A touring bicycle packed with bags leaning against a wall outside a shop.

Going to the edge

November 12, 2024

Most of us live in a world where more and more places and things are signposted, labelled, and officially ‘interpreted.’ There is something about all this that is turning the reality of things into virtual reality. It is the reason why walking, cycling, and swimming will always be subversive activities. They allow us to regain a sense of what is old and wild in the world, by getting off the beaten track and breaking free of the official version of things. ‘

Waterlog by Roger Deakin

A cycling journey gives me access to parts of our world where darkness, mist, woods, wide open country side or high mountains still retains most mystery. It affords me a different perspective on the rest of what can be a restrictive and controlling world. On a bike the only person responsible for what happens and how I handle it is me. Full accountability. My patterns are laid bare. There was a moment after a significantly wrong turning and faced with the only option of cycling on a road brimming with trucks and noise and dirt, that I cried. And then I pulled myself together (that advanced NLP technique!) and joined the fray.

We experience life to the full when we are willing to trust and fall’

Six months earlier I said Yes. And not only did I say ‘Yes’; I said ‘and I can ride there’. In that moment I was not sure where the Yes came from. I thought it was a knee jerk reaction; a spontaneous un-thought through response. I was being invited to run a programme in Italy and I had suggested I cycle there! (from South West France). I have reflected on that moment many times and discovered it was so much more complex than I realised at the time. So here I was in the middle of an area of vast open and empty countryside without water and only the remnants of a ham and cheese baguette for sustenance. France really is a very sparsely populated country – alarmingly so when all I wanted was an inviting little corner shop stocked with chocolate and fizzy drinks. It was a Monday and all life hibernates on Mondays in this part of the world. However, the answer appeared as if by magic or God’s grace as it did so many times on this trip.

There at this junction was a small house and I could faintly hear music. I approached, and knocked on the door, no reply, I knocked again this time harder and again and finally a little frail looking lady came and apologetically explained that both she and her husband were hard of hearing … I explained that all I wanted was water (I felt it was too much to say I could do with a 3 course meal as well!!) She invited me in and not only did they provide all the nourishment I needed (not quite a 3-course meal but not far off!) they shared their stories. She was French and her husband Italian. How coincidental that that was my destination. She had been a champion swimmer and showed me photos of herself emerging from a wild sea many years before. Their generosity with all that they had, enriched not only my day but my journey and my life. I left full with the nourishment of human kindness and friendship.

We attract support into our lives when we are willing to trust that the resources we need are available to us at all times’

And this experience repeated itself. Whenever I was lost or in need, someone appeared on my path. An old man on an old rusty bike festooned with flags and stickers. I dismissed him as I sailed past on my shiny road bike feeling somewhat superior only to realise that I had lost my way. And now here he was alongside me asking if I needed help. Not only did he tell me which way to go he led me through the twisty junctions in this small town until my way ahead was clear. It was as if my journey and its challenges and the answers had been designed to teach me life’s key lessons – especially those about judgment and arrogance. And so much more.

When I told people what I was planning some used words like ‘Brave’ or ‘Strong’. Some said nothing but gave me a look that suggested they were going to hear of me being abducted or found laying in a ditch somewhere in the wilderness. I know that some thought it was not what people ‘of my age’ should do. And therein lies another motive – to challenge stereotypes. We can limit ourselves by what others believe about us and what others think we should or should not do. Or we can be free.

By being prepared to step out without a safety net we overcome fear and devote ourselves to being the best we can be’

And yes, this trip was just an extension of what I already did, and what I had been working towards for some time. No coincidence when I thought back that so many of the books I read where autobiographies of people getting on a bike and cycling across deserts and mountains in unknown territories. I had toured on my bike in previous years but always in a loop. There is something safe about doing things in a loop. You can always cut back to the start. There is only the distance of the radius between you and the start/destination. To cycle A to B .. that requires a different kind of commitment one that presupposes there will be a way no matter what happens. It certainly had a scary feel to it that moment when I set off, minimal baggage but a lot of maps and GPS devices. This was much more of a commitment especially as I had broadcast the fact of my journey to my friends. And I had to get there in the allotted time as I was scheduled to run a programme on my arrival. There would be delegates awaiting my arrival!

We can experience the freedom of a journey when we travel light’

We can go through this fast-paced world feeling as if we are being dragged through our days on the back of a wild horse. I used to have days when I would go from one thing to another finishing the day with just enough time to wind down and go to sleep, waking up the next morning to begin the wild ride once more. I spent time on crowded tube trains, waiting for often delayed flights and driving on endless motorways. A life lived entirely in this fashion can be exhausting, and more importantly, it places us in the passenger’s seat when we are the ones who can be driving (or in this instance – cycling!)

Reflection is such a key stage in our learning. As I learn I live.

To take responsibility for charting our own course which could very well be different from the one laid out for us by society and family expectations may be uncomfortable. But surely it is better to live this life following our chosen path?

This year I chose not to cycle to Italy for the programme but to drive. In the past I might have found the shortest fastest route and driven as many hours as I could in one stretch. This year I drove to Italy via the Alps and amazed at the towering magnificent landscape. On my return I drove via the Mediterranean Coast and stopped overnight to breathe in the wild sea spray and hear the waves crashing on the beach in view of my temporary overnight home.

During the previous week I had given the group in Italy an exercise in influencing me to do something that I would find scary; a stretch and yet irresistible; something that would take me to an edge. The group was intent on getting a Yes so much so that they became insensitive to my reactions as they put forward their idea. I felt rushed and unheard. They overlooked that the means to getting the Yes was just as important as the ‘Yes,’ they were aiming for. Subsequently when I shared the beauty of my homeward journey with one of the group they commented ‘Your journey was indeed so much a part of your destination.’ Yes, my journey is my destination.

Your edge – when and how do you visit yours and what do you learn?

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