Looking back on tough, beautiful days biking 4,000 miles across the U.S.
Hey there, Traipsers,
A change-up today since there's plenty of current events to read about. (Right?!) Instead, I traveled back to our U.S. bike tour, which finished this week six years ago and has me reminiscing.
My resulting blog post is a look at what adventure means, why we do hard things, and features photos of "OMG, you camped there?"
Extra fun: watch the YouTube video I made to capture the journey's flavor. Disclaimer: I shot it on iPhone and it was my first-ever video edit. Knowing 21,000 people have seen it embarrasses me, but hey, show your work, right?
Onward!
Dakota
Ahhhh, nature. Traffic, wildfire smoke, and 95 degrees.
The Wonderful, Trying Adventure of Bike Touring
What does adventure, a much-belabored word, even mean these days? Fools far crazier than Chelsea and I rode bikes across the country…in 1880. On wagon trails. Not breaking new ground here, Magellan!
Adventure is so relative. For some, it’s a visit to their ancestor’s land; others, a trip to Cabo; for new parents, the first hiking date in months; for my friendGraham, it’s scaling the world’s highest unclimbed peak (NOOOPE).
For me, it’s not about unexplored exterior terrain. (Antarctica is cold, dude.) It’s searching for unexplored regions in ourselves. What’s new, challenging, different?
After 10,000 miles of bike touring, further pedaling these days offers fewer teaching moments. But in 2014, we dove headlong into our first tour and learned so much about ourselves and each other.
The bike tour prompted major positive shifts in my relationship with Chelsea, upended my work-life balance for the better, and changed my outlook on engaging with difficult endeavors.
