Some answers to your questions July 22

Now that I have finished the ride, enjoyed a couple of days of re-entry, and don’t have to think about weather, the availability of amenities, route selection, my growing need to be done and off the bike, etc, I am ready to do a series of blogs about my feelings and thoughts about the trip.

Jan and I discussed how I might do this and because I tend to be a “logical-sequential thinker” (I think Jan might have said pedantic but I prefer logical-sequential), she gave me the idea to organize my thoughts using a 5-stage trip model: the conception of the trip, the planning for the trip, the execution of the trip, some reflections about the trip during and immediately afterwards, and reliving the memories of the experience. My final series of blogs will comment on the various themes that fit into those stages, and hopefully will answer some of the common questions and respond to your feedback about what readers of the blog really want to know.

Why? (The conception)

Some questions we heard from almost everyone were, “Why did you do it?”; “Was this a fund raising trip or just to challenge yourself?”, etc.

For me, the trip was ultimately a personal experience that was conceived over 5 years ago when our riding group of 4 couples chatted at socials events about how such a trek would be an interesting challenge and whether any of us were interested. At that time I began to think I might be able to do it. The idea continued to be an infrequent topic at various times (parties, etc) and some of us gradually acknowledged that the idea was intriguing, thus the trip idea grew of its own accord. A turning point occurred when Tug and I retired and it was suggested - rather pointedly - that now we had the time. This really challenged us to “put up or shut up”, to “just do it.” And of course I felt that I could not back out (I guess it’s true – some boys never outgrow the “I dare you” stage). However I will admit that the final commitment came only once we bought the tickets to Vancouver. That WestJet ticket reservation really was the point when I was really committed.

Some key reasons why this trip finally happened were related to my attraction to the physical /mental challenges that such a trek presented; in some ways I needed to do it to prove to myself that I could. And while some thoughts were not paramount in my decision, in the back of my mind, the trip presented a chance to make a clear transition into retirement; I was aware that the time to think was an obvious chance for “a retreat on a bike” which would offer time to reflect on what I wanted to do in the next phase of my life, and the trip was a chance to really consider that. Taking a physically demanding, focused, 8-week break was central to my motivation. Having a chance to get really fit again, to challenge myself and to reaffirm for myself that I was still up to meeting tough challenges were the underlying motivations.

Over the next week or two, I will try to comment about the other stages - planning, travelling and my intial thoughts now that the trip part is completed, and while the memories are still fresh and I am still reflecting on all of it.

Gary