There comes a point in all of my grand adventures where I begin to feel a bit overwhelmed by the task at hand.
It's often brought on by the fatigue of a poor night's sleep, or the physical discomfort of a long day, or the stacking of less than optimal nutrition, but eventually, the initial excitement I held for something like a four month bikepacking trip all of the sudden wavers and starts to feel really daunting.
In these moments, it helps me to approach this all encompassing overwhelm with what I like to call, “chunking the adventure into chapters.”
The idea is basically to segment the entire journey into smaller milestones, to make it more digestible for my mind and body, and to help me stay enthusiastic about the challenge, present with the moment, and celebrate the small wins along the way.
Big Chunks
I'm currently riding the Great Northern Bikepacking Route (GNBR) with my partner, Mat, which is a 14,300 kilometer / 8875 mile off-road cycling route which traverses 10 Canadian provinces and 3 United States.
Two and a half months into the trek, it started feeling a bit mind boggling that we had ridden 5,000 kilometers, yet we were only in Manitoba, not even halfway through the route. (On the straight and narrow, it's only 6500 kilometers from the west coast of Canada to the East).
Instead of focusing on how far we had come, and being grateful for the journey, I found myself fretting about all the miles that lay ahead.
As a way to recenter myself, I decided that instead of thinking about the entire route, I would break everything down into Provincial and State segments (the same way the GPX maps are laid out) so I could focus on one individual section at a time.
Right now as I write this, I'm in Minnesota, so I don't need to be thinking about Newfoundland. I can focus on being here, being proud of how far we've come and trusting that the rest will fall into place as it needs to, just as it has up until this point.
Medium Chunks
We don't often plan a day out in advance, we just ride our bikes until we are tired and start looking for somewhere to pitch the tent.
However, on certain days where I am feeling that fatigue, or just a bit overwhelmed and those provincial or state chunks just feel too big, I break things down even further and ‘layout the day’.
Laying out the day, for me, means choosing an end of day destination and giving myself a kilometer distance that I can work towards.
I'll locate a camp spot or indoor accomodation about 100 to 130 kilometers down the route, and if I'm feeling especially iffy, I might even book it in advance to secure the spot.
That way, I can look at every pedal stroke forward as a move towards my end goal and countdown the miles with a smile.
There is something very soothing for my nervous system on those challenging days about having somewhere certain to rest my weary bones.
Small Chunks
When I get feeling especially worn down, like in the peak heat of a long day on some soft, rugged gravel roads, I encourage myself to think even smaller.
If I have 40 kilometers left until my end of day destination, or a spot along the route that I'm excited about - like a grocery store or restaurant, I'll figure out how fast I'm going (let's say it's 20 km/hour) and how long it will take me to get there.
In this case, it's 2 hours away, (which likely seems long if I'm already thinking this way), so I break it down further and figure out how long it's going to take me to go 5 kilometers instead.
At this same pace, I can go 5 km in 15 minutes, meaning I only have 8 x 5 km, or 8 x 15 minute chunks left, which seems super manageable.
“I can do anything for 15 minutes,” I tell myself - and so I can.
If things start feeling really hard towards the end of that 2 hour stretch, I might even figure out how many seconds are left in my 15 minute chunk (15 x 60 = 900) and start counting down the time until my arrival in my head.
Adventure Chapters
Every adventure has its highs and lows, and enthusiasm will ebb and flow, that's pretty par for the course.
So, if we can find little tricks and tips that will help us keep our chins up when the going gets tough, we will be more likely to see the journey through and enjoy ourselves while we are in it - even when it's hard.
What strategies do you have for getting through the tough stuff? Let us know in the comments!
Ali Becker is a freelance writer and adventure storyteller who spends half the year backpacking and bikepacking and the other half sleeping in strangers' beds as a professional house sitter. She and her partner, Mathieu, share their ups and downs on their IG channel at @trip.longer and hope to inspire others to get outside, adventure in nature and find their own freedom. You can learn more about them here: triplonger.ca.
