After I got cleaned up I went outside. San Ignacio has an oasis of palm trees in the middle of a treeless desert. Really cool. Santana was outside. We were waiting for everyone to come out so we could eat in the place across the parking lot.
Teenagers gathered around Santana and showed great reverence for him. He spoke to them and they listened. I didn’t know what he was saying, but I knew he was teaching them something. They were laughing and having fun too. Santana was friendly and charismatic and has great people skills. No wonder he knew everyone and all the places in Baja.
People skills are valuable everywhere. Everything we need, tangible and intangible is now possessed by someone else. Being able to get along with and influence a wide variety of people is incredibly useful. I watched the sunset over the palm trees and checked my phone as we had Wi-Fi there.
I sat at dinner at the hotel restaurant hoping the food would come fast because I just wanted to go to bed. Three long days of riding was good for my training, but I needed sleep to go along with it.
In the morning, Tanner evaluated his now black and blue ankle. It was still swollen and he was still limping. Day 3 in the truck. So disappointing. We came all this way to pre-run this course and see it so we could race it, and Tanner couldn’t. So close…yet…
Rick, Santana and I set out for Loreto – 224 miles away. We were at race mile 607, and we had to get to mile 831 by nightfall. We glided out of the parking lot one block to the plaza in the center of town. A 233-year-old mission church presided at the end of this town square. I wish I had time to walk around a little. Past two blocks of little shops and small buildings and just like that it ended. We were out into the desert. We followed the paved road for 23 miles and then took a left into the dust.
Seven miles later we came to a water crossing – the biggest one on the course. It always freaks you out a little bit when you cross a river on a motorcycle. First, you don’t know how deep it is. If you are the first one there and the water is still clear, you may be able to see, depending on the angle of the sun, shadows, and colors. Second, you don’t know what is on the bottom. Sand? You can get stuck. Rocks? You can go off balance easy and have to put your foot down or worse. Putting your foot down means your riding boots fill up with water and for the rest of the day, you’re squishing around. Wet pruned feet can blister easy or your sock could ball up…
I paused at the riverbank and took a good look. In South Africa, we crossed a river that was 150 yards wide. I perfected putting my ankles up on the radiator shrouds to keep my feet dry while sitting on the seat. That’s the technique I decided to use.
When you can see the bottom and you don’t know if there are rocks, I have learned that thinking about it a long time isn’t going to change anything. Like other situations in life, you just have to stop torturing yourself and go for it and see. If the other guys are watching, they have an advantage in seeing how you do with your line choice and technique.
Rick came in sight behind me, and I went for it…
I realized what brings me back to this blog multiple times a day and the answer lais in the simple wisdom sewed in the beautifuly crafted masterpiece. This blog is an extension of your book titled The Highest Calling freely offered to oneone who feels brave and patient enough to daily apply the knowledge to their personal and business life. Gratest gift to humanity. Thank you for fighting.
I never have spent money advertising because being small I stayed busy enough.
I know I have to. Web.com great product but so expensive. Everything is if my previous adv.budget was zero. Lol
I need to grow quick getting old just do it. Inspiring words and book thanks.
Larry
I am really enjoying your adventures in the Blog.
Keep it up
Providing self mastering tools, motivation and encouragement through sharing experience and wisdom five days a week for many years is a gift. The beauty of it is that each reader has its own experience and picks out the bits of knowledge that pertain to their own life. Your thoughts and actions describe who you are and what are your priorities. The world is changed by your example and actions.
“ Thinking about it a long time isn’t going to change anything “ Wow! That’s so true ! Plus your mind starts playing tricks on you 🙂 Now we have to wait 3 days again for the story to continue ( I guess I won’t think about it a long time :))