The most common thing that people say to me, aside from where I am going or where did I come from, is that they wish they could do what I am doing. I always say to them that they can, and I do believe that is true. For those of you who don't already know, I am currently riding my bike around the US and Canada, mostly camping, and trying to stay off the paved roads.
I wanted to break down this comment a little; do these people really mean that they wish they could do it? Or is this just a figure of speech, an automatic response, a compliment to me, or a placation?
I would like tomatoes as plentiful and as delicious as my brother's. However, the truth is, I don't want to spend the time prepping and planting and watering and I definitely don't want to spend my summers harvesting and canning and preserving. So I leave that to him and I go off and ride my bike and when I go home, I get to go to his house and eat delicious sauces. I think most people who make this comment just want to go home and eat delicious sauces, or in the case of a bike, have it ready to go for when you want to do a few mile, preferably driving to the best spot and enjoying the best part of the ride, with good weather and views around ever corner.
To do new things, it takes work. You have to get out of your comfort zone and cede some control to other people, the unknown and life in general. I literally do not know what's around the next corner most of the time, and this is hard. I am a type A planner, but in this case, I am often going day by day, because (a) you will just disappoint yourself if you have too high of expectations or you try to control every moment and (b) it's actually part of the fun. I sat in Tim Hortons the other day talking to an old local man, but I really really needed to charge my phone and book that night's accomodation, which is why I went in there in the first place, and afterwards I needed to go grocery shopping, and it was supposed to start raining soon. However, we had a great chat and this will be a story that I tell later, and it did not really take away from my day, except that I got rained on a little and arrived at my accommodation later than I wanted to. But! It was still light and I had plenty of time to set up and eat and enjoy the sunset, so really it did not change my day for the worse at all.
However, people, including me, have a hard time doing new things because we do lack that sense of control and we do have unknowns lurking, just waiting to hit us when we are down. However, I think the positive unknowns outweigh the negative ones by a long shot.
So, people, I am here to say that you CAN do it! Two years ago, I had only mountain biked once in Bolivia, and they did not provide me with any instructions, so basically you could call that a non-event. I had never owned a mountain bike. I had never ridden any bike, mountain or non, more than 40 miles. I had never done any bike maintenance but change a tube.
I get embarrassed easily; I am afraid of looking or feeling stupid. I know this has kept me from trying some new things. Puedo hablar español pero tengo vergüenza cuando hay la gente circa me! I listened to a podcast with a writer from Outside magazine, who is in his 50s, and he said he is going to try all kinds of new things, and be that 50 year old looking stupid, and also help those 50 year olds who want to try new things but have fears that it is too late or that they will look dumb or embarrass themselves. It is not too late, but it is not as easy now as it was when we were 20 and fearless.
For this trip, I had to learn a lot of things, and I had to have some bad days, and I had to fail before I could succeed sometimes. I've definitely used a lot of swear words, many more than I did in years past where I was living a more comfortable known life. But I can do it, and am doing it, and you can too!
Here's a photo of me fixing my eleventh flat tire on the side of the road in Wisconsin (I think. I may have lost count):
On the flip side, here are a few beautiful sunrises!
And when I say that you can do it, I don't just mean riding a bike. I mean all of those things that you really do wish you could do. Starting a side hustle, growing beautiful tomatoes, raising kids, learning Spanish. You can do it if you put your mind to it (or your back into it, if you are Ice Cube) and embrace the unknown, and the fear, and the lack of control. and once you are done, you will look back and say, hey, that wasn't so hard after all (right?)
What thing have you always wished you could do but haven't tried yet? What new things have you tried lately? What's your trick for getting over the uncomfortable parts of a new venture?
