What do people say when you opt for adventure?
My beloved 2002 Heritage Softail aka “Dirty Larry” getting ready to hit the road. Everything for a 4-month journey has to fit in two saddle bags and a tour pack.
Here are some of my favorite reactions from people I’ve told about our upcoming adventure.
No joke, this is what people have literally said to me:
“You’re too pretty to do this trip.”
“You’re going to ride a motorcycle for 4 months?!? How is your butt going to feel?”
“And you are going to ride your own bike?!? Good luck with that…”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard anyone doing.”
“What are you, stupid?!? You can’t do that!”
“You’re crazy!”
“Wait, is that even possible?!?”
“Why? You are going to die!”
“That’s really not safe. Don’t you know there are guns and drugs in Mexico?”
“You’re going where?!?! I don’t even know where that is!”
“Are you serious?!? You can’t be serious. Oh, you are serious! Wow!”
“AWESOME! You’re doing it right!”
“What an adventure! Amazing!”
“You go girlfriend!”
That’s so awesome! I can’t believe you are really doing it! You are so lucky you can do that!
OH MY GOD, isn’t that dangerous?! You are crazy, why on earth would you do that?!?
You’re doing WHAT?!? OMG, you are going to die, what are you thinking?!?!? You know, there are drugs and guns in Mexico.
Some people cannot begin to comprehend a trip like this. For some, expressing fear and doubt is a first reaction. I used to think like that. Honestly, I’m more excited and anxious to get out on the road! I am not scared at all. I know I can do this. Riding is the one thing in life I have 100% confidence.
At the end of the day, each of us make choices in life. I am choosing to go and enjoy one of my main passions in life: riding my motorcycle. For a long time, I felt that I needed to defend my choice, but in the last few days I have realized is okay to choose yourself.
The amount of fear that we are exposed to on a daily basis is quite ridiculous! In this day and age and the technology, modern infrastructure and transportation systems in place all around the world, it blows my mind that fear is the first reaction some people have had when they learn we are planning to travel throughout 13 countries. Our media, churches, families, education system, and so on, have all taught us about fear.
I watched an amazing TEDx Talk this morning from Tomislav Perko, about how he managed to travel the world with almost no money. The biggest message I walked away with was: when you travel you learn to tear down prejudices and regardless of the differences in people around the world. We ware all basically the same. We are all human beings.
I also stumbled upon a great article, For a More Creative Brain, Travel. In summary, getting outside of our home comfort zone and meeting new people helps expose us to the fact that we are all human being and in general we should have faith in humanity.
The most ironic thing about fear is sometimes it can be a reaction to what others may think of you or your behavior. I often fall into this mental trap, and constantly have to remind myself to not care what others think of me, and it is more important to care about what I think about me.
In less than a month, we leave to ride the Pan American Highway to Buenos Aries, and then back to Wisconsin. 20K miles in total. Not only is this trip a test of my riding abilities, but also a wonderful opportunity to open my mind to new ways of thinking, new cultures and meeting great people along the way. The closer we get, the doubt and fear that so many people have expressed to me is not going to bring me down. I will not let fear get the best of me, as it has in my past.
