Kyle Banerjee's Blog

This past weekend, I went with Terry to ride the Mt Shasta Super Century. The course is pretty tough — it’s 135 miles in the mountains with 16,500 feet of climbing. The scenery was simply outstanding and I’m not sure if I’ve ever had so much fun at an event ride.

The final miles were the most interesting. I’d expect that peoples’ spirits and strength would be lifted and they’d catch their second wind knowing they had just a few miles to go. However, the exact opposite was the case. Peoples’ bodies were rebelling and forcing them to abandon the ride in the final stretch. I saw a guy fall off his bike because of massive cramps less than 100 yards from the finish line. He never did complete the ride, and I heard about other people who experienced similar catastrophic failure just as the goal appeared to be within grasp.

I’m not sure what the connection between the mind and the body is, but it seems like when the mind thinks critical milestones will be reached imminently, the body quits making extraordinary efforts to perform whatever task needed doing. I suspect this is why people who need to go to the bathroom feel increasingly desperate as they approach the door and practically explode as they turn the knob. However, I digress…

Whenever something difficult must be done, there are a few things that always seem to happen. Some people give up as soon as things get unpleasant. Others are forced to quit because they encounter a surprise challenge that is too great to overcome. There are always people who are well-equipped to succeed and do. A surprising number ordinary individuals rise to the occasion. And then there’s the people who lack the tools or ability to succeed but somehow do anyway because of sheer force of will.

It’s the people in this last category that I find the most inspiring. I’m not sure why because they actually don’t do as well as the others. On the other hand, there’s nothing I like better than seeing someone do the impossible — it helps remind me that we shouldn’t settle for only trying things that others think we can accomplish.