The intention was to ride -- to experience the upper mid and Western states from the seat of the bicycle, to meet people along the way, to take life as it comes and solve problems, and to come to Seattle a changed person with a better idea of what I want to do next.
The reality (so far) is that, by establishing a fallback, in the form of a young friend driving my car, and by being unprepared for a number of elements, I am seeing more of the country by car than by bike ... and I am disappointed. Philosophically, I can recognize that I am still in a position to take life as it comes: what have come have been a lot of windy and cold weather, a falling apart dog basket, and a dwindling (although not horribly yet) bank account, as well as a driver who can't wait to get out of North Dakota. So, the choices to drive have made sense. Nevertheless, my body and my spirit want to ride. Last night, as I was falling asleep, I tried to imagine where I would be if I didn't have the backup driver. Maybe still in Wisconsin. Surely no further than midway through Minnesota. Yesterday, had the winds been as daunting where I was I would have stayed put. I would have visited the town nearby and talked to people. I would have walked with Remy, and walked and walked. Perhaps we would have done some more cart training. This morning, here in Jamestown, ND, the sky is blue. The temperature is just above 30, and right now the winds are 7 mph out of the west. When Remy and I walked around the neighborhood, I could feel my spirit leaping to ride, and my thoughts reminding it that the route starts miles away (we had to leave the route last night to find a hotel) and that it is only 30 degrees. I came back to the room and looked at the weather forecast, and the wind will rise again today to 25 mph. We will drive. But part of today's preparations will involve being ready to depart much earlier in the day tomorrow -- lower wind predictions, anyway, and maybe by getting on the road at 7:00 instead of sitting in the room on the computer I can ride some miles before the wind gets impossible to battle. Montana awaits, and the "on-the-road-training" I had hoped I would have gotten by now has been little. To be ready for the mountains when I get there, I'm going to have to be riding every day and working on my attitude, as well as my physical strength. Disappointment is. Change is. I am. Here. Now. Let's see what happens today. (For more detailed accounts of the daily adventures of the journey, visit bicyclinglife.blogspot.com )
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AuthorThinker, lover, curator of Sacred Space. Archives
June 2016
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