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Ever feel like you just need a break, but you're too guilty to take it? We've all been there. This story will show you why you need to take it. 

A Legendary Story

from the Kimera Community

Alexis, New York City, 29

My adventurous and legendary boyfriend Graeme, who had walked from San Francisco to Florida, challenged me to ride my bicycle with him as far south as possible. Being the competitive, perfectionist New Yorker that I am, I couldn’t turn him down. So as he engaged in the concrete jungles with me, moving from the forest into my Brooklyn apartment, I prepared for the most intense trip of my life.

I researched bicycles, I quit my job, I ended my lease on my apartment, I gave away all my possessions, and on September 1, 2017, I flew to Phoenix, AZ, with Graeme, two side bags on the back of my bicycle, and a year’s worth of savings, in an attempt to ride my bicycle towards Tierra Del Fuego.

The first day was a lesson of life or death. One hundred and five degrees at 11am, we ran out of water after going the wrong way and getting flat tires. I learned quickly to not blame my partner for obstacles in life… it wasn’t his fault we got a flat, we needed to get to water and fix the issues before we lost energy! As I developed dry mouth, a random truck picked us up and drove us to the nearest gas station, miraculously saving our lives as coyotes watched in the distance. Every day I grew so much, so fast. The weather aged me.

We tried for fifty miles a day, but after a month of deathly heat, tarantulas, sleeping in underpasses and abandoned shacks, days without showers, I began to lose motivation as we rode through Mexico. Where was I going… I was so exhausted, I would never get there. Graeme would say “take a break! You’ll feel better.”

But would I feel better? That wasn’t the New York way, to take a break, I had to keep going!

My mindset left me depleted and exhausted as we continued through beautiful Mexico and into Guatemala. After so many inclines and declines, I was losing my strength and my mind. We chose to ascend towards Lago de Atitlan, a lake surrounded by volcanos, 10,000 feet above sea level.

Have you ever ridden your bicycle up a ten thousand foot hill?

Graeme, the ambitious Jujimufu of my life, was ready for the challenge… but my challenge was to truly embrace a rest day. So I chose the rest… I took a cheap bus up the mountain and met him there. It was so beautiful that I wept, with avocados dripping from the trees, and the best espresso I have ever tasted.

I waited for him to catch up, and as I sat there, overlooking the beauty of our accomplishments, it began to really sink in. If I took a break, I would restore my energy, and be able to carry on. 

We ended up riding out of the lake a week later, after vacationing in this beautiful area, learning Spanish, hiking volcanos, and playing soccer. I ascended from sea level to cloud level. We completed our trip in San Jose, Costa Rica, with 2700 miles under our odometer.

My core lesson here is, it might feel like giving up to take a rest day, but trust me, you’ll come back much stronger for it.

Your favorite motivational quote:  

“It is only when the pain of not changing becomes stronger than the pain of change that we truly transform ourselves.” -Tony Robbins

Your favorite Kimera Koffee roast:

Endurance, by far!

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