This past Saturday my brother-in-law and I set out on a self-supported 153 mile gravel bike ride from Wilkes-Barre to Bensalem, PA, in celebration of my birthday.

Like last year, we planned our trip meticulously.  

We called the administrator of the trail to plan for unforeseen detours, obstacles, etc.  

We marked dozens of points of interest to stop for food and water.

We conducted multiple gear checks to ensure we had a solution for pretty much any potential mechanical failure.

After attempting to cover all the details, nothing went according to plan.

Food stops were closed, or were on the opposite side of the river.

The trail administrator told us about the washouts along the way, but we did not anticipate seemingly endless amount of mud puddles that slowed us down to a pace well below what we planned.

98 degree heat, we have been there before.

There was no quit. We had no option, but to keep pressing on. No plan B.

I pulled a lot of take aways from this journey, but I think this quote from motivational writer and success coach, Dr. Roopleen, summarizes it best.

“Quitting is never an option on the road to success. Find the way forward. If you have a positive mindset and are willing to persevere, there is little that is beyond your reach. The attitude of being ready to work even in the face of challenges and despite odds is what will make all the difference in your life.”

At mile 90 my brother-in-law was ready to call it quits. But it wasn’t an option. How would we get home or to the hotel that was more than 60 miles away?

After some encouragement, we pressed forward. We were behind schedule and every unplanned detour or stop would extend our trip, forcing us to ride deeper and deeper into the darkness of the night.  

In the soaring temperatures, water became harder to find than planned as we passed place after place that was not yet open, or already closed. Again, trying to balance the need for water with conserving energy and staying on track.  

Around 9:30pm we rolled into the hotel. In total the trip took about 3.5 hours longer than what we perceived was our conservative case scenario. 

At the end of the day, we reached our destination successfully. It didn’t go as planned, and it certainly did not happen in the time we expected. You could say that quitting really wasn’t an option, but I am sure we could have found a hotel along the way if things got really bad. 

What lead to the “successful” outcome was having a positive mindset and the willingness to persevere in the face of unexpected challenges. After all, quitting is never an option on the road to success.

Welcome to the Limitless Podcast with Nathan Jovanelly.  Thanks for tuning in.