Reflections on Biking the Drive

(The victory cake that my wife surprised
me with at a BBQ that afternoon)

Firstly, thanks to everyone who sponsored me and donated to Chai Lifeline. I’ve been told that they will actually still accept biker sponsorship until May 28 (donate here).

Training was great. I’ve been biking with my friend (who suggested the whole Bike the Drive thing to me in the first place from Devon up McCormick to Golf and back and forth several times (if you’re from Chicago this will mean something).

Sunday morning was awesome. If you’re interested in seeing the map for Bike the Drive, click here. I’ll took the southern route (it’s got less hills and the road is better paved) starting at Buckingham Fountain and going to the Museum of Science and Industry and then back to the Fountain, for a total of 15 miles. We started off at 5:40am and the weather was great.

I had the mp3 player going and really got into the biking. In fact, after completing the first 15 miles I decided to go another 15, for a total of 30 miles! I finished biking (with a few breaks) at 9:00am. The weather, as I said, was perfect and the view of Lake Michigan was excellent. I am not one to push myself physically, but I was so into the groove of biking that I wanted to go beyond my original plan (a good lesson for me in every aspect of life).
My playlist of MP3s also helped:
Getting To Know Me (2) What’s In It For Me? The Purpose Of The Sefer – Rav Moshe Weinberger
Hashem Melech – Yosef Karduner
Hashivenu- Yosef Karduner
Ki Ish HaIsraeli- Yosef Karduner
Ki Lo Chalu- Yosef Karduner
Kume Roni- Yosef Karduner
Mikimi- YosefKarduner
Mizmor L’David- Yosef Karduner
Shir La’maalot- Yosef Karduner
Tismach- Yosef Karduner
Tzadik- Yosef Karduner
V’Taher Libenu- Yosef Karduner
Ze Hoshienu- Yosef Karduner
Anachnu Maaminim Medley- Piamenta
Dream of Redemption- Piamenta
Getting To Know Me (3) Getting Real – Uncovering And Discovering Our Inner World – Rav Moshe Weinberger

Having not listened to music during my bike training, it was excellent to listen to Hashem Melach (a song that is constantly in my head). The shiurim by Rav Weinberger are well worth the small fee to download.

After the ride, representatives from Chai Lifeline were waiting for us with a boxed breakfast from BBs’ Bagels. As great as the biking was, the welcome I got from my family when I came home was even better. I won’t get into the details of what Mrs. Uberdox did, but in did include: Victory music, streamers, signs made by the kids, and a true breakfast of champions. I has happy to have helped raised money for Chai Lifeline and my family was proud of me.

In terms of “going beyond my original plan”, the extra 15 miles were an added plus. It felt like the right thing to do and there really wasn’t any reason not to do it. It is rather satisfying to know that being in the right environment, finding internal motivation, and acknowledgement of the benefits to doing something were factors that added to a personal success. Of course, these are also factors in the opportunities that are presented to me for growth as a Torah observant Jew. If only it was as “easy as riding a bike”…

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