Ever Dreamed But Never Acted?
All of us have probably had visions of our head of acting out some incredible lifelong dream whether it’s travelling, completing a sporting event, or living our life the way WE want to live it. But in the end, very few of us actually turn those dreams into reality.
We make excuses about life getting in the way, not having the time, or simply being afraid. At some point, we have to throw those excuses out the window and make our dreams a reality.
Meet Scott Thigpen – He’s Making It Happen
I first heard about Scott after seeing a post about his bikepacking setup on his Driven2Divide blog. We traded some comments and emails about bikepacking and first aid and that’s when the full picture of Scott started to come into focus. First, he’s a nice guy and very willing to share information and help others. Second, he’s doing everything he can to fuel his passion for the Tour Divide.
This dude is busting his butt to make his dream of riding the Tour Divide in 2013 become a reality. It’s almost insane how he cranks out rides, works, blogs, and races all while being a husband and a father. He has compiled quite a lot of material on the Tour Divide, the “towns” on the trail, training updates, and nutritional information.
But why does he do it? Because he is driven and he’s decided to make it happen. Driven2Divide is definitely the appropriate name for his blog.
Help Him Ride
Everyone needs a little help (others of us need a lot, but that’s a story for another day). The Tour Divide requires a lot of resources to be able to race for 3 or 4 weeks. Not only do you have to keep yourself fueled while on the trail, you have to have enough money saved up to keep things running at home. Not an easy task.
Scott is using his graphics skills to design several t-shirts that will help fund his Tour Divide effort. The latest one is the Lightning shirt that showcases the trail with the same name in Oak Mountain State Park outside of Birmingham, AL.
The shirt is cool and everything, but check out the prizes you can win with your shirt order – there is 3 months of online training with a coach, bike shop swag and gift cards, an Oak Mountain State Park yearly pass, and even a few Pale Spruce kits.
Click the image below to see the full list of prizes.
If you’re not a local Alabaman or haven’t ridden at Oak Mountain State Park, check out some of his other designs. My personal favorite is the “Get A Bicycle shirt”.
Take His Cue And Turn Your Dreams Into Reality
This post isn’t meant to be a sales pitch for Scott, but rather a profile of someone that has taken life by the horns and is turning it into what he wants it to be. He’s just an average guy with a family that got the biking bug, and got it bad.
If you have your own dreams, but haven’t fully pursued them yet, there is no better time than now. Take your cue from Scott and start making those dreams a reality.
The first step is to identify that one dream or passion that fuels you. It could be cycling related or even something like starting your own business. Figure out what that one thing is and get ready for an exciting time.
The second step is to focus every spare minute of time on that endeavor. No one said it would be easy, but if you want it to become reality you have to cut those non-essential items from your life. No more hours in front of the TV, goofing off on the internet, or making your lawn the most perfect one in the neighborhood. Use that time to fuel your dream.
To use a cycling analogy, the process is a lot like starting at the base of a very steep climb when you are stopped and unclipped. It’s very difficult to get clipped in and crank out those first few pedal strokes. You may lose your balance and have to restart. But once you get moving, it gets a bit easier and you grind your way to the top. Once at the top, you get to reap the rewards of the sweet singletrack descent and you can even let out a few “woo hoos” to celebrate.
So Scott, thanks for the inspiration and the constant reminder for us to get off our butts and make our dreams come true. I can’t wait to follow along as you get closer and closer to Tour Divide 2013. Here’s to living your dreams – GO SCOTT GO!
