The Traveling Sayleswoman
At age 32, Clarice Sayle packed up her idea of conventional life and hit the road. Now, she’s creating community wherever she goes.
By: Clarice Sayle / 5 minute read
“You don’t matter because you don’t have an online presence.” I can’t tell you how many times people said this to me. I don’t have a Facebook account. I’m not on Instagram or Twitter — and I certainly don’t Tik Tok. If I live a life that nobody knows about, do I matter?
This is a challenge I face in a world that relies on social media marketing. In a lot of ways, I’ve become an outlier. Instead of posting my status, I build relationships the old fashioned way — in-person, one-by-one. But my life and career didn’t start out that way.
In 2015, I was living life in the fast lane. Literally. I was one of the top five female road cyclists in California, a top racer regionally, and ranked nationally in the top eight on the track. Let’s just say I won a lot of races.
I trained intensely with the goal of going to the Olympics. My life was pretty simple. By day, I road and trained. By night, I waited tables. I wasn’t the best cyclist, but my commitment exceeded almost everyone else’s.
As I climbed through the ranks, so many people told me I should go pro that I began to believe them.
But the truth was, I didn’t have the physical aptitude to reach that goal. It was like trying to be a basketball player when you’re 5’4”. It took me a while to accept my physical limitations. Fortunately, as one door closed, another opened.
Before I left the racing scene, I landed my first real job as a junior account manager for Jakroo, who had been one of my sponsors. My work ethic easily transferred from cycling to sales. But unlike in cycling, the harder I worked, the more money I made. I turned my attention to my job, and soon, I was promoted to sales manager.
I was just hitting my stride when the pandemic forced everyone to be sent home to work. When the COVID threats subsided, it became apparent that there was no need to return to the office. Working from home day in and day out, I became bored and restless. I missed the sense of community I had when I was racing.
I went to my boss and told him that I wanted to I travel around the western United States and work from wherever I was. Along the way, I would ride my bike and attend cycling events to introduce people to our brands and meet promoters who could get involved with us. My focus would be on building community, real face-to-face, in-person community.
I gave up my apartment, sold all my stuff, packed up my car and began to live on the road.
I had been fitting myself into a life that I thought I was supposed to have: find a partner, settle down, save for a home, have kids, and build a traditional life. But that life didn’t resonate with me. I had to give myself the permission to not be that person.
Today, as I travel around the country, my focus is on building real face-to-face, in-person community. I’ve proved to my boss that my way of building relationships is effective. Sales have increased since I hit the road.
One of the ways I’ve found connection is to volunteer at the events I attend. I help set up the course, hand out packets, or assist with parking. I simply show up and ask, “What do you need?” And they put me to work. That’s how I’ve found like-minded people wherever I travel. The cycling community is small and tight-knit and it’s filled with great people.
I realize that my lifestyle is confronting to some people. Often I’m asked, “Where do you think you’ll end up?” or “When do you think you’ll settle down?” I try to explain that what I’m doing now is not a means to an ends. It’s about having an experience.
I don’t know if I’ll ever “settle down.” It might happen, or it might not — and there’s nothing wrong with me! No matter what I end up doing, I just hope that I’ll never settle.
While I’m on the road, I spend a lot of time alone questioning my motives: Am I running away from something? Am I afraid of establishing deep relationships? Does intimacy scare me? I don’t care where I end up as long as I’ve taken the opportunity to grow from it.
Initially I struggled with loneliness —and sometimes I still do. In those times I ask myself, “Can you be enough for you right now? If I live a life that nobody knows about, is that enough?” Ultimately, my answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
My life may not be conventional, but it’s the one I’ve chosen — and it is more than enough.
About Clarice Sayle
You can’t find Clarice on social media (except LinkedIN) but —if you’re lucky or fast enough — you might catch up to her at a cycling event in Denver, Idaho, New Mexico, or Utah. As national sales manager for Jakroo custom bike and sports apparel, Clarice travels and keeps her team motivated.
