I had the chance to ride my bike down the coast last month, taking 8 days to go 525 miles. This was a charity event and also a challenge for me personally. While I ride a lot, this many miles in 8 days took some work to prepare for. All turned out well, including the riding, the weather, the fundraising and my ability to still walk after day 8. I met a lot of great people along the way and have memories I will never forget.
This challenge was worthwhile for many reasons. I set a goal, and reached it, and of course that feels great. Many times in life I have realized that I am just going through the motions to earn money and get through another project at work. While these are necessary and at times challenging and beneficial, it takes a physical and mental challenge, that has real uncertainty to the outcome to really feel alive. If it is too easy to achieve and takes no special effort, it doesn’t seem to give me that inner drive (and peace) that I find important. There were moments on the ride where I really took a moment to absorb where I was and what I was experiencing. This included riding on the coast with no one around and incredible views of the ocean and the sun and some wildlife. It also included moments with friends flying down roads in the middle of nowhere feeling very free with no concerns of my regular day to day life troubles. It was times at the campgrounds hanging out with friends and the solitude of tent camping with no cell service in Big Sur. It was great meeting a lady who was riding from Canada to Mexico all by herself. This made me think of doing something similar…what would that be like? What should my next challenge be? I will ponder this question and set up something for next year to continue pushing myself forward, to free up my mind and at the same time try to have it benefit others.