Is insanity when you swim cross current to the norm? Or is it when you chase an audacious goal that requires great preparation and sacrifice? Would you consider quitting a great job to chase a dream, insane?

If so, I may be insane.

I recently quit a 20-year position as a technology sales manager with the goal to bike out my front door in Westfield, IN, and pedal to Anchorage Alaska.

You might think and even dream of quitting a job. It seems easy. We all have daydreamed of doing this … right?

But we don’t. Why? It’s insane. You still have to pay bills. So it takes extensive planning and saving. Basically everything I have from home to car was provided for by sales commissions from my employer. My health can at least partially be attributed to said employer’s insurance.

My sense of of self worth and place in society is based on this job.

It’s called dreams ‘cause we don’t usually do it.

Who am I and what am I doing?

I don’t know now. I was a great sales manager that chased company quotas with a passion. I rode bikes to shed frustration, stress, and weight. And I fell in love with it.

I might be at my happiest when I’m driving the pedals. I like to suffer in the saddle. Sweat like a dog standing on the cleats driving up a steep incline. Cruising down the road in the breeze.

So biking 4,500 miles north against headwinds, across the Rockies, through the barren Yukon and camping with the bears to Alaska.

Insane for some. Seems about right for me.

See you on the road especially — if it’s uphill!