After finishing at the border, we dropped Tim off in San Diego and Rich drove south to visit his cousin in Oceanside. My family plus Ron went to downtown L.A. to watch stage 7, the individual time trial, at the Tour Of California. This was a great way to wrap up our personal tour of California...and Washington and Oregon. The yellow jersey wearer, Michael Rogers, was the eventual winner. Afterward, we drove away from the mayhem that is Southern California and camped in a rest stop parking lot near Bakersfield. We arrived in Medford Sunday night and were glad to be home.
For three weeks I didn't watch TV or listen to the radio. I didn't hear Obama is fixing everything or that he is ruining everything (not so easy to fix that pesky oil spill in the Gulf, is it? Too much bureaucracy). I talked to perfect strangers and saw people, good hard-working people, who live their lives without caring what goes on in Washington D.C. and it was refreshing. I think a man or woman is more successful the less they look to self-serving politicians. I plan on ignoring them as much as possible (of course I will still vote).
This RIDE was everything I expected and more. I knew it would be difficult due to weather and the daily expectation of riding 100 miles. I had one friend who told me it was impossible to take the route we planned in May...but we did. There was not one day where I didn't want to try. There was not one day I wanted to throw my bicycle in the garbage. And even now I wish I could have kept riding to Florida or Maine. Before I started, I wondered if I could actually do this and I learned that I could.
This experience revealed and reinforced some important things for me. It was very cleansing to see the creation roll by at 15-20mph. You hear the snow melt roaring by in a stream. You feel and hear the wind. Your own muscles propel you down the road. You smell the airborne scents from the forests to the ocean. This is how I know I'm alive! The simplicity of it all was therapeutic. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat...even that Monday we were sandblasted or the Wednesday in the snow. What's your dream? What are you waiting for? You are never too old to try....
