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Dedication
It’s not about the bike. I know- the line is stolen. Lance Armstrong said it. I even read the book, or at least started it. But that was a couple Summer’s ago and I never did finish the book, so I really couldn’t tell you if that statement means the same to him as it does to me. It’s not about the bike. I’ve been on several long-distance charity bike rides over the years and I have learned that it really is not about the bike. Oh, it may feel like it’s all about the bike when you’re on a training ride and everything feels just right. You know the ride I’m talking about- 75 miles feels like 20. You could swear that the entire ride has been downhill, with the wind at your back. You feel like you could take Lance- you know one on one, with no teammates or crew to help either of you. At that point it feels like it’s all about the bike, but you will realize, soon enough that it’s not about the bike. It’s about the people. The people in the small towns that come out to cheer you on as you ride through their towns, the people at the rest-stop who make sure you are drinking enough water and have plenty to eat, the people who you are riding with, the faster riders, the slower riders and most importantly the people who can’t ride at all. Those are the people who you are riding for. It’s easy to forget about those people while you’re training, while you’re having one of “those” rides. It’s impossible to forget about them on “The” ride. Over the next few weeks I will share my thoughts as I get ready for the MS 150 Best Dam Bike Tour! I will introduce you to some people who have been effected by M.S. I will share facts and figures about M.S. There will be stories to tell, stories from training and stories from past rides I have done. Many of those stories will be about the bike- or at least an exceptional ride (exceptionally difficult, exceptionally fun, exceptionally long- you get the idea), but remember IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE!
June 21
It’s the first day of Summer so I decide to meet my wife for a drink after work. I ride home first, mainly to waste some time before Laura is done with work. From work I ride to Café Montmartre. Ah! Air-Conditioned comfort. In the dedication I stole the line from Lance Armstrong- “It’s not about the bike.” No, today it’s about the air conditioner. It’s a hot day and I got funny looks as I left the office on my bike. “Skip the training today- it’s too hot, there will be plenty of cooler days before the ride” they said. Of course they are right…and wrong. There will be plenty of cooler days before the ride, but you do need to learn how to deal with the heat. If it’s 90 degrees on day one of the ride, you can’t just say “wait until next weekend, it will be cooler.” Well, I guess you could, but you made a commitment to ride this weekend in the MS150 and you are going to everything in your power to fulfill that commitment. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to go out there and kill yourself in the heat. Take it easy on these insanely hot days. A little shorter ride never hurt anyone. Drink lots of fluids- no the beer I had after work with my wife doesn’t count. Alcohol and caffeine dehydrate, stay away from both on these days. Drink water. Drink Gatorade. Drink lots of it.
June 29
O.K. the new issue of “Men’s Journal” arrived today. In it, a preview of a book written by (if I remember correctly) Lance Armstrong’s trainer. He shared Lance’s workout, so I read. “This seems tough, but not impossible” was my thought as I read about 4 workouts a week ranging from 20 minutes, to just over an hour each. I can be just like Lance! Yeah, I just finished one of “those” rides. I read a little further and realized that what I had just read about was only the first phase of the training plan. From what looked like a tough but not impossible workout it just got tougher and tougher, o.k. it now looks impossible. Maybe I can’t be like Lance, but I can ride in the MS150. That’s the beauty of this ride- customize it to your ability. Ride one day or two. Ride 60 miles a day or 100 miles a day. There are so many options and you don’t have to be in Lance Armstrong shape to do any of them. Yes, you will need to train, but you don’t need to obsess over it. Just get out and ride and have a good time.
June 30
I didn’t ride today. So why am I writing? The reason I didn’t ride today is because I needed to get home early to get some work done around the house (too much to explain here). While I was waiting for the repairman to get to my house, a couple of neighbors and I worked on clearing brush, weeds and small scrappy trees from the lot across the street. I have been biking for several years now and am in fairly good shape from that, but you should see what happens when you use a completely different muscle group. Gardening is hard and don’t let anyone tell you any different. Biking is easy. Sure it was hard when I first started. I was sore the morning after almost every ride, but that eventually went away and now biking is easy. Gardening is hard.
July 2
I’m off. A short vacation with my wife. So the training will change a bit. The bike will get left at home and I’ll try to be a good boy and get up early every day to go for a run. Again, using different muscles will make it more difficult than one would think, but I’ll give it my best shot. I’ll tell you how it goes next week.
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Pat Gallagher wishes he had some real talent, so he could be a rock star. But for now he's content playing music for Madison from 9:30 am to 2pm on Triple M. He’s hosted the 
Pat and Scott Sax of Feel at JT Whitney’s for a Triple M Sample concert - 2002