…well, it’s just cycling. You can’t just apply it to everything in life, expecting life lessons.

But I think that I had a revelation during the 65+ mile bike ride, the Cinderella Classic that started at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

I had insisted on going first, afraid that I’ll fall behind. It was always that constant battle. I knew that I would be the slowest, so I wanted to ride off first so that I didn’t fall drastically behind. But I did. Kind of. And still that gap depressed me.

At first, I had set up an iPod to keep me company. I couldn’t hear that well over the wind (no headphones allowed so it was playing over the speaker) and the metal spinning of the bike. But it died within an hour.

I would be riding for at least 30 minutes alone. Only my legs powering my pedals. Sometimes other cyclists passing me. The lights changing red, green, yellow. The wind whipped at my face, halting me. And seeing dots disappear into the distance.

But the rest of my friends stayed for me.

“We did it,” I declared at the end. “Despite the rain. Despite the headwind.”

If I believed, if I saw in myself the power, perhaps all of the above wouldn’t matter. Perhaps the pain was only created by my mind.