After my accident, I took 3 days off training and over the past 8 days I have done 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 2, and 7 hour rides … today I got a new, clean cast.

Training in a cast is not much of a problem – when I ride outside, the head wind blows into my cast, so my arm doesn’t sweat much.
However, when I train on the turbo … the cast is soaked after just 2 hours.

Tomorrow (with my hot pink cast) I re-begin my 3^rd RAAM training test that my coach, Mario Huys has set for me…

Friday – 18 hours

Saturday – 20 hours

Sunday – 18 hours

Monday – 20 hours

Tuesday – 20 hours

I share this information with my blog for two reasons:

Now that I have shared it, I must complete it … without fail.

But more importantly, I share this to get the readers to think about the concept of adversity, and their own challenges, dreams, or goals…

I consider myself a weak cyclist.

In fact, I bought my first bike back in 2010, and before that I had not ridden a bike since I was 10 years old or so.

After my 7 ironman in 7 days challenge at the end of 011, I didn’t ride my bike once in 2012.  I was burned out from all the training.

But in December of 012, my coach challenged me to do the toughest bike race in the world – race across America (RAAM)

Since mid December, for the past 5 months, I have been preparing for this challenge/race.  In fact, training has consumed my life.

Last week, on a 20 hour ride .. 6 hours into the ride, when I crashed and broke my wrist … to be honest, laying in the middle of the empty road … alone in the desert, a feeling of relief came over me.

Now I had a great excuse to stop …

On the long bike ride back to the car that day … as my wrist swelled and hurt like hell, I had another voice in my head that kept telling me to stop being such a pussy.

This accident is just a set back.  It makes my story even more intersting…. can he do it?

I am certain (like when I was preparing for the english channel and/or my 7 ironman in 7 day challenge)  there are many people, esp. RAAM enthusists who are thinking to themselves, “no way.”

And this is what drives me – to be able to prove that we can achieve just about anything we want when we focus, do the necessary preparations, and want it bad enough to make it happen.
Through preparation and training, we make our own luck.

But, often when we go after something, along the journey … something pops in our way, distracting us from our goal/dream.
Its so easy to fall down, and stay down … or even worse, get up and walk back down the mountain, walking down all that we have climbed up already…

My stupid fall, and subsequent wrist fractures are an ideal test of my resolve and focus.

I am not going to stop my RAAM challenge.

I have my toughest training yet to come….
Obviously, training in the Dubai heat with a big cast on my right arm is not pleasant … but its not as bad as quiting and wondering at the end of June, “could I have solo’d RAAM this year?”

Next time something unexpected pops in your way … just get back up, re-focus and keep going.

Commitment.

Over the past week, I had my 3^rd RAAM training test.

Between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, at my normal training area, I was scheduled to do 16, 18, 20, 4, 18, 20, 18, 20 hour rides over 8 days.

The first day, 16 hour ride went by well except for my electrolyte was a different company than I normally use, and it didn’t work for me – thus, I felt sick and tired over a few hours under the sun.

I went fairly fast, trying to mentally get into the ride – 6:38 for my first 180km (ironman distance bike leg) and 7:08 for my 2^nd 180km.  Once the sun went down, I felt strong.

Bob and Tom met me at the 8 hour mark to give me food and to follow me the remaining 8 hours to give me water and food.

I live 40 minutes from where I ride.  After each day, Bob and I would pack the car; I would change and then we would drive home.
So we wasted a good 80-90 minutes after the ride before I would be home where I would eat and sleep.

I woke at 2:30 each day to be riding at 4am

The 18 hour ride went well.  I had 2 flat tires in the middle of the day, and changing the tires took me a good 45 minutes … in the middle of the desert under the sun.  It killed my energy.

Bob and Tom brought me pasta and Perrier (I was so hungry that I called Tom from my mobile on my bike and asked him to bring me both)

I noticed how instantly I felt better after eating the pasta and drinking the Perrier.  I was reborn.

After 15 minute break at the 9 hour mark, I was back on the bike and rode fast.

Overall a great ride.  My neck didn’t hurt at all.

That night, by the time I got home, showered and ate … I could only get 1 hour of sleep.
After 60 minute of sleep, I got back up ate, and left for the next ride.

