It Started With The Strong Desire To Do Something Crazy

Last summer I went on a long distance bike trip and failed to document my tour. Almost a year later, I still have the need to write about it — to share and save those memories somewhere. So here’s the whole story. One day at a time.

—

Let me start with the beginning. The idea. The moment of sudden realization. The Aha moment of inspiration. At 2 a.m.

My plan was to move to Vancouver but flying there was too easy. I wanted to work harder. I wanted to do something ambitious, difficult…

So I googled “ walking across Canada” but soon realized it take up to a year to reach the Pacific Ocean.

What if I asked my sister to give me her old red bike, so I can pedal across Canada! I googled “ Cross-Country Bike Ride” and then read countless articles, blog posts and watched Youtube videos, before falling asleep beside my laptop 2 hours later.

I used to never follow on those ideas when the morning comes. But this one stuck with me. I think I knew deep down that It wasn’t as crazy as it sounds. I used to think that I needed to look fit and skinny and train for months before even thinking about buying a bike. But this time, I couldn’t care less about my fitness level. The urge to do something very hard and out of my comfort zone were more important.

I wasn’t trying to win a marathon, I was going on a solo bike tour — at my own pace.

It took me a few days to tell my friends and family. Saying it out loud is scary. I knew I needed to explain — to reassure them, but I also wanted to protect my dream.

My sister didn’t give me her old red bike.

But surprisingly, my friend told me I could buy her bike if I wanted to — for 200$!