In 2005, my company sent me on a 4-year international assignment to China where my weekly travel schedule involved maxing-out my per-diem on business dinners followed by late-nights at the bars. It was opposite of my years prior as a competitive mountain-biker. Within a few years, my fitness was completely gone - replaced with obesity and high blood-pressure.

Returning home to series of startup failures and layoffs, I continued my bad habits. My brief effort at cross-fit led to severe knee pain faster than I gained any results. My motivation to continue fitness efforts was over - I felt "too old".

This reconciliation of age, physical pain, failed business ventures, and a less-than-optimal financial future, led to a "nihilism" overtaking an otherwise upbeat and optimistic spirit. I wasn't just old, I was "broken" in every sense. My indulgence in video games, comfort, food, and "cheap thrills" led me to a place I feared was unrecoverable.

Since childhood, I'd been a huge fan of the Paris-Dakar Rally - a 12-14 day stage race across 6000 miles of remote desert terrain. I came across the Dakar 2018 video game on my PS4 and played it endlessly. Then one day while playing, a ridiculous question/idea kept creeping into my head that I couldn't get rid of...

Could an out-of-shape novice rider over 50 compete in the Dakar before they're too old?".

I tried everything to turn my mind away from this idea but it wouldn't go away. So I took an engineering approach and broke a Dakar down into a set of readiness-criteria, goals, tasks, and threats - hoping there'd be one thing that would tell me to drop this "silly idea". Nope. My brain would refute any objection with "you can do it with enough time, enough work, enough money, and enough sacrifices". There appeared to be a path forward.

With this roadmap to Dakar fleshed out, I discovered that crossing the finisher's stage at the Dakar was possible. But more importantly, I had developed a rough roadmap for personal growth from a lazy, depressed, middle-aged guy to someone I would see as pretty badass. With a limited time window before age truly becomes an impediment, my practice would need to be very focused and intentional. Can I apply 50-yr-old intelligence to progress faster than the average kid? We'll see....

As such, I've now taken the first steps - got off the couch, worked with doctors, physical therapists, and trainers to get my body to a place where it can train properly. I've been working with motorcycle coaches to develop foundation skills and establish good training habits across multiple disciplines including trials, enduro, and motocross. I'm looking into how to develop special-forces-like mental toughness, and developinga network of people who support this crazy idea. (UPDATE: I've now completed a few rallies including the very tough Sonora Rally in Mexico in 2022...it informed me that I need to keep getting faster and that my "skills" pillar will need possibly years to develop to the level required to complete Dakar).

I'm trying to document this journey in various social media apps to inspire others to pursue their goals and remind people you should never give up, never stop dreaming and always keep reaching for something that makes you better than you were yesterday.
 
What's your Dakar?