The other night my wife and I watched the documentary of super endurance athlete & ultra swimmer Diana Nyad. Wow. This film hit me quite hard. I am no movie critic or anything so I can’t comment on the movie, but I can say that I am in awe of the drive and inspiration I gained from watching it. Can you imagine at 60ish years old declaring you are going to do something that you failed at when you were in your twenties? Then fail several attempts over consecutive years and keep going? Now imagine that something is swimming 100+ miles non stop! Again, wow.
Less than 2 weeks ago I had another birthday. Yep, another year around the sun. I don’t like talking about age as I continue to feel that while my body is old, I am still young. I have had a great year and accomplished most of my annual goals. But have I really pushed myself? I think not. This movie reminded me that even when you are old, you can have big dreams and work toward big goals.
With this thought, I found it interesting that I also received issue #10 of the Bikepacking Journal. Wow wow wow. I also got lost in the words and images by Ryan Wilson from his big adventure tour in Mongolia over at the Radavist. Honestly, I could go on and on and on with all the little things lining up to get me dreaming about big trips and adventures.
Somehow over the years I have been lulled into safety. Lulled into thinking a long bike ride or a Sub 24 hour outing is enough to keep me full. While it may be true that those things keep me going and help me feel young, I am realizing that I am longing for a bit more. I want to push myself more. I need to get to the end point and then go beyond. I need to experience the problem solving required when all you have to think about is the route, food, water and sleep. I need to have a trip not go as planned and adapt and recover. I miss it.
I mentioned in my Stargazer update two posts ago that I had a trip planned last summer that got cancelled. I need to get something similar back on the books for 2024. I need my mind focused on something that pushes me further than what I am capable of today. Right now I am craving it. I need a longish, or longer, tour to fulfill my dreams and keep my ongoing personal goals moving forward.
At the moment I have not committed to something. I have many ideas. My wife and I are planning next year’s travel and time right now. I plan to hone that in a bit over the next few weeks and get a plan put in place for my mental & physical fitness as well before committing. I am excited. I am also looking forward to getting a plan in place for my technical gear (bike, bags, shelter, clothing, food, etc) to support and achieve that goal.
While I am not ready yet to commit to a specific route, tour or experience, what I will say is that I continue to fester on this bike and what experience it offers, the Tumbleweed Bicycles Prospector. This image is courtesy of Logan Watts in his 2019 review over at Bikepacking.com.
I wrote about Prospecting in Boise a month or so ago when I visited them in beautiful Boise, ID. Well…Time has not made my dreams of building one go away. Still dreaming and scheming. One of these days I suspect parts for a build will start trickling in!
ImagineGnat 