INDOMITABLE!

…sign-eating trees!

I saw this on a summer bike ride. I had ridden this road several times but never in this direction.

I was past the 40 mile mark and felt like I was beginning to flag a bit. I still had more than 10 miles to ride to get home, and I was dreading the long, slow climb that was a few miles ahead of me.

I tend to develop some “tunnel vision” on the road. Certainly, I’m aware of what’s around me – cars, pedestrians, not-so-friendly looking dogs – but I often miss the “sights.” I’m not one to bike down a country road and think, “Oh, look at that turn-of-the-century farmhouse. How quaint!” 

No, I’m more the type with my eyes alternately fixed on what’s ahead of me and the data on my Garmin bike computer (I have to be putting out more watts than that!).

Then, I saw this sign. Or at least I thought, “Did I just see that sign?”

I did something I rarely do on the bike. I turned around and went back to it.

There it was. I actually laughed out loud. I don’t laugh a lot when I ride.

I pulled out my phone and snapped the picture that you see here. What a great shot, and somehow fitting with everything else in 2020 – trees are now eating road signs!

As I rode off, I started thinking about how indomitable nature is. Here’s a steel sign, affixed to a tree years ago by someone from the DPW, and the tree slowly, inexorably, begins to absorb it over time. 

The tree could not rid itself of the sign. Rather, the tree “accepted” the sign and made the sign part of itself. 

I thought, how could acceptance help me be indomitable? I thought of the hill that was between home and me.

Was I already tired? Yes. Will it hurt to climb the hill? Yes. Will I suffer? Only if I choose to (many cyclists believe that suffering is an essential, inseparable part of the sport). Will I get home and recover? Yes.

These were my certainties, and I accepted them unconditionally.

This brought me into a mindset where I was ready to dominate this climb. I decided to empty whatever reserve of energy was left in my tank, to burn my “last match” there, and to ride at and beyond my limit.

How did it go? Honestly, I struggled through the climb. I had momentary thoughts where I was angry that I put myself through this, but they quickly disappeared and were replaced with one word – “indomitable.” I was gasping for air by the end, my legs felt like lead, and my heart rate (thank you, Garmin) was uncomfortably at its peak. 

Did I set a personal record for that climb? No, and that was not my goal. 

Did I expend every remaining watt I had in my legs to dominate that climb on that day? Absolutely! My sense of accomplishment was greater than any statistic on my bike computer or that I would see on Strava when I got home. 

On that day, on that ride, on that climb, I was indomitable!