Porthcawl to Caernarfon May 2017
4 am Start
What a challenge and a day out cycling.
When one og the guys suggested cycling from South to North Wales,
I immediately said, I'm in.
This would be the biggest ride I've done, 175 miles in one day, as quickly as possible.
With a four o'clock start and a four o'clock finish with stops, traffic, and photographs,
we managed an average speed of 17.2 mph, with an elevation gain of just over 10000ft.
This was another fantastic way of testing the work I'd done with myself, the growth I'd experienced
since leaving the hospital in June 2014, unable to walk unaided, with hardly any muscle mass.
My whole system would be under extreme load, nervous system, mindset, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
What an amazing experience, and feeling, when you achieve the challenge you've set yourself.
The Night Out After the Ride.
When I changed my IDENTITY in 2014, I made a conscious choice.
I would be a version of myself who didn't drink alcohol, which meant I could continue to frequent bars,
clubs, pubs, and restaurants without concern for others' opinions, or feel any pressure.
We spent the evening in a pub adjacent to the castle, had a great meal, and laughed as the beer and wine flowed.
I sat there drinking water, getting involved, and also reflecting on the day.
Next, we went to a few more pubs, sang a little, laughed more, until we went to a nightclub.
By midnight, I'd had enough, left, and walked back to the hotel to rest before the walk up Snowdon
the following morning, where I knew I'd feel fresh, and ready for the day ahead.
This is contrary to mainstream beliefs in the coaching and "recovery" space, spending time in
environments where alcohol is sold, and the people around you are drinking it is dangerous.
The point, of course, I wasn't recovering from anything, I was building, creating, evolving, from
the damage that had been caused to my brain, body, and life, from decades of living under the hormones of chronic
stress, anxiety, frustration, insomnia, contained anger, a systematic war with my business partners,
romantic partners, family, friends, basically, anyone who attempted to control me, as they tried to erode my identity,
and the mechanisms I'd used to regulate my system, alcohol being one of them.
What this weekend confirmed is that my whole system is now flexible,
it can be under stress, in the sympathetic, and return to its baseline (parasympathetic),
Sympathetic and Parasympathic are the two branches of the Autonomic (Automatic) Nervous System.
That I'm aware of what's happening inside, my mindset is sound, and that I'm emotionally flexible, able to
recover physically, and that I've grown spiritually.
I didn't say yes to doing this ride, so I could ring a bell, and get a medal.