The "Right Time" is a Lie

I’ve been waiting for the right time, the right words, the right story to share here. These past few months were shallow on adventure and lacking the type of content that I would think would be worthy to have a spot on the blog. The thing is, however, that the “rightness” of anything is inherently subjective, and although now I realize there were some pretty important occurrences that some people would benefit from reading, the “rightness” of those moments eluded me over and over again. I was that hypothetical person who’s drowning in open water but refuses to be rescued because she believes that God will save her.

I only came to realize this a few days ago, after I competed in the Tour de Pocahontas, the first set of mountain biking races of the season.

This event did not come as a surprise, but still, I was almost completely unprepared. I’d bought this bike a little over a month ago, AFTER signing up for an entire season of endurance events that will surely kick my butt over the next few months. I had only gone on 3 rides on this new bike, was still figuring out how to shift gears, and did not own any special gear other than the mandatory helmet and biking gloves I bought online a few days before the race.

I met some amazing women. Bobbi, Angela, and Lindsey from the Women;s Multisport of Richmond (WMR) team are pictured here. I joined the team a few days later!

The important piece of this story is that I went for it. Feeling entirely out of place among obviously seasoned riders and incredibly strong women bikers, I still showed up, pedaled like the pros (albeit a bit slower) and held my ground. I was one of the few racers who competed in all 3 events during the weekend, and after a first day of unimpressive finishes (I was second to last in the time trial, haha), I came in the second day and managed to snatch a third place finish in the cross-country beginner’s race. There were many more intangible benefits that came out of my willingness to put myself out there, regardless of my experience or perceived worthiness. Had I waited for the right moment when I felt “prepared enough”, I don’t know if I would had even shown up as a spectator.

In retrospect, I now realize I have to apply last weekend’s lesson to other more sensitive areas of my life. I may be a bit reckless and blindly adventurous for sports or for travel, but I tend to be overly cautious in other more personal things, going around in circles of indecision and fear of failure. Inaction has kept me from achieving what I’m capable of for too long, and in this Year of Intention, I plan on changing that. I’m signing up and then figuring out what bike I’m getting.

I really don’t have much else to say, other than stop waiting for the right conditions to do what your heart is set on doing. Stop lying to yourself. The “right time” is a construct of your sub-conscious in an attempt to delay potential failure. Whatever you are intentional about, those ideas that you’ve worked on and re-worked for a long time, deserve your attention and wholehearted pursuit. It’s ok to plan and strategize, but no amount of planning will bring results; sometimes taking action, regardless of your supposed preparation, is the missing link between you and your goals. So go sign up, and then worry about buying the bike. Buy the plane ticket, then figure out where you’ll go. Sign up for the course, then re-arrange your schedule. At the very least, expect to learn and grow from the experience.

PS. Just yesterday I competed in a beginner’s duathlon course on another technical trail that in my opinion was far beyond my current mountain biking abilities… and again, I DID IT. There is no right time.