It’s the doubt that kills you.

Less than a month out and it’s starting to hit that we really are going to ride from Canada to Mexico. At this point the options are closing. We’re not “going to ride the divide”, or “trying to ride the divide”, we are “riding the divide”. May not sound like much of a difference, but it is.

Similar to what was said in Ted lasso (I’m a huge fan!), when it was stated that, “It’s the hope that kills you”, on the Tour Divide, it’s the doubt that kills you!

There is no doubt (there’s that word again!!) that any number of things can end this ride after it starts, but there is one BIG thing that will end it before you start, doubt. If you doubt yourself before you begin, trust me, it’ll get a whole lot worse during the ride.

That doesn’t mean you should have infinite faith in yourself and your abilities. A healthy understanding of what you’re about to undertake is a really good thing. But you must have the confidence that no matter what gets thrown at you, you can overcome it. Trust yourself. Believe in yourself.

Luke and I will most certainly be thrown curveballs and monkey wrenches during the ride. The key is to adapt and work around these obstacles. Just like the mountains we will have to climb along the route, you just have to “Get over it!”. Ray Johnson and I had a saying during our first Divide ride, Keep Moving Forward. It doesn’t matter if you are riding fast or slow, whether you are walking or even crawling over a tree or rocks. Keep moving forward. As long as you’re Always Moving Forward (AMF), you’ll make it to the finish. Just do it!!! (OK, there are WAAAYYY to many references to Pop Culture in this post!!)

But that’s the mental game. Not just trying but actually succeeding. True doubt cannot creep into your head. You have to realize that that is just the weakness in you talking. No matter how fit or prepared we are physically, your mind becomes your weakness. To quote Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction, “That's pride fuckin' with you. Fuck pride. Pride only hurts. It never helps. You fight through that shit.”. (Pardon the Cursing)

A month out, all of your thoughts turn towards preparation. But not just the physical preparation.

You re-think EVERYTHING!! That’s where I (and I assume Luke) am right now.

As you begin to really look at your gear choices, every one of them gets called into question. Is my tent big/small enough? Is my sleeping system warm enough...or wait… too warm??!! Is that top tube pack going to get water into it? Has my bike frame been through too much to survive another Divide?

What should I replace…just because, I am beginning to doubt it?? There’s that damn word again. This is where money can get away from you too! You can spend yourself into the poor house replacing good enough gear with, I think it’s a lot better, gear. Some is justified; most is not.

All of this has to be put away in the deep dark recesses of your mind before you start.

The fact of the matter is this: Everything you worry about now has a solution on the trail in one form or another. That solution may come in the form of suffering through the problem (A cold sleeping bag, cold feet, sore butt, etc.), purchasing away the problem (I had to buy a new, INSERT THING HERE, in, INSERT PLACE HERE), or ignoring the problem (sure a new helmet would have been nice, but this one will work!). If you can accept one of these three outcomes, the D word no longer comes into the equation. Ya’ just roll with it! You accept it and . . Do it!

So here we are. Just doing it. Putting away the doubts and regrets.

Neither Luke nor I are independently wealthy. We have lives and wives that we love and want to enjoy. We don’t want to make this ride so all-consuming that everything else in life comes to an end. We have Lola and Karla, family and friends, school and work. None of them stop because we want to ride our bikes from Canada to Mexico. We find what we hope is the best middle ground between those things we love and the things we love to do. We don’t try to do it, we DO IT!

Until next time.

Ride On!

Shane

One month out!!!