Lessons Learned—Cycling from London to Paris

Back in 2012, my buddy and I were planning a holiday somewhere around the UK. We both were, and still are, somewhat health and fitness junkies. Thus, we didn't want to have a holiday where all we do is eat and sightsee. We wanted to travel and enjoy the sights, but we also wanted to stay in shape and not slack while we enjoyed our surroundings. He then came up with the idea of cycling around a big lake in Europe. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out as it was way over our planned budget. He then thought of cycling from London to Paris since he had friends in London to accommodate us, so we didn't have to shell out much cash. That was the plan and we went with it. Also to stay within budget, we bought cheap, really cheap, second-hand bikes for our cycling trip. Not a good idea, but we didn't know any better at that time. Before heading to London, I went to Manchester, where my friend was located, and bunked in for a few nights. To prepare for the super low budget trip, we decided to stock up on protein bars, peanut butter, bread, and some oats to eat at stops along our cycling route as we didn't want to spend too much on meals at restaurants. Plus, we didn't really know where or when we would be able to have food to eat, so stocking up seemed like the smartest decision. After a few days in London, it was time to take off on this epic journey of ours. With our food stocked up, our bikes ready, and backpacks packed, we started cycling. Throughout the journey, there were  plenty takeaways and experiences to learn from that carry over to many aspects of life as we made our way to Paris.

Our (crappy) bikes and backpacks.

Know your strengths and weaknesses
It's one of the most famous interview questions a recruiter will ask. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Before going into any situation, take a moment to reflect on yourself, your team, or your coworkers. Have a better understanding of how you work and what you're good at in order to be more efficient and productive. A good basketball team knows how to make most out of their strengths and minimize the effects of their weaknesses, just as a great player knows how to use his or her strengths to get a upper hand on the defender and work hard to be better at their weaknesses. A good workout buddy would know their buddy's tendencies, hence providing extra motivation on exercises that he or she isn't great at. A good business would analyze their own strengths and weaknesses – one half of their SWOT analysis – in order to maximize sales.
As for us, we reflected on ourselves after one day of cycling. We found that I was better at reading maps while he was good at spotting landmarks and signs. We then designated ourselves to different roles where I would be the one reading the map while he looked out for landmarks and signs that helped us figure out where we were. Given our roles, we then knew what we needed to do to ensure the trip went as smoothly as possible. Going back to basketball as an example, when a team figures out what they are good at and what they aren't, it then becomes easier for the team to know who should be setting picks, coming off screens, handling the ball. The team will know who needs help on defense, the players best suited to run pick and roll, and the best option for a great shot on offense. Just by knowing their strengths and weaknesses, the team is able to make the jump from a good team to a great one.

Be well prepared.
Being well prepared helps you to expect and anticipate outcomes. Have a speech for that public speaking class? You better practice your speech at least 10 times. Planning to run a marathon? Better start running 5 miles a day. Want to place first in that basketball tournament? Make sure you have practice sessions with your team to set up your offensive and defensive strategies. You see, being prepared gives you confidence to go through whatever it is you're doing because you've been through simulations of the situation over and over again that it reduces the difficulty of the task. As for us, we should have started cycling a mile or so a day to build our conditioning and allow our legs to get used to the ebbs and flows of cycling. Unfortunately, we relied on our weightlifting and basketball background to carry us through the trip. It was no surprise that I was cramping up within an hour of our departure from London. We went from zero training to 300km in 4 days. Sure we made it, but it was 12 hours of hell a day to reach our destination.

Simply beautiful.

Ask for directions (and use them).
Despite having our handy guide map and Google Maps with us, we still had a tough time navigating our way around such unfamiliar grounds. We found ourselves constantly making short stops to make sure we were heading in the right direction. Nevertheless, we were doing well for most of the trip except for one particular incident in Dieppe, France. We had just crossed the English Channel via ferry, arriving at the harbor in France just before sunrise. The scenery was beautiful. The ride started uphill but it was a long, joyous descent right after.

Ping riding with the sunrise.

The wonderful scenery and lovely weather along with the downhill ride made it an incredible start to our journey in France – until we found ourselves lost. We checked our map and were certain that we were on the right track. Only problem was that we kept going in circles revisiting the same places over and over. So we did what anyone who's lost would do, we asked around for directions. Most of the people we asked didn't really know where we were going and some of them didn't speak English well enough to guide us to the right location. We did however come across a garbage collector who knew the area well. He didn't speak a word of English but he pointed out toward the direction we needed to go – on the opposite side of the bridge from where we were. Here's where we should have used the directions given by the waste collector – but no, we were stubborn and continued to round the area till we found our way out. Albert Einstein once said, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." According to Einstein, what we did back then is definition of insanity. It was only until we found a large signboard with the map of the area showing us where we were and the locations around it that we finally figured out we were indeed on the opposite side of where we should be. Moral of the story: always ask for directions and guidance when you are unsure of anything. Ask a personal trainer how to perform the deadlift correctly. Ask your coach what he or she wants your role to be on the team. Ask a friend or family member for help if you've dug yourself in a hole. But more importantly, take those advices and directions and use them. It's one thing to ask for advice, but it's another to actually follow it. Just because it doesn't align with the knowledge you have, it does not mean that it's wrong or bad advice. Do some research and act accordingly without dismissing them – or you'll end up like us – repeating the same mistakes and cycling around in circles for over two hours.

Celebrate the small victories.
Throughout our cycling trip, we learned to celebrate our achievements. It doesn't have to be a huge celebration with fireworks and presents. It's acknowledging the fact that you were able to accomplish something that you weren't able to before. High-five a buddy who just achieved a personal record. Go out for a nice celebration dinner with the whole team after winning the championship. What's that? You've managed to wake up before your alarm went off? You deserve a high five. 

Celebrating even the smallest of victories is a constant reminder that progress is made. It contributes to your overall happiness and allows you to feel confident in your abilities. For us, we made sure to enjoy every downhill cruise we had on the trip because almost every hill we cycled up on was at least 30 degrees high – burning our quads with every rotation of the pedal. Thus, admiring the scenery with the wind blowing in our faces while smelling freshly baked bread in the air was our way of celebrating every victory over an uphill climb. To top that up, once we've reached our target destination for the day, we made sure we ate to our hearts content, from authentic French dining to devouring double cheeseburgers with no regard for human life. 

Not a single bit of guilt was felt.

Every bite we savored, be it authentic French food or McDonald's burgers, gave us something to look forward to the next evening. Every downhill cruise we enjoyed enabled us to push pass the next uphill climb, because we knew that there was going to be another descent ahead to thrill us. Every celebration provided us with that small amount of happiness to carry us through the exhausting, frustrating journey. So the next time you achieve something, the least you can do is give yourself a fist pump, because any kind of victory deserves even the tiniest of celebrations.

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