Almost inevitably, when I talk to strangers, they ask why I’m cycling across North America? What made me want to do such a thing?

I answer lightly enough, giving some combination of the following: oh, my family have always cycled; I enjoy cycling (debatable); I just graduated college and I had some time before the next thing starts; it's an adventure; it’s a nice way to see the USA and Canada.

These are all true as far as they go. But in reality, they do little more than create the conditions for this trip. Really, what drove me to do this was to prove to myself that I can. To have something almost tangible to point to.

But that answer just begs questions. Prove what exactly? Why?

That I am physically fit enough? That adventures are real and I can have one? That I’m more than my degree? That I can depend on myself? Talk to strangers?

I simply don’t know. None of these answers satisfy. I’m still trying to prove an unidentified something to myself.

That is not to say I’m on this trip to ‘find myself’. In fact, I like to think that I know who, what and where I am. I even tend to have at least plans A to C mapped out for where I want to be. So I don’t need finding, but I still want to prove I can do this.

So for now, I guess the answer to why I’m cycling is “just ‘cause".