With this round of pneumonia knocking me out of biking for the month, and slowing me down for probably a lot longer than that, I’ve been looking for a good event to get excited about. It has to be pretty far in the future, since I’ll have a lot of fitness to build back up. And around here we’re lucky if the biking season lasts through mid-September.

That’s when a friend mentioned he was doing the Il Regno route on Levi’s Gran Fondo in Santa Rosa in early October. He invited me to join him.

Normally I’d not even consider doing a ride out of state: too much hassle, too expensive.

But this year, I need something to look forward to. Something motivational to get me working hard again (when I’m finally done recovering). After reading about it, I got interested.

It’s supposed to be a really beautiful area to ride. The weather in October should be good. The timing should give me time to train and be prepared. The route would be challenging under any circumstances, and I’d certainly have to work hard from June to October to be ready. But I could probably do it. Plus, I might be able to squeeze in a quick visit with my Uncle Gerard, who lives in nearby San Francisco.

So I signed up.

Now I’m committed, I’m really excited about it — excited and apprehensive. I’m not sure I can build the fitness I need to finish the ride in time; I’ve lost a lot over the last month, and I’m not getting stronger yet, just trying to get healthy. In the past I’ve done lots of hard rides of similar description (100+ miles, 10,000 ft of climbing), but I hear this is exceptionally challenging. That’s part of what makes it an accomplishment: not knowing if I can do it, but working hard and trying for it anyway.

Now I’m just ready to be all better so I can get out there and start riding hard.