Looking back on the ride
Ahoy there blogmates,
Welcome back to the Arctic Ride blog. I might have completed my trip to the Arctic Circle but there is plenty more to come from me.
Its been 4 weeks since I arrived home and it has given me plenty of time to digest my adventure. I've written a lot about the charity Cerebra on my blog already over the past months but one of the biggest takeaways from my trip has been the difference the money raised will do for brain injured children and their families across the UK. The effort that I have put into the planning and execution of the trip would be for nothing without the support and donations I received along the way, which I am very thankful for.
Something else I'll take away from the ride is my ability to actually go and complete such a big project. There were quite a few doubters when I said I was planning my second attempt to Nordkapp, not only that I wouldn't make it to Nordkapp but also that I wouldn't raised my £2,500 target for my trip. Again the support I received along the way keeping me motivated, especially from my wife Kirsty, was instrumental from the success of the trip. I lived and breathed my Arctic Ride for nearly 18 months and I enjoyed almost every second.
Something that I got from my trip and I'll remember for the rest of my life is the reaffirmed love of riding my motorbike. Even on the bad, cold, wet days... I loved it. I loved the challenge of the gravel roads, of the driving wind against the bike, and of pushing on through on days I wanted to stop. If anything I like riding my bike even more (if that's possible) than I did before the trip.
On one of my days in Northern Norway, I pulled my bike to the side of the road coming to a stop with gravel and dust at my feet. I took off my helmet and felt a cold mountain breeze across my face. As I got off the bike I turned back to see the road I had just ridden. A coating of snow either side of the road, wet from the countless waterfalls that drain form the snowy mountains, and empty twisting beyond the spiky peaks in the distance. I'd battled with the stifling heat of traffic in London, Antwerp, and Hamburg; fought the wind of the 8km Oresund Bridge; and shivered my way through countless tunnels and mountain passes. But I was here, nearly 3,000 miles from home, in biker's paradise, and in the dream I'd been having for the past 4 years.
This feeling has confirmed that this certainly won't be my last motorbike challenge (more info in future blogs where I might be heading!).
There was a quote I saw recently which I thought was appropriate:
'All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible' - T.E.Lawrence
To me . My ride may have made only a small difference but it was born out of a desire to do something different. Follow your dreams and live the life you want to live, I assure you that you won't regret it.
Ride safe,
Gordon
Welcome back to the Arctic Ride blog. I might have completed my trip to the Arctic Circle but there is plenty more to come from me.
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| Me and Robbie on launch day |
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| Waving bye to friends and family - 6,000 miles to go... |
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| Day 12 - The bike and the Lyngen Alps, Northern Norway |
On one of my days in Northern Norway, I pulled my bike to the side of the road coming to a stop with gravel and dust at my feet. I took off my helmet and felt a cold mountain breeze across my face. As I got off the bike I turned back to see the road I had just ridden. A coating of snow either side of the road, wet from the countless waterfalls that drain form the snowy mountains, and empty twisting beyond the spiky peaks in the distance. I'd battled with the stifling heat of traffic in London, Antwerp, and Hamburg; fought the wind of the 8km Oresund Bridge; and shivered my way through countless tunnels and mountain passes. But I was here, nearly 3,000 miles from home, in biker's paradise, and in the dream I'd been having for the past 4 years.
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| At Nordkapp |
This feeling has confirmed that this certainly won't be my last motorbike challenge (more info in future blogs where I might be heading!).
There was a quote I saw recently which I thought was appropriate:
'All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible' - T.E.Lawrence
To me . My ride may have made only a small difference but it was born out of a desire to do something different. Follow your dreams and live the life you want to live, I assure you that you won't regret it.
Ride safe,
Gordon
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