A Virginia man has maintained a decade-long daily cycling streak, and he has no plans to stop.
On most days, the alarm goes off at 3:20 a.m. Occasionally it’s a different time: later on weekends, or even 12:01 a.m. when the schedule is full and time is short. But on almost every weekday, 3:20 is the magic hour.
Colin Gay wastes no time once the bell rings. He springs from bed so he doesn’t wake his sleeping wife and because, more than nine years into this, his body and mind are now tuned to the rhythm of the unique schedule.
In the still dark, he changes into his riding outfit and makes his way to the bathroom. He brushes his teeth, flosses, and exchanges a few blinks with his mirrored reflection. Then it is straight down to his bike shed. No coffee. No food.
When he started doing this, back in 2014, he didn’t even own a bike. He had to borrow one from the mountain bike program at Woodberry Forest, the boarding school where he taught, coached, and lived for more than 20 years. Today, he lives in Ruckersville and owns eight different bikes. He chooses the day’s rig, sets his myriad lights, turns on his multiple ride trackers, and pedals off into another central Virginia morning by 4:00 a.m.
As of this writing in June, Gay has ridden at least 30 miles every day for 3,555 consecutive days. Whether there be rain, snow, or oppressive heat, he always rides outside, never on a trainer. He has kept the streak alive while battling kidney stones and a case of COVID-19. He has ridden at all hours of the day, in Iceland, Jamaica, and California. He does this on top of working full time in government contracting and raising two children.
For Gay, keeping the streak is about more than fitness. He says it’s about commitment and being the best version of himself. He enjoys riding his bike, as a time of introspection and meditation. Many rides take place as part of races and events, and his favorites are those with friends, but when he is alone on nearly empty Albemarle County roads, he has time to reflect. He thinks about the previous day and the one that lies ahead. Sometimes, he doesn’t think at all, coming back into his surroundings to realize that he has ticked off 15 or 20 miles in a blissful flow state.
Somewhere along the way on each ride, he takes a selfie to post on his @ridestreak Instagram account. A few people recognize him. One anonymous driver yells words of encouragement to him every morning, and when he sees the cycling team from the nearby Miller School out for a morning workout, some of the boys holler.
“It’s Ride Streak!” they yell. “What’s up, Ride Streak?!”
Despite years of doing this, Gay hasn’t gained much speed. Endurance, yes, but not speed. As such, his pace is predictable: the standard 30-mile ride clocks right at two hours. He pulls back into his shed at 6:00 a.m., plenty of time to shower, dress, eat some yogurt and nuts, and be a part of his children’s morning. The box is checked. The streak lives on.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished something,” says Gay. “No matter what happens that day, I got that done, and [my] body just feels better.”
NOBODY SAW THIS COMING,
not even Gay himself. He estimates he had ridden a bike 10 times in his life before the streak began in 2014. While a student at Woodberry in the early 90s, Gay starred in football, wrestling, and lacrosse. He was not particularly big or athletic, but he leveraged an uncommon level of resolve and mental fortitude to become a team captain in all three sports. After receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, he returned to his high school alma mater to teach and coach. Living and working at a boarding school demands long hours, and his physical health suffered. He gained weight. His energy was low. In search of a change, he hopped on one of the school’s mountain bikes.
Woodberry’s front entrance road is long and relatively steep, and when Gay first started riding, he couldn’t even pedal all the way up. Still, he had found something that he loved. He committed on the spot: 100 days in a row, 30 outdoor miles each day. When he got there, he bumped the finish line out to 1,000 days. Then 10,000.
“He will never take the easy road,” says Matt Hawkins, Gay’s classmate at Woodberry and best friend. “He just will find more energy or room in his life.”
Hawkins is an avid cyclist who, after being hit while out for a ride in 2014, started his own apparel company called Ridge Supply with the intention of creating high-visibility clothing for riders. He has been a supporter of the streak from the start, helping Gay get set up with the right gear, joining him on dozens of rides, and even launching a special Ridge Supply “Ride Streak” sock.
“It’s pretty cool,” says Gay of the socks. “I’m not special. I’m not a pro. I’m not selling him any extra socks…but he certainly makes me feel like a pro.”
On the day of his 2,000th ride in early 2020, Gay breezed up the front hill that had once taunted him and wound his way into the heart of the Woodberry campus. A crowd of colleagues and students was waiting with homemade signs, cheering and blasting the theme music from the “Rocky” films. While he no longer works at the school, he still tries to enjoy the milestones along the way. Ride number 10,000 won’t come until 2042. He hopes he can plan it out enough so that friends like Hawkins will be there. Gay is meticulous with his diet and doesn’t drink alcohol, so there won’t be cake or beers at the end, just the satisfaction of another day checking the box. He’ll park his bike, turn off his ride trackers, and plug in his lights to charge, because the next day, at 4:00 a.m., he’ll need them again.
“Somebody put it like this: I’ve got another 18 years left…that’s just another childhood,” he says with a chuckle. “But I don’t think I’ll just stop at 10,000.”
Cover photo: Riding buddies: Matt Hawkins (left) and Gay. Photo by Hawkins
