Motivation is right in front of me

Lots of great words that I’m thinking about today.  Here’s a snippet as I relax at my first rest stop at 20 miles.  

Elizabeth:  One day at a time, one hill at a time, one rotation of your wheel at a time.

Kaylyn:  YOU’VE GOT THIS. You can so do this- and you’re not alone! We’re all with you. And it’s super hot here in North Dakota… so I’m going to close my eyes and pretend we’re all in Italy together. Eat before you’re hungry, drink before you’re thirsty! That’s a must.

Mr Heiser:   Remember: you didn’t go to Italy to walk the hills. Love ya man and nothing but respect for you and your mission.

Also yesterday someone posted about being discouraged in the bike touring subreddit and these are some of the responses that resonated with me.

/u/Congleton_Sandback:  You can’t have the great days without the difficult ones. Normally you get a good amount of enjoyable days on the bike to counter the eventual poor ones but it seems like things are harder than normal early in your tour. Keep going – things will improve. Then in a few years you’ll be saying “Man, those first days of my tour were tough but I’m glad I kept cycling cuz it got a lot easier”. Trust me.

/u/permanent-throaway:  You might be experiencing what’s called Type B or Type 2 fun, difficult at the present moment, but fun and rewarding in retrospect. I’ve only gone on a couple of tours and very unpleasant and unexpected things happened in both of them. Injuries, accidents, misplacements, separations, everything became part of the experience. I guess all I’m trying to say is even if you’re uncomfortable, it’s better than sitting at home watching a screen or at work behind a desk. Do it for the story. Safe travels. 

/u/NotYouDude:  I know that feel. Keep going. You’re not out to there to feel comfortable. You’re climbing a mountain, not watching your favorite netflix show in bed.  Re-Orient your mind. This is a challenge, not a vacation.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Break is over.  Time to roll!