Poco a Poco

We're riding along at 12,000 feet or so, an elevation that I hadn't even hiked to on foot before starting this trip. The sun is shining, the road bumpy and rocky underneath our tires. And I take a moment to wonder, how did I end up here? If you had told me before this trip that I would be riding remote dirt roads in the Peruvian Andes in less than a year, I would have told you that you were crazy. Yet here I am, having the time of my life.

How did I get here?

This is one of the magical things about bike travel. You come to realize that if you take apart a challenge and break it into pieces, these pieces add up bit by bit, poco a poco, to help you reach a bigger goal. Of course this is something we all have been taught, but it's different to really experience it.

The most obvious way this has happened is in terms of mileage. A bit of riding every day has taken us all the way from northern Alaska to Peru. That's a long way! But I've grown in other ways as well. Here are a few of the changes I've seen in myself.

1) Dogs. After a nasty dog bite in the 3rd grade resulted in eight infected stitches on my face, I had a terrible fear of dogs. The unfortunate thing about bike riding is that dogs hate bikes. I think it's something about the spinning wheels. This isn't too much of a problem in North America because dogs are trained and kept within fences. Not so once you enter Mexico and head south. Dogs, often packs of them, come out frequently to bark and chase us as we're riding. The first time this happened I was so shaken up that I began to cry and we stopped early for the day. Now I know when to keep riding, and when to stop and stand my ground.  I'm able to defend myself and ride on unshaken by the encounter.

2) Mountain biking. Before this trip I had plenty of experience riding on nicely paved roads, but none on dirt. Put me on a dirt road and I'd be going about the speed of a snail and walking over the rocky sections. It took a lot of hard work and the invention of a game I call "Rock Crusher" (in which I get points and move up levels for completing difficult off-road sections), and now I'm biking confidently on all types of road surfaces.

3) Spanish. I didn't speak a word of Spanish before crossing the Mexico border, but now I can communicate with and understand almost anyone. With the exception of that rolling r sound... I don't know if I'll ever get that one down.

4) Foods. I've realized that it's a great privilege to be picky about what you eat. Before this trip I didn't really like tomatos, bananas, peaches, oranges, or walnuts. There were plenty of food options, and if I didn't really like these things then why eat them? Now I've come to love every one of the above foods; in fact, they're essentials to our biking diet.

4) Cultural awareness. When we first entered Mexico, we didn't know what to expect. If you watch even a little of the news in the U.S, you'll have a healthy fear of Mexico as well. We were suspicous of every parked car, every person walking along the road. But slowly we came to realize that the people in parked cars were stopped to talk on their cell phones or to fix a flat tire, and people walking along the side were simply going to the local grocery store. Most people are just living their lives. They're not dangerous or criminal; they're just like us. And coming to this realization has helped us feel a lot more comfortable in remote and rural areas. We've met countless wonderful and generous people and not a single criminal. Of course, we could still get robbed, but even if that happened, it wouldn't take away all the amazing experiences we've had.

And these things, they're just a few of the ways that I've changed and grown as a person. Little by little, I'm still pedaling, still building. Thanks, bike!