I am recovering nicely from COVID. I’ll be traveling back to Minnesota in a few days.
I have such mixed feelings about ending my ride. On the one hand, after everything the Tour has thrown at me this year, I met and surmounted all of those obstacles. Having ridden almost 800 miles and climbed almost 55,000 feet vertically, I’ve proven to myself that for any given day on the Tour I know that I am capable physically and mentally of overcoming the obstacles and challenges in completing that days ride. And I have met those challenges successfully twice now. Once in 2016 and again this year. And I feel great that I was able to accomplish this.
But then I look at the other riders I have been riding with and see them continue to make progress and I feel sad. I wish I could be out there with them. There’s so much left to this ride that I have never done. But I have made the decision not to continue. I need to give my body time to heal from COVID. And I just don’t have the time to wait that long.
If I didn’t have COVID could I finish this ride? That’s the big question that will never be answered definitively. I know there will be people who will say, Owen, you bit off more than you can chew. And they’re probably right. But I had to try.
Is it crazy to try something that I don’t know for certain I can do? I have always had big dreams in my life, most often accomplishing them, but not always. What would my life be like if I had never tried unless I knew for certain I would be successful? That’s just not the kind of life I want. I don’t want or need that kind of certainty. I love the adventure of seeking out the unknown and trying new things just to see how far I can get.
So it is with sadness that I end my ride. I’ll pack things up here and head for home back in Minnesota. Back to a more normal life. But living a normal, ordinary life has never really been me. I’ll find new adventures and challenges. I have never felt more alive than when I’m on an adventure, exploring the world, and finding new wonders and challenges around every corner.
So, to all those people in my life who told me to play it safe, to do things I know I can do, to avoid danger and risk, I say, a life of adventure is worth the risk. My Tour did not end the way I had hoped and planned, but I’m still glad I did it. Now I can look forward to my next adventure.
Owen's Epic Rides 