Starting a journey
The hardest part is getting out of bed and just starting.
I am not the best, or the fastest, or the strongest, but what I have is grit and determination. Where you will stop, I shall go further. That is my mindset and what motivates me to live life to its fullest.
2019 will be a year of pushing myself to my perceived ultimate physical and mental limits. I’ll be organising TriPakistan, starting a side-business with my sister, implementing a growth strategy with the creative agency I work for, and cycle the next 19 weekends to cover some 6000 +km and then head over to Kyrgyzstan for the Silk Road Mountain Race — and ATTEMPT to finish it the brutal 1700km route.
You just have to watch this documentary below to know why it is the toughest race in the world!
WHY AM I DOING IT?
I wish the answer was simple. It’s not. It goes back to something I found out while on a podcast with Ben Cattaneo — All Things Risk, when he asked me a simple question — Tell me about your childhood?
It brought back memories of how as children we were in an environment that encouraged outdoor activities — from sailing to swimming from an early age, I developed a love for the water and the outdoors. Then regular gymnastics lessons (was never the best), taking on swimming seriously with my parents driving me to swimming lessons early in the morning in the summers and instilling that discipline while making it fun — very important in my opinion. When everyone was sleeping, my parents pushed me to get out of bed and turn up at training sessions at 6 am. It was those little things of being disciplined and committed that still hold true to anything I do today and approach all my challenges.
For me, cycling was always about exploring new cultures, people, food and landscapes at a good pace that allowed making friends along the way — Kyrgyzstan would be the same, being part of a new community of cyclists wanting exactly the same, but doing it as quickly as possible in a race format.
TRUST THE PROCESS
Knowing your self is key to making anything happen. But I’ve learnt that once you have that initial belief, you just have to put in the work. For me, the next 19 weeks means going out and putting in the miles in the saddle, cycling whether it's raining, snowing or just the typical English weather — I HAVE to do it — eventually all those miles, all the climbs would be worth it.
ORGANISE THE S**T OUT OF EVERYTHING
Things like the Silk Road Mountain Race cannot happen without you as an amateur athlete knowing how much training you need? what equipment you will need? what would be the best possible bike setup? would you compromise comfort for weight? how much sleep each day you would need? what food you would need? how much can you carry? any inventive way of storing food that will last you for 3 days at a stretch but still be light? Those are things that are currently going through my mind and I am planning everything imaginable. There will no doubt be times when things I haven’t planned for WILL happen, and then I have to come up with a solution to that problem.
But for now, everything goes on a spreadsheet and is carefully considered and monitored.
Somebody who is a purist will sometimes scoff at the mention of a spreadsheet to plan an adventure but I personally enjoy the process of organising and planning which is why I tend to be meticulous about those details, yet at times I will go out there and just explore from time to time, without a worry in the world.
