The Long Ride C2C : A World Record Attempt

 

As I sit here it's always difficult to know how to start to grab someone's attention and keep them reading. Do I introduce myself, give you my background, astound you with what some people would say is absolutely incredible but the more I speak about what I am doing the more it seems/feels normal to me.

I understand that not everyone gets to be someone who wakes up one day and decides to cycle over 19,000kms, over three continents covering 19 countries from South Africa to Norway.  However we all have hopes and dreams the difference is in the acting on those dreams, turning them into goals and relentlessly going after them until you see them peaking at you over the horizon. Big goals are scary as they require you to step so far outside of your comfort zone, you almost feel like you are losing who you are; but the truth is the more you step outside of this bubble the more in tune you become with yourself. 

Comfort zones serve no purpose other than helping us feel safe, they discourage personal growth, they discourage fearing the unknown, in fact they are strongly against the unknown, comfort zones make us feel like we can expand and grow and look at the unknown, long for it even but unless we step over the threshold you will never know exactly what you are capable of.  I have always wanted to test myself, push my boundaries but I also wanted to stay inside my comfort zone, even when my comfort zone became so toxic it was killing me inside, the fear of going out on my own into the wilderness kept me from doing what kept me awake at night. My thoughts of freedom, thoughts of great things, thoughts of helping everyone, thoughts of making the world a better place to live. 

As I sit here now, after having had to postpone my record setting attempt at being the first woman to cycle from Cape Town to Nordkapp in 73 days. I realise now is the time push even harder because my goal is on the horizon, I can see it so now is not the time to take the foot off the gas. Now is the time to put pedal to the metal. 

I get asked why I have decided to cycle solo from Cape Town to North Cape, what drives someone to decide this is a good idea.  My reasons might not be what everyone was expecting but being honest it's simply because I deep in my being I know I can do it and I want to prove to myself I am capable. However that's just simply the smallest part of my reasons. Shall I go into my therapy sessions with my performance coach who helped me navigate my crippling fear of being a failure, my desires to create something so great that my goals are so big some people will never even dream the smallest fraction of what I want to accomplish but fear held me back for so long. Fear of failing yes but fear of being laughed at and ridiculed because I am not the most intellectual human being the world has ever seen and so who so I think I am to have been giving such lofty dreams. 

The thing is does it really matter why I want to achieve the things I want to achieve or does it matter more that as I get older I grab fear by the reigns and run headlong into the unknown because living with regret is worse than living in a comfort zone that really isn't that comfortable anyway?  

So I'll leave you with this, hi, my name is Paula Ralph and I am aiming to become the first woman to cycle from Cape Town to Nordkapp in 72 days in order to create a future for everyone feeling like they are getting left behind in a world that's moving at the speed of light. Keep reading this blog to find out more. Lotsa Love always P