Been back has been harder than leaving. At the beginning I thought that nothing was more difficult than leaving. It seems that so many factors had to come into linear equation for this journey to begin. The equipment part or the why I was doing this journey was not the issue because, I had the equipment and I knew that eventually as I got into the miles and exploration aspect, the reason to leave a great job and the pay would be justified by the amazing things I was going to see and the people I was going to meet. I never thought the ending and re-integration to the life I was living behind was going to be an on going challenge. In the 98 days that I was on the road, I went from the struggle of that first pedal that I as soon as I took it, was the first one to the last one. I knew life is no different: we are guarantee that as soon as we take the first breath we are on our way our last one. So, why get into this journey? Why start something that has no long term sustainability? In many instances, that was never in my thought process while touring or even at the beginning. I knew that I could adapt, I knew it because I have been adapting for much of my life. I came to the U.S. as an immigrant teenager, leaving what I knew and was comfortable with. Coming to America, not the movie, has been an opportunity beyond imagination because I wanted ,access to the life I couldn’t not have back in Costa Rica. So how is this compared to touring? In essence, it is because the duality of the two is how we have to adapt to the unknown and that unknown transforms us into something complete new. I have posted on facebook how I went to a Bass Proshop store opening and I was amazed how this people were walking around with carts full of stuff that was likely never going to be used or only once. Maybe I should open a store and sell a bunch of one time used stuff. I was amazed how I walked around this comsumer-copia of camping , hunting and fishing hear that 98 days ago, in the same environment, I would purchase something because like a zombie, I was programed by the shinning bright lights and the promise the they you can buy your way into a better outdoor experience. It is hard to buy a hunting knife from a beautiful girl who has a 30 dollars manicure while telling how you could kill a rhinoceros. So, I have changed, I have been on the back roads of the Eastern Part of this country and I have along the way grown to love the uncertainty, the unknown and the satisfaction a simple can of tuna fish and spaghetti can bring to a tired, hungry cyclist who looks forward to a great night of sleep and the promised that as soon as the sun rises, adventure is not far. I remember many times I would come out of my tent and not recognized where I was. The days of the week were all the same because it didn’t matter. How many times I would be on the warmshowers web site ( hospitality website for cycle touring) and decided that I would forgo a clean bed and a possibility of a shower, laundry and hot meal because I just wanted to explore and I was perfectly content setting up my tent. Amazing how a 90 inch by 50 inch wide tent can make you feel that you are safe from the outside. The food was something that every time I ate, it was a satisfying victory. I have been back now for three weeks and the romance with clean sheets, a regular shower, hot food and a great variety is an over rate experience. I miss the freedom of no time management. I do not miss the expectations of the routine for something I did not have any influence in creating. Many of us walk through life just knowing that we start here, have to no time to get there. Have you ever purchased a Big Mac and before you take your first bite, you open it ? I think that if we did that more often, we would not be eating so many Big Macs. My point is not to bash McDonald’s as God only knows how many empty calories I consume in 98 days of cycle touring. It is about not thinking for ourselves. I am now back in a job, making money so I can do the things that are normal. Many people not on social media network or touring community have asked me about how my journey was, but after 40 seconds, they are off to orbit, thinking how wonderful it would be getting a colonoscopy because this numskull is talking about something uninteresting and it is impossible taking that much time off from work. I have seen the glaze on their eyes from the would be listener, the lets be over generous and give him two: “that is amazing, ” , or ” that is unbeliable” as they are thinking if they pray the phone ring and the dentist office is ready for their scheduled root canal. So hard to have people relate to those many days away from home, from loved ones , from the t.v., air condition and the comforts of home and the monotony of the same result that makes us always wonder why we are so depress and how we can’t satisfied all the expectations placed upon us that we had no idea about their origin. What now ?
I know that work and money are fundamental aspects of my financial life, getting back to some predictability is essential to stability. Showers, meals, running water, electricity and 50 inch flat screen t.v. so I can watch Sports Center while texting others, would officially put me back as part of the rush tribe. So, can all be lost in a couple more weeks? I have no idea except that I can still hear how loud the forest is at night, how soothing once you decide to accept the fact that when you are in the mountains with no immediate possibility of help if trouble arrives, it makes no difference because you are more alive and become more connected and at peace with everything around and there is no other alternative until the next morning. So, the only difference is none. You are alive, you are living. Life is permeating all of your senses. So, I get to go back to work and hear the over forty hour/week work heroes stake their claim to fame and the hope of the fleeting fortune. I get to listen to those robots claim fame and pride in not taking a vacation in years and how they only see the wife and kids in passing through and how fast the kids are growing. It is always for the children,..I know, I am been critical of the comforts that I left behind, well aware that I would be coming back. I knew that eventually I had to. I had a home stay in Maryland with this wonderful couple who were both world class travelers and raised a family and now are enjoying their grandchildren. The father asked me how I was financing my journey, something that a man of this much education andculture should know not to ask, except he and I were in his home and I was taking advantage of all the amenities a wonderful home provides, so I decide it to answer him. I have always wonder, if I told him that along my journey I was pan handling for money, what would his reaction be? Well, that is for another entry because I have to get some sleep so I can go to work and listen to the over 40 hour week heroes tell me about their blood pressure medication and their reducing new high stress, low calorie diet. Oh boy , I can’ wait…
