Virtual African Loop: SUCCESS!

In September 2020, in the midst of pandemic lockdowns and uncertainty, I created the Virtual African Loop (VAL) challenge for myself.

We were all a little stir crazy and in need of ways to help ourselves cope with the stresses of the pandemic, especially in those early days when data was scant, masks were in short supply, and vaccines were a wish more than a reality.

This challenge — digitally starting in Casablanca and ending in Tangier, Morocco — was part of my coping strategy, helping me focus on something else. And also, trying to fill the gap of my stifled wanderlust.

One heck of a challenge I set for myself – looping the continent of Africa plus a sidebar through nearby Asian cities of Jerusalem and Petra

Alternate, shorter version, had I walked the
same start and end points more directly. Of
course, instead I was going the long way.

The deadline restriction of a self-defined challenge on MyVirtualMission is 3 years. That put the deadline in mid-September of 2023.

Planning at the time to only count my daily steps, there was no way I could have completed the 19305.4 miles in the 3 year limit. It would have taken me about 3 times longer than that. In fact, initially I called it mission impossible.

I did eventually invest in a means to pedal distances, and that brought the challenge into more of “mission improbable” realm.

At the end of 2021, though, I found myself technically ahead of schedule— there were a little over 9k miles left — so I set my annual goal to that, in hopes that if I really pushed, I could finish by December 31 2022 – more than 9 months ahead of schedule.

With an extra push this week…here I am, finished in 775 days (just a little over 2 years), almost 11 months early. And it’s done!

I made it…. I walked and stepped and pedaled the equivalent of looping my way around the African continent. Along the way I tried 47 different dishes, inspired by the 29 different countries my virtual route passed through.

So I wrap this up, just in time for me to focus on new business ventures and future plans. New challenges ahead! And of course I’ll still do Conqueror challenges to stay active, and I’ll travel when I can. Still…