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Flying on my E-Bike
When putting together my setup for travel I decided that my tow vehicle would be an electric bike. This was quite the setup as I needed to figure out how to haul it and secure it. There were very few options, being that my trailer hitch is in the back of my truck where the door to my camper is. So a normal heavy duty bike rack would block my door. So I settled on a Rocky Mount swing away bike rack. This rack swings out to the side of my camper, but since I got a hitch extension as well, I can still crawl up into my camper to have a rest or make lunch while traveling.The bike I decided to buy after much research is the Rad City E bike. And I have to say, after having it for a couple months, I LOVE IT! This is one of the best investments I have made in myself, to get me outdoors, living life.
Many RV’rs have tow vehicles so they can leave their RV set up in a park or where ever, and can zip around in a smaller, gas saving vehicle. This is what I use my E-bike for. Although I could take my truck and camper almost anywhere, pretty easily, when I am stopped, it is nice to just take the bike out to explore the area, pick up groceries and other necessities, and so on. I get a lot more exercise and enjoyment this way.Some people have the wrong idea about E-bikes. They believe that if you want exercise you should not invest in an Ebike. But I find this is not at all true. I am out on the bike so much longer and put so many more miles on it, than I would with a regular bike. I can easily go out for a ten mile bike ride down long country roads and be pedaling the whole time. I adjust the “pedal assist” and gears so that I am always pedaling. I’m just not working as hard as I would with a regular bike and I’m not burning myself out early.
The other day, I was out riding on a desolate country road above the Columbia River near Canada and I got off the bike to take a photo. I lost my balance, fell backward, sprained my foot and bruised my tailbone. I was in pretty bad shape and there was only me and the bike to get back to the camper several miles away. I allowed the bike to do the majority of the work, pedaling mostly with my non-injured foot.
The most difficult part of the E-bike set up is getting it up on the rack and back down. It weighs about 71 pounds, so difficult to lift as a whole. I have learned to lift the front end up onto the rack, secure it and then lift the back end. This is doable, but was a bit more difficult when I was injured as I have to stabilize myself before I lift. But I managed. Fortunately, the pain of my injury didn’t really kick in until I got back to my campsite, dumped my tanks, filled my water and hooked my camper back up to shore power. I came inside and made dinner, then decided I should put my foot on ice. Fortunately I had ice in the freezer and so I put it in a plastic bag, wrapped a towel around it and laid down with my foot elevated. It started to throb in pain and I realized I had injured it much worse than I originally thought.
At the same time there was excessive heat warnings in the area I was camped in and I knew I probably wouldn’t be spending much time outside over the next week or so, unless I traveled across the mountains to Western Washington. I wasn’t ready to make that journey yet, so I took this as a sign that it was time to stop and rest. It was time to reflect, to heal, and to write.
A friend of mine, who works with NLP asked me to visualize something that was very freeing to me and I pictured myself on my bike riding down a long Country road, hair blowing in the wind, a big smile on my face. In my vision my arms were out like wings, which I wouldn’t attempt with my 70 pound bike, but I love the vision. So many times since I was given this image of freedom had I actually found myself riding down a long, isolated country road, hair blowing in the wind, a big smile on my face and a feeling of freedom. Sometimes I have my headphones on and listening to music, a perfect background to a perfect experience.I’m getting in shape for my long bike ride on San Juan Island in Western Washington where I will bike as much as a battery charge will allow me to bike, which may be about thirty miles round trip. I’m really looking forward to this journey and hope to see some Orca Whales.
I remember being out in the Bay in a speed boat with an ex boyfriend and his kids and my son and we came across a pod of thirty or so Orca Whales. It was an amazing experience. And San Juan Island is known for its whale watching spots. It may not be the right time of year, but I will enjoy the journey. And…I will let you know how it goes and take photos, of course.Meanwhile, I will never pass up an opportunity to enjoy the country roads and bike paths along the way.
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Don’t Quit When You Are Near the Top
Every day, every experience is an opportunity to learn something of value. And today was a day I decided to park my camper at a familiar place near Roosevelt Lake / Columbia River and go for a hike. I say familiar because I lived in this area for a year and this was always a favorite place to come. There is a nice hike through the forest, where this time, the Ravens were very active, flying through the forest, and making their haunting calls. The forest felt alive with deer every where. I also saw two bald headed eagles.I reached a point where there was a very steep hill leading up to an old graveyard. There was something very mystical about this place and I always climbed the hill. But this time the weather was pretty hot, mid afternoon and the hill seemed particularly steep. I climbed and climbed and when I reached the first landing, my memory failed to alert me that an even steeper hill was ahead. So as I looked up, I started the climb. A few steps into the climb I asked myself if I really wanted to do this, this time, and I heard a voice saying “don’t quit when you are so near the top.”
