Unsubscribe me: Winter in Mexico

This is the story of how I let go of my cross-continental ambitions and signed up to an inward journey.

Before starting our trip near the Arctic shore of Alaska, I imagined days filled with moments of joy generated by riding my bike in new places, and I pictured evenings spent chatting over a cup of tea and reflecting on all that we were discovering. I was sure I would discover even more of the world, but also the answer to why I had felt the urge to set off on yet another big adventure.

Joy and awe were certainly present almost daily. I had some great ah-ha moments. However, our choice to spend as much time in wilderness and away from cars also came at a cost: rough roads, long distances between re-supply opportunities, and a collection of tiny lightweight bags that we re-packed every morning in a maddening version of bikepacker tetris.

Biking across Alaska and parts of Canada and the American West for five months had been beautiful and thrilling. We had travelled many miles, and collected many experiences. But we were accumulating experiences faster than we could process them. We found ourselves craving more biking and less packing - and more reflecting and less planning. 

At first I felt ashamed of this urge to slow down and discover something within myself. However, in the year that I quit m