What would you do if you didn’t know you couldn’t do it?
This is a big week for me.
On Friday I completed the final day of a thirty-five year teaching career. I’m officially retired, a former teacher. And since I’m making the formal transfer from one phase of life to the next, this is the perfect time to announce my CRAZY QUEST.
After my injury in 1987, I wasted about a decade in anger, denial, depression, and hopelessness. When I finally got tired of being pitiful, I began to seek an outlet, a hobby, something outside of my career to which I could devote some passion and creative energy.
I discovered hand cycling.
I’ve added THE CRAZY QUEST as a category for this blog, and I plan to write about once per week about what hand cycling has taught me about my injury, about life, and about resilience. But today I want to get this insane idea out there before I lose my courage.
Ever since I began riding more than ten years ago, I’ve fantasized about an extended, cross-country style trip. Of course, such a project is impossible. The list of practical obstacles is virtually endless. Some of the obvious issues:
- Time. I can only ride forty-fifty miles on good days, and they’re not all good days.
- Logistics. For a quadriplegic, extended travel presents logistical challenges involving specialized equipment, accessible facilities, medical care, and transportation. A military regiment moves with fewer organizational headaches.
- Finances. I can’t afford the costs for several weeks’ lodging, food, transportation, and equipment. Most inexpensive options such as camping or staying with friends are impossible due to accessibility issues.
- Support. I couldn’t make such a trip alone. Whenever I mention this idea, my wife simply smiles and changes the subject, hoping that I’ll forget this insane notion.
Clearly, it’s simply not feasible. Can’t be done. I need to forget about this dream and scale back to something more realistic. It’s just nuts to imagine that an old, bald guy who’s paralyzed below his chest can cycle from, say, Denver to Chicago.
So that’s my CRAZY QUEST, and that’s all I know about it right now. I don’t have a route or destination. I have no clue how I’ll accomplish it, who will help me, or how I’ll pay for it. I only know I want to make it happen sometime in 2010.
Every journey begins wherever you are. Right now I can’t control all of the visible and invisible obstacles, so the only thing I can do is begin training. I’ve already traveled 500 miles since January, and my goal is to reach 2,500 by the end of the year. Since my previous yearly record is about 1,500 miles, I’ve got some work ahead.
Why am I telling you about this nutty idea? Because I think we all need dreams and goals and challenges, and I’m inviting you to join me in stretching yourself a bit. I’d like to share my experiences in making my CRAZY QUEST happen, and I hope those experiences will spur you to think outside the box and ask yourself this question:
What would you do if you didn’t know you couldn’t do it?
Please leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.