Oh, of course, I thought. Another lesson. So I continued to climb and as I emerged at the top, there was the graveyard sign. I found it ironic that I finally made it to the top, after a hard climb and at the top was death. I told the story to a friend, who was struggling with some things and she said “oh death and rebirth.” So perhaps after a long, hard journey, we often must die to the old in order to make room for the new to come in.
The steep climb, represents the journey and its trials and challenges. We need to be sure not to quit right before we reach the top. Just when it feels we can’t go any further, we need to take a deep breath and keep going. In the end, when we reach the top, we are victorious. And perhaps it is the victory that brings about the rebirth.
In my flying solo journey, I have had to face a lot of challenges and trials. It causes me to be very self reliant and know that I can face just about anything and get through it. It may not be easy. There may be times I don’t think I can go the next mile, but in many cases, I don’t have the option to turn around and go back. I have to keep going forward. There are times I don’t know how I am going to solve a problem, but then the solution presents itself. I learn to trust that a solution will always present itself and not give up. Giving up is simply not an option. And so, I take that deep breath, and I keep climbing. Pretty soon, I have reached the top and looking down at the view; looking back at where I have been and celebrate that I have overcome, yet another challenge. There is strength and resiliency there. There is a knowing that whatever presents itself on my journey, I have the courage, the strength and the resiliency to get through it. -
A New Way to Fly
Well after several years in the Mystical Mini Van, I decided to upgrade to a truck and camper and left the first part of June on my third “Flying Solo” journey. Being in an actual RV is a game changer. It is a lot more to lug around and not so good on gas but it is so much more a home on wheels and when hooked up to power and water, it is a life of luxury, in many ways.I ended up selling my van bed to a beautiful friend who is launching her own “flying solo” journey in her new minivan. So the very comfortable van bed lives on and continues to travel.
Many people asked me if I would be blogging this journey and there were so many options of what I could be doing with my time, I wasn’t sure. I have a book, wanting to be written, and yet this summer seems like the time to heal, grow and expand in order to be in the best place to write the book.
Rather than being a travel blog, “Flying Solo” has been more about the deeper, spiritual path of traveling alone and embracing the relationship with myself, and the God within. I enjoy being an inspiration to others who may not have considered the ventures of traveling solo. Because when we fly solo, we need to become very self reliant. We need to solve all of our own problems, and when traveling, there are plenty.There is also the issue of loneliness. There are long stretches of time, and road, where there is just me and no other human contact. I have to make very good friends with the inner voices; and I say “voices” because there are sometimes more than one. There is the voice of intuition, the voice of inspiration, the voice of frustration, the voice of self-defeat, and mostly the still, small voice within. There is a whole tribe of us, living within one being. Yet it is important to choose which voice I really empower. I can say to myself “I understand that you are frustrated right now, and tired and you just want to be over this ordeal you are facing, but you will make it through and everything will be okay.”
It is in our ability to offer ourselves that kind of love, attention and compassion that deepens our relationship with ourselves and builds our inner strength. The stronger we are in ourselves, the more confidence and courage we have to face what is next.I arrived at my first hook-up campground in SandPoint, Idaho yesterday and had the opportunity to try out the power, my new power surge protector, and hooking up to City Water with my new filtration device. I was making a joke to my kind neighbors that this was the first time I had hooked up to power and water since I left home nine days prior and I talked about the transition from a mini van to a camper. They told me I was very courageous, and without thinking about my response I said “I know!”
What is there to be humble about right? It takes courage to do this journey, regardless of the method in which you choose to travel.I met a man a few nights back traveling on a bicycle. He was about seventy years old and had gone many of the places I had just been, only by bike. I admired his courage, and also how he managed in the pouring rain, with nothing more than a small tent. I’m sure he had hours upon hours of listening only to the wind, and the voices in his own heart, mind and soul.
The more time we spend alone, the more deeply we connect with our inner being and our deepest truth. We become more our authentic selves and have so much more “realness” to offer those we meet on the journey. I am excited to be on this journey and to share it with you who choose to follow and listen. Perhaps I can be an inspiration to you as well.