For Love of Bike and Country

There are many reasons I've made the decision to embark on a two-wheeled adventure across the grand U.S. of A. Some folks will think me crazy. Others may grow several shades of envy-green at the thought of me experiencing the open roads and vast landscapes that will become my home for 2 months.

This blog is going to be my attempt at documenting the highs and lows of riding a bicycle from sea to shining sea. Touching my bike's tires in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans will certainly be highly positive moments and great memories that will be cherished, but the 4,000+ miles in between are going to provide plenty of lows to be sure. I'm an optimist by nature so I continue to remind myself that the less-than-favorable moments along the way are all a part of the experience. 

For a little over a month now I've had a phrase written on my dry erase board at home that reads, "Invest in the process, not the outcome." I'm not entirely sure now why I wrote it on there. But there it is and there it shall stay, at least until my bike journey preparation check list overtakes the entire dry erase board and forces me to erase these words. Anyhow...the phrase continues to take on new meaning for me as the days go by. Early on, the words spoke to me as seemingly ethereal instructions on how to obtain success in any pursuit that I want to take on. But as I have plunged headlong into preparations for this trip, I have come to realize that having an outcome in mind greatly enhances the process along the way. So the outcome of any endeavor obviously possesses great relevance and strong motivational attributes. Where am I going with this thought, you ask?

Well...I work for a pretty darn sweet company called SparkFun Electronics. At SparkFun, we often tell folks who want to learn about electronics that they'll have much greater success if they already have a project in mind. I've always believed this to be true but haven't often experienced the thrills of having my very own project that consumes vast amounts of my free moments and leaves me aching for more at the end of each day. This bicycle trip, which has not even truly yet begun, has been that for me. I've found it hard to sleep lately as my mind continues to race every moment of the day, even as my head hits the pillow. In my opinion, there's no better way to live life than to passionately pursue something you believe in and love. For some, their "project" may be to become a doctor or an attorney and will happily endure medical or law school because it's a part of the process towards successfully completing that "project". Obviously, those folks won't reach their destination if they don't invest in the process (i.e. graduate school) that is required to get there. Seems simple and logical, but I believe this is actually quite difficult for many to apply in real life when a multitude of distractions and challenges meets each of us every morning when we wake up. 

I am finding that committing to this trip has increased and sharpened my focus for all things in life. It's been interesting to observe that transformation in myself over the course of the last several weeks. But seeing how much more alive I am now than I was prior to taking on this "project" has sold me on the idea of living life each day in pursuit of a dream, idea, or mission that is beyond my scope of accomplishment at the moment I decide to chase after that dream.

Okay, that's enough soul searching for now. I'll have plenty of time for that when I'm alone in the middle of Nowheresville on my trusty steed. There are going to be many lessons learned along the way and that's what I wish to share with you all as I make my way across the country this summer. I'll be blogging over the next few weeks about my preparations for this trip. Already, I've made mistakes in deciding how to gear up for a journey of this magnitude. More on that to come in subsequent posts.

Only 31 more days until I board a Greyhound bus with my bike & gear and head for Astoria, OR to begin this adventure...!!!

w00t! w00t!!