem.  Often when you come to the top of a hill and are feeling great, enjoying the downhill coast – you see the next one and it looks huge.  From a distance all challenges in life can look huge.  This is what scares people away from trying difficult things in all many of life.  However as you approach the bottom – perspective changes and you realize it isn’t as big as it seems once it was up close.  Also if you put your head down and focus on what is right in front of you, you start making progress.  Go ahead and take a break while going up – it’s ok.  Then put your head back down and keep going.  Eventually you find yourself at the top and realize that you made it.  Enjoy that moment, enjoy the ride down, and then look for the next challenge to conquer. Often people are defeated before they even try – to quote Nike ‘JUST DO IT”!! 

4. “How can you ride that long – doesn’t it hurt to sit on the seat that long?” – yep you can get sore.  However, the more you ride, the easier it becomes (see #1 above).  Honestly – I’ve never found anything worthwhile in this life that was easy or didn’t involve some pain.  If I must endure a little discomfort to see all the beauty of God’s creation, to meet interesting folks, to see parts of the country I had never seen – it is worth the pain.  Life isn’t about being comfortable all the time (and if you want, you can get padded shorts!