{"id":18751,"date":"2016-09-01T23:35:50","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T06:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/?p=18751"},"modified":"2021-12-26T17:58:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T01:58:38","slug":"inspiration-get-cycling-fit-do-a-gran-fondo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/inspiration-get-cycling-fit-do-a-gran-fondo\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes we can! Inspiration and advice to get cycling fit and do a gran fondo"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, I had got to the point where I believed that I will never actually do an epic charity bike ride such as the Ride to Conquer Cancer<\/strong><\/a>. But recently, all that has changed, and I have now resolved that I will do next year’s BC Ride to Conquer Cance<\/strong>r.<\/p>\n

Because of issues like age, knees, and weight, I\u00a0 got to the point about a year ago where I gave up. I thought that one of these gran fondos<\/strong> (which just means a big ride<\/strong>) – was just not in my future. Especially because I have carried around quite a few extra pounds for most of my life, and it looks like I will carry it all the way to my grave.<\/p>\n

Then a couple of things happened:<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, I did a lot of interviews with people who have done the Ride to Conquer Cancer<\/a><\/strong>, and they all emphasized how much support cyclists get on the Ride. I even did an interview with Matt Fenrich<\/a>, who was bed-ridden due to cancer three years ago, but did the BC Ride to Conquer Cancer this year. That was immensely inspiring.<\/p>\n

Then I found this photo of my wife Maggie, when she had simply fallen over after cycling 40 miles in one day. I remembered how when this photo was taken, she had just finished recovering from back surgery. During that period she fell off her bike a few times, and just kept laughing it off, getting back on, and pedaling some more. Her strength is a constant inspiration to me.<\/p>\n

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