The Last Post?

WHY SO LONG?

Ok, so I've been home now for two months and haven't gotten around to doing my final blog post.  Why?  Well, to tell you the truth (why not?), it's taken me this long to get my brain wrapped around the trip.

For as long as I can reasonably remember, since my teenage years at least, I had dreamt of bicycling across the United States.  As my blog lays testament, I have now accomplished (fulfilled?) that dream.  If, before I set out, the bicycle fairies had visited me to offer: "Sit down and draft out your perfect trip, we'll make it happen" I would not have had sufficent imagination to have created beforehand as fantastic a trip as the one I experienced.

THE PEOPLE.

The title of Lance Armstrong's book, "It's Not About The Bike", is certainly apt for my ride.  It's a good thing that it took me until I was 56 years old to get around to it.  I strongly suspect that in the exubrance of youth I may have missed something: the human element.  Maybe, because of necessity, 56 year olds are required to address life at a slower pace than 18 year olds, I was able to truly appreciate the many gifts of the myriad of people I met along the way.  Just review the pages of this blog for example after example of the wonderful people I encountered.  These accounts only scratch the surface.  It strikes me how happenstantial most of these encounters were.  Had I started a day earlier, a day later, had I ridden a little slower, a little faster, turned right rather than left or left rather than right, stopped somewhere different to eat, rest or camp I would have met, largely, an entirely different set of people.  It boggles my mind, given all the wonderful people I did meet, how many I did not!  What did I learn?  People are by nature good sorts.

LIFE ON THE ROAD.

Who has the time to take a summer off to ride across the country?  Well, mostly school teachers and students, the recently graduated and as yet employed, gypsies and the retired.  I count myself amoung the last.

Having managed these 56 years, I have since childhood, be it school, work or other, awoken each morning with plans and obligations, some made or created by me, some made or created for me.  Plans and obligations that required that I consider beyond the present, what needed to be accomplished by the end of the day, week, month, year.  A vacation, usually for a week at the most, may have given me a short repose, but upon return to the "real world" my old plans and obligations were there to greet me.  (Sound familiar to you?)  Now I'm not suggesting that life could or even should be lived differently.

I found that retirement brought a new set of plans and obligations.  Those created by me, my long delayed "to do" list, and those created with some help from family and friends ("You're retired now, will you. . . , can you . . . , you should . . .").

When I took off on that bike all those plans and obligations melted away.  My planning horizon was typically no more than a day with the option of changing whatever plans I had made on a moment's notice.  For three months I had the luxury of living in the present.  Kind of got used to it.  And what a joy. 

Now after three months, for me, it was time to get off the bike.  Life back in the "real world" took some getting used to.  All those plans and obligations were patiently awaiting my arrival.  At first, I must admit that it was a bit overwelming.  But these last two months (since I have been home) have given me to realize that I am blessed, as well, by the things that "tie me down".

I feel grateful beyond words that I had the opportunity to take this trip, and mindful of those who are not so fortunate as I.  My parting thought:  Next time you find yourself engrossed in the latest negative story that the news machine has managed to dig up, turn off the radio/television and take a moment to appreciate that you live amoung a world full of wonderful people, because you do.