Goodfluence Bicycle Tour – Week 4

It’s been a huge week for Rob Greenfield, and his Goodfluence bicycle tour across the United States continues to roll along.  In addition to spreading goodness everywhere he goes, Rob’s also been putting up some big miles.  He has already set a personal record for longest ride in one day, but last week he wanted to blow it out of the water with a 200 mile day.  Here’s how it went:

The elusive 200 mile day still twinkles in the distance but I did pedal 158 miles yesterday, a new personal best. One thing I’ve learned from bicycle touring is that I can’t choose what day will be a personal best. There are just too many variables – wind, hills and mountains, smooth vs. rough roads, gear problems and weight, and fatigue from previous days to name a few.

The elements weren’t exactly for me yesterday and when I turned north into Texas Hill Country after 110 miles of riding more challenges were thrown my way. Big hills, headwinds, rough roads, and the hot sun sent me stumbling to a shady tree where I gorged on healthy food and napped away the heat.

But there was one element that helped me pick myself back up and go for another 50 miles. That element was you. I publicly said that I was going to pedal 200 miles and the only reason that I came close is because you read my post and that held me accountable. Whether or not you think you deserve it, I thank you. You help me to achieve new heights and be the human that I desire to be. You help me to achieve nearly every big goal that I dream up.

If you have goals, make them visible. Right them down and look at them every day. Share your goals with others to help you stay committed. And create goals that not only benefit yourself but the earth, your community, and yourself. When you live a life for others then others will live their life for you too.

– Rob Greenfield

I’m more than a little jealous right now because I’d love to be out there with him….especially when he rolled into Austin.  I was able to catch up with Rob and find out a little more about how things are going.  I congratulated him on all that’s happened so far, and had him give me his thoughts on the big day of riding:

It felt great to break my old record and I realized how huge a 200 mile day is when loaded down with gear.  It’s a challenge that I hope to accomplish one day but it’s going to take the elements lining up right.  Wind, road conditions, and hills can make it seemingly impossible or achievable.  But on that day 158 miles totally exhausted me and satisfied my desire to see how far my legs could take me in a day.  Now that I’ve reached the more populated side of the country I doubt I’ll be doing any day longer than that for the rest of the trip.

Rob told me that his favorite day so far has been doing the Seed Planting Bike Ride which was held along with the Food is Free Project.  They did a 10 miles ride and freestyle gardened in 5 spots along the way.  They planted about 400 sunflower seedlings, and threw a couple hundred seed bombs full of thousands of wildflower, vegetable, and herb seeds.  Good stuff, indeed.  Because of their actions, there’s going to be free food growing around Austin and lots of pretty flowers.

Bike2Power Powers Rob

I’ve talked a lot about Bike2Power over the past weeks, so this time around I thought I’d show you a little more about them.  These guys are a great bike friendly business offering quality products and amazing service.

Here’s a look at how to install the Bike2Power Bike Console:

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evX1Eb547R0′]