Miles and Miles to Go… Before I Get Off This Bike
Living in New Mexico, memories might bring up the backdrop of the Sandias or Organs. Or you might remember your favorite place to eat red or green enchiladas. But, what really colors our memories is the people who you meet in New Mexico, which give you the true meaning of the state.
Here at NewMexi.co, were introducing a new series called People of New Mexico. Join writer Cassie McClure as she finds the stories of people across the state, people with passion and who want to share that passion with you. Have a suggestion for someone to profile? Email her at cassie@newmexico.nmcosites.com
Her first profile is Daniel Miller, an old high school friend who lives in Albuquerque and told her his story of cycling and weight loss. Daniel’s Story:
In 2014, on July 5th, I messed up. I crashed, on my mountain bike at roughly 30 mph. I broke ribs, dislocated my clavicle, and fractured my wrist. I still remember the fall, the hospital, the surgeries, the pain and every moment since. I remember not being able to sleep and watching everything that I worked so hard for in terms of strength and weight loss slowly disappear. I fell in love with cycling, and in a single moment I became afraid of it. I missed all the joys cycling brought me, so I did all I could to not lose what I worked so hard to achieve.
But I remembered being in the hospital bed, while a Doctor told me about how he was a big cyclist and how he wished me a speedy recovery, and how I’ll get back into it in time. So, instead of giving up I instead doubled down. I saved up money, bought a new $2200, 14.8lbs Carbon Fiber Race Bike instead.
When I started this journey of losing weight I was under the impression that I only needed to lose a few pounds, that I wasn’t really that big. I believed I was close to a normal weight, and that I was big boned, and that if I lost a few pounds I’d be in great shape. I was wrong on so many levels. In these pictures, I wasn’t at my highest weight, which was 320lbs. To be honest, I don’t know what my max weight was. I didn’t want to know. But a string things convinced me that I needed to lose weight, including that of me breaking the industrial strength chair in my company vehicle along with not being able to fit being the steering wheel without it touching me.
Every moment of losing weight was horrible and looking back at it, I lost my weight in such a horrible and damaging way. But the one thing that wasn’t damaging was getting on a bicycle. My first bike was a piece of shit bike from Wal-Mart. My first ride around the block I ran into a bush. My second ride was to Hastings 1 mile away from me for a coffee. My 3rd ride was to a park 3 miles away from me, it took me over 2 hours to get there and back. If you look on Google Maps right now, it says it would take 20 minutes to get to that park, and 13 minutes getting back.
I kept riding as much as I could. I got another bike, my mountain bike, back in 2011. I rode approximately 120 miles on that bike that year. Late 2012 I bought a new bike, a Specialized Sectuer Compact that I bought in Seattle, in 2013 I logged 324 miles. In 2014 I logged 1487, in 2015, 2608.9. I’m proud of my accomplishments, and who I am, and what I had to do to get here.
I might not ever win a bike race and I might never be a ripped lean machine, but I can be happy.
I’m down 150lbs. I’m also taking a trait that I got from my father; I’m stubborn. I refused to give up; I refused to say no. I have cried, poured sweat, bled, broken bones, I have made a plethora of mistakes, I have wanted to give up time and time again. On my first century, I wanted to call my brother and have him pick me up at mile 30. I have fallen off my bike from exhaustion. I admitted defeat and rode the bus home.
If I can inspire a single person to overcome obesity, or fears, or depression, or whatever it may be. It’s worth it. You are never alone in whatever battle you are in.
Never give up.
