Long Way…

Friends of mine recently turned me onto a couple of great examples of cycle sabbaticals. In 2004 and 2007 (yes, I realize it’s 2013 now…), actors Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman took amazing transcontinental journeys on motorcycles, documented in the two series Long Way Round and Long Way Down. I just got done binge-watching the two series, and highly recommend them to anyone whether bike enthusiast or not. (Language is not always family-friendly, so be aware if that’s important for you.)

While their specific trips would be extremely difficult to duplicate – months of planning, months away from real life during the trips, 6- or 7-figure budgets – there are some great aspects of their trips that can be duplicated in many situations.

Quiet – Many days, they rode the entire day. Even with their intercoms, this gave them many opportunities for silence – I mean, how long can two people talk? The quiet allows us to ponder, to de-stress, to cleanse the mind. Even a 1 or 2 hour cycle sabbatical gives time for silence and all its benefits. A longer cycle sabbatical gives even more opportunity to think about the important things and consider our personal response to those important things.

New Perspectives – Ewan and Charley traveled through countries like Rwanda, Mongolia, and Libya. They deliberately put themselves out there to learn everything they could, and absorbed those new learnings into their mindset. New people, new customs and cultures, and new landscapes can and should be part of any cycle sabbatical.

Testing Themselves – They literally pushed themselves to physical and mental limits at times. Those tests helped them understand who they are, and that they’re capable of more than they thought. We need to be tested at times, for the very same reasons.

Removal From Daily Life – The two trips were both around 3 months long. They were separated from their famiies, careers, familiar surroundings, daily habits. That removal is hard (and separation from family for that long seems so foreign), but I think it would be impossible to absorb everything they gained from the trips with the distractions of the familiar. Same goes for any of us. Without some disruption from the usual, new things go in one ear and out the other.

I strongly urge you to watch these series, and think about ways to include these cycle sabbatical elements in your own experience.