"I had trained for a full year to complete a self-supported bicycle tour from San Diego to Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was meant to be the next-to-last chapter in my coast-to-coast cycling journey - one more long stretch of road before the final piece fell into place. Thirty-four miles into the ride, it was over. A microfiber towel caught in my derailleur. A fluke. One of those things you never plan for and still struggle to explain afterward."
"The bike was destroyed, and the tour I had spent a year preparing for ended before it ever truly began. That part hurt more than the crash itself. I had logged over 6,500 training miles. I had dialed in gear, planned routes, and driven more than 1,100 miles just to reach the starting line. Mentally and physically, I felt ready - and then, suddenly, there was no road ahead."
A year of training and planning for a self-supported tour from San Diego to Las Cruces ended 34 miles in when a microfiber towel jammed the derailleur and destroyed the bike. The abrupt end hurt more than the crash after logging over 6,500 miles and driving 1,100 miles to the start. Rather than quit, the plan shifted from solo unsupported touring to organized single-day and multi-day supported events with structure and shared purpose. ChatGPT was used to rework the training schedule through a collaborative process, enabling adjusted training and a stronger finish to the year.
Read at Theoldguybicycleblog
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