Yesterday was fun. I learned that 100 miles of riding isn’t all that bad while on this trip and it got me ready to do about 200 miles each day. We also scooted into just under a week left on our trip. Bittersweet to think about: each day we get really excited to see everybody we left behind, but that also means our adventure is getting closer to a close and I don’t think any aspect of this trip has sunk in yet.
Today I was back in the Penn van and had an interesting day. Our van has satellite radio, so whenever I’m driving I bounce around as much as I can to try new things out on the radio. I learned that my Spanish hasn’t faded as much as I thought while listening to the news in Spanish for a while. I also learned that the stand-up comedy station is fun to listen to when you get tired…made me think of Murnane a bit and the time we made an entire party walk to 7th street to support his open mic routine!
I got to talk to Mayo on the phone for a bit today (also tried to call Goldie, who screens my calls…), the third most important phone call behind my Mom and Grandma. Hope your shoulder gets better Mayo and you are prepared for our return! Along the lines of talking to Mom, it seems like she has single-handedly turned me into a local celebrity within her circle of friends…I’d like to thank Uncle Billy and Auntie Deb, Uncle Beady and Te-Te, Uncle Pat and Eileen, and the rest of my extended family back in Swingtown that have been staying up-to-date with our travels…I could list everybody but I’d forget somebody and might have enough room to list you all.
We got a lot of beeps and cheers today going through Indiana, thanks to everyone along the road that supported us, and not so much thanks to the guy that had a few choice words that might not be acceptable to repeat on the internet.
Anyway, we’re all feeling good. Rosey and I just got back from checking out a local pub that had karaoke night! Props to the guy that belted out the Bill Withers song without having to look at the lyrics. The Midwest is pretty crazy in my opinion, it’s a strange blend of people that I am glad to have been a part of for a few days, mainly because I may have never been able to do so without this trip.
One thing I thought a lot about today: Bruce asked me where I see myself in 20 years. Wasn’t sure how I could possibly answer that question. I feel like in the past 10 years of my life it would be pretty hard for me to predict what I’d be doing in the next week. How could I have predicted sitting in a hotel room in Indianapolis right now with Kyle sleeping in the bed next to me, Jay two rooms over typing about the bike ride we had today to make our way across the United States. Or about all the people I’ve already met along the way? I may have never crossed paths with any of these guys, would have never met Jake and Jess (and would have never already planned a trip to Argentina to meet Jess in a few months) or Murray who was great to have for a few days…hope to see you at the tail end Murray! So 20 years down the line? I don’t even like to say that to myself. For now I have my sight set on each day. My long term goals are how much fun I’m going to have with guys like Mayo and Luke Greeley in 6 days. I haven’t even started to think about work, that time will come. I hope in 20 years I’m doing the same thing I’m doing right now: surrounding myself with a healthy blend of people I love and people I’m just starting to discover. I hope they all treat me as well as, and intrigue me as much as, the people that have been a part of my life thus far. I hope they all are infinitely up for a good time, always ready for an adventure, never apprehensive about rules or guidelines, ready to discover new things, and possibly trying to get “weird” from time to time.
Ohio tomorrow, can’t wait to see the Rosendale family! Cheers.
