When I set out to cycle across Europe on my own I had never done a bicycle tour before or travelled by myself. I would be lying if I said both of these facts didn’t make me nervous. But I was determined that this was something I wanted to do. And all the scary bits, all the difficult moments — I was going to challenge myself to find my way through them and become stronger for it.
And boy did those challenges ever present themselves! There were plenty of difficult moments and exhausting days, but if I had to pick one day that really pushed me to my limits, this would be the one.
I was cycling 90km from Slovenia to Croatia with 1,300 vertical meters to climb. There were gunshots, dogs giving chase, challenging road conditions and border agents that weren’t gonna budge. How did I make it through the hardest day of my tour? I’m digging into all of it in my latest video.
It may have been the hardest day of my cycling tour but in the end I am so grateful for it. Because it showed me just how far I have come. When I decided to do this bike tour, I hoped to push myself physically and emotionally. And equally, to learn how to stay calm in any situation and find my way through whatever challenge the universe threw my way.
As scary situations and changes of plan presented themselves one after another on this day, I could feel the fear and anxiety that was so present for me at the start of this trip start to rise in me. But instead of giving in to them, each time I took a deep breath, calmed my nerves, talked my way through the alternate solutions, created an action plan, and executed it. I tackled situations that would have previously crumbled me, with resilience, grit and calm that I never would have thought I possessed.
So although this day challenged me time after time, I am truly grateful for it. Because it showed me just how much I have changed and grown over 3+ months and I must say, I feel awfully proud of the woman I have become.
