Even though it is a tragic story, it is no reason not to follow our dreams.

Reading about the recent sad news of a bicycling British couple who died in a road accident in Thailand brings up a host of different emotions in me.

This couple not only dreamed of cycling around the world, they actually did it. They did so primarily because of their love for bicycling, but also because they wanted to celebrate it—with patience, joy and vigor to make it their reality. They spent six years saving money and planing for this grand journey.

Here are what I felt and thought about when reading this news:

I am inspired:

This couple wanted to experience different corners of the world. They wanted to learn about, connect to and understand more about others—combining it with what they love—bicycling! From the below video, I see how much love, happiness and genuineness in what this couple fostered and achieved.

Through bicycling, the world had unfolded in a slower pace and via different angles than otherwise traveling by airplane or automobile. They had unparalleled insights with their surroundings of people, cultures, and even of their own lives.

I am saddened:

Besides the fact that we have lost two wonderful human beings in this world, this recent news is a reminder for me of how everyone of us could live our life to the fullest, to do what we love and love what we do, not just talk about it. Because life is short—sometimes too short.

For me, I know I could simply start doing with simple steps, from a small beginning, or a thought at a time. Such contemplation elevates my thought patterns, then actions fortify my attitudes and subsequent courses of actions. Like threads of fire which I choose to keep fueling the fire of my inner world, I take steps into my existential experience.

I am humbled:

I loved bicycling when I was a little kid. But I didn’t realize why I liked it so much then. Now I realize it was the feeling of freedom. Now as an adult, I notice that people who love to bike tend to share similar love for it like I did when I was a kid, despite that it is usually seen as a vehicle of transportation. Beyond the practical reasons for health benefits, saving costs, energy or the environment, bicycling allows people to be free. That freedom, which can be so readily available to us, is often overlooked and definitely underrated.

Bicycling gives us incredible freedom. However, in order to enjoy it, we must learn how to ride it, love it and put in good efforts to keep pedaling forward.

Cycling Central Asia from twoonfourwheels.com on Vimeo.

Josie Huang is a passionate yoga practitioner and wandering bikramite; a curious home chef and experimental baker who thinks of her kitchen like a fun science lab; a fledgling who is carving her career path combining her passions in health, yoga, food and nutrition. When she is not practicing yoga, cooking or studying, you can find her reading a good book, talking about health, yoga, food and nutrition to anyone who would listen to her or just want to try her cooking. You can find her via her website.

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Ed: Brianna Bemel