Traveling by bicycle brings us so much. Besides discovering different cultures, feeling freedom and simply enjoying travelling, a lot is also happening inside. Sometimes you just don’t feel like cycling or having to face another mountain. Sometimes you don’t want contact with others while there is a group of people who want to invite you so badly. Sometimes we sleep in a place that is not without risks, such as a bamboo forest. We hear the bamboo swaying back and forth in the wind all night long. And around us we also saw very large trunks that were broken. With a small bunch of young bamboo around us, we hope that if a bamboo snaps and comes our way, it will be caught by the young bamboo.

At home we are always in a comfort zone. A place where you feel safe. We are rarely challenged. And I’m not talking about the constant stress we can experience, but about doing something that is out of your comfort for a short time. It puts you on edge, it gives you a level of healthy stress. By challenging ourselves we grow. On the bike we are constantly very aware of what is going on in our heads. We observe ourselves more. This means that we can also direct ourselves.

For example, the night in a bamboo forest. We continuously hear the creaking sound of the bamboo and in our mind we see how the bamboo pierces the tent canvas and injures us. We notice that the heart rate goes up and we feel the stress slowly screeching through our body. But these thoughts don’t help us. We just chose this place. We took a good look around and chose the safest place in the forest. If we want to sleep We can do nothing but assume that it will be ok. Slowly the rest returns to the body. Maybe not the first time we send our thoughts and the thoughts wander back to the negative but if you repeat it often enough and convince yourself your thoughts have a lot of power. 

We get to know ourselves better and feel strong and resilient. Physically and mentally! That is a gift from this journey.