![\"Estimated](\"https:\/\/www.bicycling.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/clock-regular.4ddebeb.svg\")
4 min read<\/p>\n4 min read<\/p>\n
Patricia McNeal, 64, started riding in 2011 after her husband finally convinced her to get a bike so they could ride together. But she wasn\u2019t immediately on board; McNeal admits that she tried to return it to the shop almost immediately, shocked by the sticker price.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took 25 years for my husband to get me on a bicycle, and when he first did it in 2011, I returned it,\u201d she says. \u201cI returned it back to the store, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh heck no.\u2019 That is a true story.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the shop owner and her husband convinced her to keep the bike and give riding a try. After a few (slightly resentful) rides, she was hooked, and she\u2019s been riding ever since. When she was hospitalized with a stroke in December of 2013, two years after she started riding, she recalls begging the doctor to let her go home, asking when she could start training again.<\/p>\n
She credits being in good health prior to the stroke for her ability to recover, and her desire to get back on the bike as soon as possible for keeping her healthy since. \u201cIt literally saved my life, because if I hadn\u2019t been riding my bicycle, I would not be here today as we speak,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
McNeal is never afraid of a new adventure, whether it\u2019s something fun, like riding across the country solo or something incredibly challenging, like recovering from a stroke. Over the course of these experiences, McNeal has learned to make the most of every situation, both in life and on the bike. After all, even if it\u2019s not a good ride, it will likely make for a good story afterward. Here are some of the ways she gets the most out of her rides no matter what life or the road throws at her.<\/p>\n
Be Open to Making New Friends![\"Group](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cecfaa3f-fb4d-4f1b-91ce-cde834534c67.jpg\" "\\"Group")
<\/p>\n
Courtesy Patricia McNeal<\/p>\n
McNeal has ridden across the country, treating the ride like a speed-dating session for making new friends. She chatted with whoever sat near her in restaurants and diners, and she connected with other cyclists whenever she could.<\/p>\n
Find a Goal-Setting Strategy That Works for You<\/p>\n
Believe that small goals can be cumulative and, over time, translate into huge accomplishments. At first, McNeal thought riding across the country was just too far. At the time, she was coming back from a stroke, and she realized that many would have given up altogether.<\/p>\n
What kept her inspired and motivated was when she began to realize that if she could ride 10 miles, then she could knock out 100. And if she could pedal 100 miles, that gave her confidence she could keep going even further. Suddenly, her coast-to-coast ride didn\u2019t feel so daunting.<\/p>\n
Learn to Shift Gears With Confidence<\/p>\n
The topography of her cross-country ride was a big shock for McNeal, a rider who learned to pedal in pancake-flat Florida, because no one had really explained shifting<\/a> to her. \u201cI didn\u2019t really realize I could change gears,\u201d she admits. \u201cMy husband said that if you\u2019re comfortable with that gear, you stay in that gear. So I did\u2014until I had to get off the bike to walk. In Texas, I was walking, crying, going up those mountains. I was singing, making up songs, I thought I was Tupac.\u201d<\/p>\n The challenge, she says, was eye-opening and taught her a lot about herself. And she\u2019s now much more comfortable shifting gears<\/a> while she\u2019s climbing.<\/p>\n Keep Looking for New Challenges<\/p>\n