When you take on a new challenge, you are always going to be stepping outside of your comfort zone and this is important as this is how you are going to grow and develop. This is where you need to develop new skills and attributes in order to become the person who can do this challenge.
This is the hard bit, this is what you can over think, this is what can stop you before you’ve even begun. I do have thoughts running around my head, as at the moment, I don’t know what to do…. and that’s ok - I have the time to figure all of this out and make it work.
My main concern at the moment is the BIKE?
Which one to get - or do I need two? One for the road and one for off road..
Can I get a hybrid?
Where to get it from?
Can I get a sponsor? How to get a sponsor?
How much will it cost?/What can I afford to pay?
Can I get if for free? Can I borrow one?
Do I get it in the UK and fly/ship it over to Vancouver OR do I get it in Vancouver??
* With the bike - I also need to ensure I get a bike fit done, and I can’t buy the bags I need yet, as I don’t know which bike I’ll have therefore I won’t know which bags will fit it!
Closely followed by…..
Crossing the border into Mexico
I need to figure out how best to do this. I basically want to get over and across as quick as possible and not hang around in the town, but get through and as many miles as possible under my belt.
I need to research this more to figure out timings. e.g. where to stay the night before (which is safe) and close enough for me to then get to the border as early as possible.
What time does the border crossing open? Is it open everyday? What do I need to do for my visa? Do I need any cash?
This is the only part I don't feel comfortable doing on my own - but I will figure this out and find the best way to do it.
Vlogging
How to maintain a consistent schedule while on the road…. I want to increase my followers on YouTube and in order to do this you need to be really consistent with the content you are putting out. For the AT, I was still putting out vlogs in December, when I had finished the hike in September.
This is dependent on so many variables, such as wifi and being able to get the footage uploaded into dropbox (so others can edit) or my laptop (so I can edit), with rubbish wifi this can take days to do…. plus at the moment, I don’t know how I will feel at the end of each day, will I want to sit down and edit vlog, will I have the energy to, or will I be exhausted and is my time better spend on recovery?
I do feel more confident in my editing skills and know that I can edit the vlogs together… it just comes down to time. Flynn is going to be back in school and will really only be able to do about 2 per week. If I get a team of editors how complicated is it going to get in terms of me managing everyone from the road?
Pre Loading Podcast Episodes
I know this is going to be really challenging, so I know I can do it - I just know how hard it’s going to be… so I’m really not looking forward to the process!!
I’ve broken it all down so I know what I need to do each month. It can just be a very painful process, it just takes so much time and it’s draining!!!
However, it’s obviously totally worth it so, that I can focus on the challenge and vlogging the challenge, while I’m out on the road.
I’m ok with the travelling solo part as I’ve done it quite a bit. I know I will be able to stick to my budget while on the road, I am concerned slightly about money and having enough to do the trip, but I honestly do believe that the patrons will come through and I will hit 250 patrons which is my goal for September. This is also slightly out of my control. I can only do what I can do.
I think if I can figure out these concerns it will make a big difference to my planning and preparation. But I’m also aware I can’t plan for everything and there has to be a degree of flexibility built in as well.
You can support the tough girl podcast by signing up to be a regular patron via Patreon
- or you can give a big old donation via Paypal!
THANK YOU! x