The joy of getting lost
Once you get lost you never forget how you were found.
Getting lost takes no talent or expertise. The best of us are lost in some way in life. Sure, there are levels of lostness. Finding your way through the Ikea store maze is not on the same level of getting lost on a bike.
The typical responses to being lost on a bike are uttering %$@@$% and feeling defeated and in despair. Positives far outweigh negatives on the way to being found. Join me on my morning walk where I challenge you to change your perspective when you find yourself somewhere you never planned to be. Not interested in walking with me. Scroll past the video for a summary of the joys.
Getting lost is just another way of saying 'going exploring. - Justina Chen
Highlights of the joys
There is more to this world than Instagramable tourist hot spots. Off the path, the unexpected is a view of local life and the people that call it home.
A memory that lingers well beyond the tour. It fuels bike stories to be told over beers. Lost memories are at the top of memories of adventures long gone.
Trail angels magically appear when needed the most. Asking for directions results in an impromptu conversation that would have never happened.
There is something magical about being challenged. I set out seeking adventure. Being lost uncovers the spirit of Lewis and Clark in me.
On-tour experiences teach me something about myself, my abilities, and my shortcomings. The bike becomes a tool to learn and grow.
Escaping the everyday is high on the list of reasons I tour. Lost and outside of my comfort zone, I am forced to be more adventurous.
Getting lost is not a requirement to have a memorable bike tour. I toured when things went as planned. Being lost is an opportunity for something better and not something worse. I always found my way. The threads holding lost experiences together are lasting memories and stories to be told.
Lost in the Appenzell
Four friends and I were cycling through Appenzell heading to St. Gallen. The afternoon was a roller coaster of Swiss postcard views. We topped the last climb hopefully. The cue sheet said to take a right, cross a high-level bridge and follow the cycle path into the city. We did that only to find St. Gallen was many kilometers in the opposite direction.
After several climbs including an admonishment in German from a Swiss farmer, we found our way to St. Gallen. The correct right on the cue sheet was a few hundred feet past the right. It is a legendary story of frustration, laughs, and five different versions of how to find our way to St. Gallen.
Ich bin verloren.
(I am lost.)
Tom on the Trails
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Tom,
I know the feeling well. You are so right about the "Joys". On numerous occasions, I have been off the planned route, not knowing for sure exactly where I was, or the route I needed to follow to get back on track. Sometimes it was an impromptu detour due to road or trail closures. Sometimes an ill-fated attempt at taking a shortcut.
Yet there's a difference in how we each experience that situation. I really haven't thought of it as being lost - more like "temporarily misplaced", 😜, perhaps because like you, I am a planner and usually have great navigation tools, so I can generally "see" where I am on a map and which direction to go to find a route back.
But you are so right about the stories! One of mine that you may remember was at the 2022 NC Coastal ride. I was trying to figure out how best to use a new pedal-assist motor, and ran the battery down too quickly. Part way through one day's ride, I could see that I would run out of battery power before finishing the route. So, I turned back and looked for a shortcut back to camp. I turned at a road that I could see would take me through a huge farm and back to roads near our campsite. But, as you may recall, the road quickly turned to sand. I ended up struggling through sand and several locked gates for eight miles. Whenever I asked RWGPS to show me a new route, it would just say, "turn around"! (Which I always ignored.) Of course, I eventually made it back and had the story to tell.