What I learned while on my bike.

My attemtps at distilling a bit of wisdom I noticed from on the road without trying to sound too full of myself.

1. If you fully commit to something you want to do, or something that was just an idea, even if it is a bit crazy but totally practical, you should be able finish it. Get through day one and you will be fine. It is about saying, time to do this. No more waiting. You are now in the realm of action. Thought – idea – action.

2. Having a plan helps in the beginning. It gives an idea of what is to be accomplished. If the plan seems overwhelming which many times it is, break it up into sections. Remember this is still the planning phase but it can also be the very first step towards your goal so it is as important as applying the steps outlined in the plan you are working on right now. Smaller chunks are more manageable. Bring the focus to achieving what needs to be done for each day, rather than being stuck or overwhelmed with having the entire thing done. If you finish what needs to be done each day, then one day you will be finished entirely. Promise. If it is something you are passionate about, then it’s already done. All that’s left for you now is to enjoy the process of joining the dots.

3. Have a starting day. This creates that sense of commitment, a feeling of no going back now. Have people know and if you want, ask for them to keep encouraging you from time to time. This is what friends are for. The end date which is also important is many times related to the project at hand. Some goals need fixed end dates if there are deliverables that need handing over. Other projects can have dates that become more flexible as the project is worked on. This is more regarding to my own adventure where I had an idea of finishing in 3 months but I was open to 4-5 months tops. This goal was tied to finances and weather and all sorts of other silly things but they fell away as the journey progressed. At one point I had to admit that I will just get home when I get home. That’s it. I know it would be within a certain time frame so why worry or want something that actually represents the end of your journey. Stick to enjoying the journey right now. That’s the most important thing. As long as I keep moving forward, I will finish when I finish.

4. Sometimes a step within the greater plan will change. If it doesn’t ‘alter’ the goal that much then it’s probably what should be done. Don’t resist too much. Hell, surrender completely and follow where it leads. This can be seen as something acting from the outside now leading you. Intuition, gut, god, whatever it is. Maybe it is what is already deep inside leading you on a path from a truer source other than your mind.

5. The diverged path will eventually lead back to the original plan somehow but now you have gained even more experience than had you stuck firmly to the original plan layout.

6. It’s ok to be alone. Many times we are and that is natural. The ‘feeling’ of loneliness is worse than just being alone. Don’t confuse the two. Learn to be okay with who you are first. If you don’t know who that is, find out. It’s never too late and sometimes this can only come from when you are alone. Plus don’t worry too much. You won’t be alone all the time anyways. I mean this planet has billions of life forms on its surface. Even now there are millions of little bacteria and things crawling all over you right now. Heck, if you alone. Talk to them. Or maybe not. Im still in a process of finding out who the hell I am. Apparently I’m a non-physical entity that is already perfect and without fault, as is every other thing on this planet.

7. Mistakes and set-backs can happen. This is life. Things do not always go to plan. Heck, it wouldn’t be an adventure if everything worked out accordingly hey?! This is just another opportunity for you to learn to do something to overcome the fault. If it’s practical, deal with it immediately if you have the right resources. Before even undertaking your whole endeavor it also helps to at least prepare for anything that may happen in order to alleviate any stress when something does go wrong so that it can be dealt with in a controlled way. If it’s something that can’t be undone, but the project can still go ahead, don’t waste time whining about what is lost. You waste time; you waste energy, so drop it. And drop it completely. Accept what happened, happened and move forward. You will know when you have dropped something completely as there is a feeling of freedom as you go forward. It no longer holds you back with any kind of baggage.

8. Fixing the problem builds confidence. So if you prepared, get right in there and get it done. If you do need help, ask for it. There is no shame in asking for help if the problem is totally beyond your capacity. And many times it’s in your best interest as well as others involved in the project to get the help as quickly as possible. Sometimes it may not come immediately but keep trying and it will. And always be grateful for any that you receive.

9: There will be different stages of energy throughout the plan. Initially, there is a lot of energy in the beginning and depending on how long it takes to achieve the goal, this energy can and will decrease. This is natural. Don’t fight it and beat yourself up thinking that you have lost the drive. The drive is there, it’s just that the pace is a little different. You have to slow down. You have to rest. Give yourself that opportunity to actually do that. And reward yourself from time to time. Not just at the end of the goal.

10. The world is full of amazing people. People, who if you just ask, will help you out more than you can imagine. Sometimes you will be rejected but keep persevering. And like Isaac Ntamo said, ‘Everyone is somebody.’

11. It’s ok and natural to ask for someone’s opinion regarding something if you feeling unsure about something but more often than not, it doesn’t actually apply to how you will handle said situation. Everyone is different. What may be good for some is bad for others and vice versa. Sometimes the opinion or information can’t actually even be applied as the circumstances are quite different. Therefore the opinion doesn’t matter or just adjust the opinion accordingly. Remember opinion is opinion, not fact. You will experience the experience for yourself and therefore have your own true experience regarding what you wanted the opinion for.

Tying in with the above statement, things are never as bad as what you make them out to be. This I realized regarding the opinions I got of roads from people who had never really ridden them before on a bicycle. The opinion was tied to being in a car. This makes the whole thing different. The only way to experience how it is, is to experience it yourself. And as I mentioned, it’s usually never as bad as they said or you thought it would be. This is something that I think if many of us admitted to ourselves right now, would ease a lot of suffering as well as give us the courage to just experience something, rather than letting an image which is a composite of other people’s opinions anyway dictate what is, which is completely false. Your opinion is only valid in anyway if you have experienced what you are talking about and only to yourself anyways.

12. The divergent path many times may reward you. Acknowledge this when it happens. And acknowledge your guts to actually listening and going through with the detour.

13. Setbacks often viewed as negative while you are experiencing them are more often than not, setting you up for something even better down the line. This really only works if you have dropped any negativity regarding the set back. If you have handled it, it’s over. If it’s still being handled, shift into a positive attitude and get it done so that it can be over. It’s what needs to be done, because why, because it’s happening. I only learned this after the first month of the trip in hind sight, but once I realized it, I couldn’t help but notice all the wonderful things that happened as a result of something ‘negative’ at the time.

14. Sometimes, a situation will seem like slog. These could happen at any time, whether you are in a good mood or bad mood and anytime of the day. Sometimes they could even last the whole day. These are times when things are out of your control completely. They happen. Natural disasters, power failures, traffic jams, stormy windy weather etc. You cannot fight these things in the moment. The harder you fight, the quicker you tire out and lose. Adjust yourself to the situation. Go with the flow. The thing you were doing worked while the situation was acceptable at that moment. But the moment it changed, with you still wanting to do the same thing, suffering happened. Stop, accept and adjust. Or suffer. It’s that simple.

15. Many times you will be rewarded for your hard work. In my case, having many up hills, gave me just as many down hills to sit back and let gravity do all the work. It was amazing and it made the slog totally worth it in that moment. Tied to this is also the fact that what I feared in many cases actually turned out to be quite enjoyable. Case in point, the Wild Coast. Plenty of hills and gravel roads, but the feeling of adventure just felt more real if you understand me. It wasn’t just long stretches of tar roads which I have to admit I got bored of quite quickly, but the road was always changing so I had to be aware and adjust accordingly all the time. It was just action all the way.

16. Make sure you have the right seat at the right angle. Unless you like pain.

17. Dont take a book like War and Peace with you when doing such an adventure.

18. Make sure you got plenty water. Gotta keep hydrated no matter what you do.

19. And music. Always have some killer tunes to give you that energy and to fill you with emotion.

20. Enjoy the journey. It's what really counts.