I Ride for Cancer T-Shirt Back
A year ago, I did a gut check. I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. I didn’t like that I had gotten fat. I didn’t like that I was letting not only my health slip, but my relationships as well as other things. Sitting around was too easy. Drinking beer and eating good food were too easy. Basically I was lazy. Very very lazy.
2011 Resolution – Lose Weight
So on January 1, 2011 I decided to lose weight. I decided to change my attitude and mindset. I decided to make that one small step after another until I changed my life. And that’s what I did. I took it two weeks at a time and committed myself to doing just a little bit more and eating just a little bit less or just a little better. I ended this year 50 pounds less that what I started it.
That sounds like a lot (it really is – trust me) but it’s nothing compared to what I feel I can do now. Now I have the mentality that if I can do that, then what the heck is stopping me trom doing anything else?
In this past year, I not only lost 50 pounds, but I rode over 2,500 miles. I rode in a 170 mile charity event for MS and rode from San Antonio, TX to New Braunfels, TX and back. I’ve changed my life.
I figure if I can ride 100 miles in one day – what is 1 hour of riding per day going to hurt? What else can I do that I’ve told myself that is impossible? Can I climb a mountain? Or better yet – can I ride it?
2012 and Beyond
In 2012, I’m committing myself to riding from Houston, TX to Baltimore, MD (around 1,700 miles total) to raise money and awareness for Pancreatic Cancer, what my Dad died from. If you would have asked me a year ago that I would even be contemplating a ride of that magnitude, I would have told you that you were smoking crack. But here I am.
So the biggest thing I learned from this past year? It was the single thing that was holding me back. It wasn’t time, money, family, committments or anything else. It was me. I was holding myself back and LETTING myself become stagnant. No more. No more complacency. No more excuses.
Now, it’s “There’s no time like the present” because we only have a short time on this earth. I plan on living life to the fullest that I can. What are you going to do? Take action now. Start walking. Start running. Start riding. Best yet – Ride for Cancer.
What is I Ride for Cancer?
I Ride for Cancer is a site dedicated to raising money and awareness for Cancer Research. I Ride for Cancer is headed up by Chris Hunter who plans to ride from MD Anderson in Houston, TX to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD in June 2012. Follow along on this site while he documents training and experiences all along the way.
