Do you have something that you really want to do AND you’ve made no attempt to get to it?
Today, June 22nd, 2024, is the 5th Anniversary of the day that I kicked off my cross Canada solo motorcycle ride. The last 5 years have been amazing (yes – even during a pandemic). My life has changed in so many ways and all for the better. Becoming the “Chief Creative Officer” of my own life – living on my terms – has paid dividends in unimaginable ways.
At the time, I had been separated from my husband for over a year, had advised my employer that I would be taking voluntarily retirement by the end of the summer and had no idea what the future held. I would be jobless AND homeless.
Have you thought about what retirement will be like for you?
My goal was to cross Canada and visit all ten provinces. It would not be a lingering visit with so many kilometers to cover and return to Montreal before the snow fell. The idea was to take roads less travelled and try not to repeat myself on the return trip. It was divided into two legs – Montreal to Cape Spear, NFLD and Montreal to the Pacific Ocean.
The first 16 days (June 22nd to July 7th), Leg #1, would be my “test” run from Montreal to Cape Spear (and back) in preparation for the much-longer, western section, leg after I handed in my work laptop in late August.
For me, life is more about experiences than accumulating things. I cherish the lessons that I’ve learned through the challenges that present in living my life. It took a while to find the courage to free up the time to embark on this next chapter to fly without a safety net. Yet I knew, when the time came, that it was exactly what was needed – it every cell of my body.
Is there a cross Canada trip in the next chapter of your life?
We will spend 20-30 years in retirement – opportunities abound! Do you want to travel? Start a business? Write a book?
I had ridden to Cape Breton from Montreal the previous summer for a wedding and my transportation of choice was my Can-Am Spyder. Completing that 2018 trip was when I first believed that a cross Canada adventure was possible for me. That outing was an opportunity to see if I was comfortable and had the stamina to ride the approximate 3000 km round trip all while enjoying the trip alone. It was amazing – and opened my world to a new kind of adventure.
My excitement grew setting out late on June 22nd, 2024 – a Saturday morning. It was a delayed start as I had worked long hours the previous week and spent the morning cleaning my apartment in preparation for my landlord to find a new tenant. Dependable and hard-working, the persona that evolved over 55 years of doing what was expected, had imprisoned me in a life of “have to” and “should”. There was a craving for the taste of freedom to just be and I choose to pay attention.
Follow me as I reminisce
Follow me on Instagram (http://instagram.com/wendymcgeancoaching) as I reminisce about my trip of a lifetime. Oh – and if this seems at all interesting, you can pick up a copy of my book that details the journey where books are sold. (If you decide to buy from Amazon, please buy it directly from Amazon as I get no compensation for my own work from other vendors who list this title on Amazon. You can also order through places where books are sold like Indigo Chapters, or Barnes & Noble.)
Would you like to begin your own adventure?
Get in touch – I would love to chat!