I was excited for the 20 hour ride because it would be a great mental test – but damn was I tired (from only sleeping an hour and also only 90 minutes the day before that)

2 hours into the ride, I had a flat tire and it was hot … it took 20 minutes to change the tire .. and I was riding very slow.  Because of the strong wind - I rode much slower than the 25km/h Mario told me I had to ride.

Around the 6 hour mark – The wind was strong and when I was turning a corner too slow, I got blown down … and didn’t get my bike shoe unclipped and landed on my wrist …

I crashed alone in the desert – about 2 hours from my car, and on the 2 hour bike ride back … I couldn’t hold or touch the bike with my right hand.

I wondered to myself if the pain was mental because (to be honest)  I felt relief … now I had an excuse not to continue.

But the other voice in my head told me to stop focusing on the pain… and get back up and keep riding.

Ultimately, I went to the hospital and learned that I fractured my wrist in 2 places.  The pain has been a big challenge to deal with, and I don’t sleep well … but after 4 days, it is much better today.

I didn’t finish the training test … and have not trained at all since last Thursday.  Tonight I will do a 60 minute turbo.

I am 100% committed to doing RAAM … the race begins June 11^th.

I must wear this cast for 4-6 weeks, but Dr. Yusef told me that I can keep training, and to come back to his clinic every 2-3 days and he will have a new cast put on so to keep it clean.

This accident is yet another great example of one of my favorite themes:  when we fall down, we have to get back up and keep hammering it.

Recently, I have seen several “friends” share on their facebook a photo of Bill Gates holding up a piece of paper saying that if you share this photo he will give you $5,000 …
incredibly, there are many 100,000s of people who shared the photo … hoping that Bll Gates gives them $5,000 ….

Even my 9 year old daughter understands this is just a scam, and no one is going to get “free money” for doing nothing.

But even if they did…

What value does $5,000 have if you are just given it?

So you can buy $5,000 of something, but what value does that something have .. if its bought with money that wasn’t earned?

Our world today seems to be only focused on getting money … and it doesn’t matter how we get it, just as long as we can get money….

It’s like those people who own a gorgeous home that was bought and built with money stolen from me (Lieve Noppen and Thomas Du) … how can they feel pride living in a house that was built with money that wasn’t earned, but stolen?

And the lottery … and all the money and “hope” people put into trying to win the lottery….but what value does the money have to the winner?  So what?  They can buy expensive material objects, but how does that material object have value to the person?

Think about all the time, energy, and hope people are putting into trying to get free money for doing nothing, or scamming their friends, clients, partners trying to get money.

The concept of “honourable achievement” seems to be forgotten.

Stop hoping someone is going to give you something for nothing … and go out and earn your success.

Last week, I was contacted by the PR Agency of Mercedes Benz who informed me that they wanted Robin Titus to be their brand ambassador for a new car launch.

Robin Titus is the group sales director at naseba and has worked for me since he was 19 years old.

He is almost 28 now and over the past 9 years has been featured on the front page of a major newspaper, spoke in front of 350+ of the regions top business men including the Chairman and CEO of Qatar Airways, was voted top 100 most influential by one of the middle east’s most popular magazines, travelled to 35 countries, built a gorgeous home for his family, and just bought or is in the process of buying an apartment in Antibes, France….
just to name a few cool achievements.

And I once had dinner with a billionaire client from Norway who told me over dinner that before he became our client he had google’d “Robin Titus” and  was impressed with how much Robin has achieved at such an early age.  Very cool to know even one of the richest men in Norway google’d  Robin Titus.

And now Mercedes Benz wants him to be the brand ambassador and face of a new car launch…

awesome.

While the film crew was in my office setting up, I asked the producer of the project what made them choose Robin out of all the people in the Middle East – why Robin?

She told me that the promotion is on someone who is young,  “driven…” and “focused…” and they heard about Robin and his success, and researched him…

And she told me, “but he is even more focused and driven than I expected.”

Soon Robin will be featured on local and global promotion for a new car launch for Mercedes Benz.

I am proud that the face of naseba and one of our leaders has been chosen for such an honor.