Exactly Where She Needed To Be

 

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She Was Cold, Unprepared… and Exactly Where She Needed to Be

“At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkling.”

I used to think this meant everything would go right.

That adventure would feel free, easy… almost cinematic.

But I’ve learned something very different.

Sometimes your feet are frozen.
Your hair is hidden under a helmet.
And your eyes are watering from the cold.

And somehow… those are the moments that stay with you the most.

Ten years ago, my husband and I set off on our first overseas motorcycle adventure together.

Riding across America for an 8-week Moto Tour.

It sounds romantic when I say it now.

At the time? It felt like a test I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

I remember lying in bed in our Airbnb in Detroit Michigan the morning we were due to leave.

Our plan for that day was to ride from Detroit to Niagara Falls.

Jetlagged.
A stomach that wasn’t cooperating.
That quiet voice in my head already looking for some relief.

And then I noticed it.

Tiny white flakes landing softly on the skylight above me.

Snow.

By the time my husband looked out the window, it was no longer “just a few flakes.”

Our brand-new bike—the one we had picked up the day before—was lightly dusted in white.

And we were meant to ride in it.

Weather warnings had been flashing across U.S. channels.

We had been glued to the weather stations,

after hearing of unseasonal weather incoming, and the stations were kind of entertaining too!

Unseasonal.
Cold.
Snow moving through.

We hadn’t prepared for this.

We didn’t have proper winter gear.
We didn’t have layers.
What we did have… was a schedule.

Hotels booked. Paid for. Locked in.

And a decision to make.

I tried, briefly, to negotiate our way out of it.

Maybe we could delay.
Shift things around.
Wait it out.

But deep down, I already knew.

This… was the moment I had signed up for.

Because the real reason I took that trip wasn’t just to “see America.”

It was to step out of my comfort zone.
To start living more fully.
To find the adventurer within me, I had lost over the years.

And here it was—on day one.

So we layered up… as best we could.

Not well. Just enough.

And we left the warmth and safety of that Airbnb behind.

It was about 4°C.

That kind of cold that doesn’t just sit on your skin—it cuts through you.

The ride was stiff.
Unforgiving.
Long.

We stopped often.

For extra gloves.
For hot coffee.
For small moments of relief.

Cars passed us, drivers warm behind their windows, some of them staring as if to say:

What are you doing out here?

Honestly?

I was asking myself the same thing.

But we kept going.

We made it to Niagara Falls.

And yes—it was breathtaking.

We went out on the Maid of the Mist boat, the mist rising, the roar of the water surrounding us.

But I’ll be honest…

I have never felt cold like that in my life.

Not even growing up in a colder part of Australia.

My face ached. My body felt rigid.

It wasn’t comfortable.
It wasn’t glamorous.

It was raw. Real. Unfiltered.

And yet…

Ten years later, that’s the story we still tell.

Out of all the weeks of travel we’ve done…
All the beautiful places, perfect weather days, easy rides—

That freezing, uncomfortable, wildly unplanned ride?

That’s the one we come back to.
The one we laugh about.
The one that stayed.

Recently, my husband said to me:

“It’s funny… that’s the trip we talk about the most.”

And he’s right.Because those moments do something to you.

They strip away the illusion that everything has to be perfect to be meaningful.

They show you that you’re more capable than you think.

That you can be uncomfortable… and still keep moving.

That sometimes the magic isn’t in the ease—

It’s in the decision to keep going anyway.

And now, here we are again.

Another trip.
Another adventure.
Our third overseas tour… just a week away

And I can feel it—that familiar edge.

The unknown.

The part of me that wonders:

Will everything go to plan?

But this time, I see it differently.

I’m not chasing perfect conditions.

I’m not waiting for everything to feel easy.

I’m open.

To the unexpected.
To the messy.
To the stories I don’t yet know I’ll be telling for the next ten years.

Because now I understand what that quote really means.

It’s not about how it looks.

It’s about how deeply you lived it.

So maybe, at the end of the day…

Your feet are dirty.
Your hair is messy.
Your eyes are sparkling.

Or maybe—

You’re freezing.
Slightly uncomfortable.
Wondering what you got yourself into.

And still…

Alive in a way you can’t quite explain.

That’s the kind of experience that stays with you.

Happy Adventuring!

Claudine x

PS If you’re on the edge of something right now—

a trip, a decision, a new chapter—
and you can feel the nerves creeping in…

I created something for you.

Steady Moments is a short audio collection designed to calm your nervous system in under 6 minutes—whether you’re at home, on the road, or sitting in the unknown just before you take the leap.

Because I know what it feels like to lie there…
unsure, uncomfortable, questioning everything.

And in those moments, you don’t need more pressure.

You just need something simple that brings you back to steady.

→ Explore Steady Moments here: https://claudinegs.gumroad.com/l/egykg