Going for a bike ride

Show Notes

Going for a bike ride

I am often asked, ‘what is the hardest thing you have ever done?’

Generally, they want to hear me boast of hauling a heavy cart through the Empty Quarter desert or battling to put up a tent in freezing temperatures. These things are difficult. Uncomfortable, too. But, honestly, they are not life-changingly difficult.

There is only one adventurous act which has significantly altered the direction of my life. One warm summer morning, I climbed onto my bicycle and went for a ride, after a long sleep in my soft bed and a large breakfast.

I often detect a look of mild disappointment on the questioner’s face. ‘Going for a bike ride’ is not the answer they wanted.

But beginning trying to cycle around the world was the hardest part of all my adventures. Pedalling away in search of uncertainty and the great unknown. Everything interesting in my life has followed on from that.

Changing direction is often harder than the new thing you are going to begin. For me, the change of direction was stepping away from the conventional world and sensible progression of work, promotion and bank holidays.

To say, ‘I am going a different way’ was frightening and isolating.

It risked alienating people close to me. It risked being left alone, high and dry if the tide rushed out and everything changed. It risked failing. It risked a great deal.

But, at the same time, it also eliminated another risk. The risk of getting old and wondering what might have been. 

The lesson of that sunny morning has served me well time and again. The hardest part of most things is summoning the nerve to climb onto your bicycle and push off down the street. The rest eventually takes care of itself. 

OVER TO YOU:
What is the hardest thing you have ever begun? Reflecting back, how does it make you feel?

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What is The Doorstep Mile?

Would you like a more adventurous life?
Are you being held back by a lack of time or money? By fear, indecision, or a feeling of being selfish or an imposter?
Living adventurously is not about cycling around the world or rowing across an ocean.
Living adventurously is about the attitude you choose each day. It instils an enthusiasm to resurrect the boldness and curiosity that many of us lose as adults.
Whether at work or home, taking the first step to begin a new venture is daunting. If you dream of a big adventure, begin with a microadventure.
This is the Doorstep Mile, the hardest part of every journey.
The Doorstep Mile will reveal why you want to change direction, what’s stopping you, and how to build an adventurous spirit into your busy daily life.
Dream big, but start small.

Don’t yearn for the adventure of a lifetime. Begin a lifetime of living adventurously.
What would your future self advise you to do?
What would you do if you could not fail?
Is your to-do list urgent or important?
You will never simultaneously have enough time, money and mojo.
There are opportunities for adventure in your daily 5-to-9.
The hardest challenge is getting out the front door and beginning: the Doorstep Mile.

Alastair Humphreys, a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, cycled around the world for four years but also schedules a monthly tree climb. He has crossed the Empty Quarter desert, rowed the Atlantic, walked a lap of the M25 and busked through Spain, despite being unable to play the violin.

‘The gospel of short, perspective-shifting bursts of travel closer to home.’ New York Times
‘A life-long adventurer.’ Financial Times
‘Upend your boring routine… it doesn't take much.’ Outside Magazine

Visit www.alastairhumphreys.com to listen to Alastair's podcast, sign up to his newsletter or read his other books.
@al_humphreys