Looking back, and suddenly it wasn't hard at all

I honestly can't relate to all these difficulty / struggle posts that have been popping up lately. Not at all.

Bicycle touring is my second favorite thing in life. The only thing I enjoy more is spending time with my favorite family member, because she's the world to me.

I look forward to my next bike tour every month I'm not on one. I look for new gear I can buy to make the trips easier and more fun. I do test runs to local parks to try out new setups. The weeks preceeding a tour I try to bike like a mad man to build up my stamina.

Throughout each day on my bike tours, I have moments where I stop and smile, overjoyed that I am alive and that I am free. So few things in life can compare to that feeling. Looking down from a mountain top I just climbed, admiring a breathtaking view, thanking whatever deserves my thankthat I am alive and breathing and taking in that moment.

Have I had struggles? Sure. Last tour half way through a century I got bogged down on some dirt roads riding on 25mm tires in 100F heat, and it sucked. But I pushed through it and took a break at the next gas station, downing some gatorade. Have I encountered rain? Every trip. I ride through it and the next day, or the day after, the sun is back.

Have I fucked up? Sure. One time I got drunk with my brother in a bar in Texas the night before a 1400 mile tour. I knew it was dumb but I see him less than once a year and we've never had drinks together, so I decided enduring cramps the first two days of that trip was worth it. Later that trip I was peeling layers of skin off my arms as I approached New Orleans, because my genius ass didn't buy sun sleeves and sun screen priorto touring along the southern coast of USA in the summer.

Have I had bike failure? Sure! Once I broke two spokes ascending a mountain. I had to pump the brakes the entire descent for fear of going over 25mph and having a catastrophic wheel failure. But it held, and I got a replacement wheel in West Virginia that lasted me the rest of my ride.

Life has ups and downs. So do bike trips. The secret isn't meticulous planning to avoid these things - shit happens no matter how much you try to avoid it. The secret is realizing you are living the dream, and no matter how bad it gets, it's better than being stuck in a cubicle pushing papers, or whatever it is you do to fund your hobbies.

I can't relate to the downer posts. Bike touring is amazing. In fact I'm going to go watch some videos from my last trip, because they put a smile on my face.

It's good to see another person realize that touring is a beautiful experience, even if everything didn't go perfect.

/r/bicycletouring Thread