A year ago I went on a motorcycle trip with a group of my closest friends. 3 weeks, 3600 miles, 4 states and 2 countries. We took the the Washington Back Discovery Route all the way into Canada.
The day before heading home was super hard for me. It rained, we ended up on some muddy terrain that was technical due to the wet conditions, my back hurt from an earlier crash, and fatigue just sapped my will. Somehow I found something inside me I didn’t know was there. I wanted to give up. But to go back meant traversing terrain I had already conquered. The only option was forward.
Soaking wet, exhausted, hurting, I pressed on. By the time we found a place to camp the rain was coming down soaking everything. I even spilled my food trying to prepare it which just about sent me over the edge. We ended up huddled together under a little ranger signage in the entrance to the camp just shivering hoping the rain would pass before morning.
I had some genuinely low moments, but I’m proud of finding a resilience inside to press on. I know better now that I can face these challenges—including my own limitations—and come out the other side.
Reflecting on the trip a year later, I’m grateful for these men and our long time friendship. I still draw on that resiliency and look forward to more adventures ahead.
