Guest Post: Riding Across America

This is a guest post by my friend Eric Wagner from riding across the country. You can learn more about his journey and buy his book on his website: http://leavingitontheroad.com/ 

There is a chapter within my book called, No Man Left Behind (pg 87 - 94). In it, we are riding out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a rest day spent in the city. We had just finished the first leg of our 33 day trip, and during that first third of the ride we had ridden from Costa Mesa, California, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. All in all, we had covered a total of 842 miles in just seven days, averaging about 120 miles per day!

During our day off from the road, I spent absolutely no time stretching or riding the bike, something that our leader had strongly recommended that we consider. Of course now that I'm older and certified as a Personal Trainer, I know exactly what he was talking about. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose.

But back then, I did absolutely no stretching or no recovery moves of any kind. So sure enough, I remember getting up out of bed the next morning on the stiffest legs and tightest lower back muscles imaginable. We were barely on the road two miles before we were riding directly into the Sandia Mountains beyond the city limits.

I remember silently cursing myself for being so stubborn and foolish that I thought I knew better than our rider leader. It seemed we spent almost the entire morning climbing up into those mountains. And as the sun climbed higher into the bright blue sky and it continued to heat up the black asphalt beneath Shiva's tires I can distinctly remember thinking the most wild and improbable methods in which I would escape from my current situation. I came up with at least half a dozen speeches in which I told my dad and the rest of the America By Bicycle Riders that today was as far as I was going to go.

That this was too hard, I had made a mistake and that they should let me go on my merry way. Sorry about all the time it took to train and the wasted money to get us here.

Each excuse was worse and more pitiful than the last until finally I came across a United States Postal truck apparently making its rounds along the side of the highway. The taillights were steadily blinking and I could tell from the way the tailpipe was gently shaking with the reverberations of an idling engine that the truck was actually running despite no one being around.

"All at once, I fantasized about throwing Shiva (my CANNONDALE CAAD 8 road bike) into the nearest brush pile and hijacking the mail truck. I'd drive all the way to Mexico and live out the rest of my days in disgraced exile."

- pg 92

Even long after the truck had faded into the distance behind me, I continued to entertain different scenarios in which I made off with this mail truck while evading both the authorities and my concerned parents.

But the thing here, and this is the most important thing to take away from my little story, is that despite all of the negative chatter and ridiculous scenarios, I kept Shiva moving forward. This is the most literally translation of you mind over your body, a perfect metaphor for the challenges we face in life each and every day. You will always find that in life, there will be hills to climb, moments when your body and mind won't be on the same page, when the doubt starts to creep in and things get hard.

"When it was all said and done, it had been my feet turning those pedals and my determination that had pushed me forward - sleep started to overtake me, but I had a smile on my face thinking about my crazy hijacking scheme with me on the lam, hiding out from the authorities as I headed to the Mexican border in a United States mail truck."


- pg 94

Like my coach Brian has said on countless occasions, having a limitless mindset isn't about being unstoppable all day, every day. It's about being able to take those voices of doubt and fear that are inside each of our heads, and moving forward despite those misgivings. Making those small changes (or in this case, small advancements on the road) eventually added up to riding 137 miles in just one day, one of the furthest I will most likely ever ride on two wheels, ever.

It took me a long time to understand that what I experienced on the roads of America was a very literal example of this method of thinking. In fact, it wasn't until my conversations with Brian that I really allowed myself to accept this valuable lesson into my own life. And trust me it has been a welcome thing to have!

I hope that this better answers your previous question of providing a specific example in my past that I've experienced a physical representation of the unlimited mindset.

I've provided a particular link to my blog of that day on the road. Feel free to use any of the photos on my blog and any additional information from my posts about the ride to help with your article!